{"id":628,"date":"2006-11-10T14:31:28","date_gmt":"2006-11-10T21:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=628"},"modified":"2006-11-11T09:32:47","modified_gmt":"2006-11-11T16:32:47","slug":"writing-better-descriptive-real-estate-copy-as-a-path-to-building-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/628\/writing-better-descriptive-real-estate-copy-as-a-path-to-building-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing better descriptive real estate copy as a path to building character . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

I read some copy for a real estate listing, and I thought, “Wow, this is game and lame at the same time.” Game because the Realtor was really trying to stretch beyond typically insipid real estate copy. Lame because, well, even so — the copy was lame. It led with a cliche, then jumped immediately into EduSpeak, the unreadable argot of academia. Within a scant few seconds, we were right back in Realtorville, an unending list of features without a benefit — nor a beneficiary — in sight. In the end, it was game-by-intent, an attempt to attempt to do something different — without actually doing anything differently.<\/p>\n

Here’s my take on the same theme:<\/p>\n

What you notice first is the quiet — but you don’t even actually notice it. The air is so still and the silence so complete that you don’t truly hear the quiet until it is interrupted.<\/p>\n

What was that?! That scampering sound. You peer into the underbrush and there it is — a Whiptail lizard twenty yards away — and you were actually able to hear<\/i> its tiny footfalls.<\/p>\n

You don’t feel the breeze as much as you see it in the lazy skirling of the Redtail hawks overhead. The sun is omnipresent, but you feel it best in the tingling on your skin. You breathe deep, relishing the crisp, clean scent of creosote slowly baking in the heat of the afternoon…<\/p>\n

This is the desert — the desert you came here to find but lost somewhere in a vast, overpacked parking lot.<\/p>\n

This is the desert — untamed and illimitable, alive and thriving against all odds.<\/p>\n

This is the desert — not a day trip, not a camping trip, not a now-and-then excursion.<\/p>\n

This is home.<\/i> Your home, from now on…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s an introduction. I’m not selling a house. I’m selling a life. In this case, a life with some negatives — the commute to Phoenix is at least 45 minutes, and the buyer is going to find snakes and scorpions in the home several times a year. But what I want to sell about this property is the unique life that this home Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read some copy for a real estate listing, and I thought, “Wow, this is game and lame at the same time.” Game because the Realtor was really trying to stretch beyond typically insipid real estate copy. Lame because, well, even so — the copy was lame. It led with a cliche, then jumped immediately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-marketing","7":"category-real-estate","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":895,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/895\/apple-iphone-round-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":0},"title":"Apple iPhone round-up . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This is nothing like everything, just a summary of news -- and comic relief -- of interest to the real estate community. Dave Winer, among others, objects to the idea of the iPhone being a closed box. Okayfine. But it's important for end-users to understand that the iPhone will run\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2472,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2472\/loudoun-county-tax-assessor-todd-kaufman-has-a-friend\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":1},"title":"Loudoun County Tax Assessor Todd Kaufman has a friend…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"...in our world, no less. A brand-new LiveJournal weblog exists to document Loudoun County Tax Assessor Todd Kaufman's brave battle against the dark forces of First Amendment defenders. You could say that it's lame and testy and more than just a little bit tetched, but it ain't easy to compete\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5554,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5554\/nar-promotes-housing-stimulus-plan\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":2},"title":"NAR Promotes Housing Stimulus Plan","author":"Dave Phillips","date":"November 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a fresh bone for Bloodhounds to chew on.\u00a0 This 4-point stimulus plan was approved by the NAR Board of Directors this past Monday and is being pushed heavily in Washington DC.\u00a0 The National Association of Realtors\u00ae will offer a four-point legislative plan to reinvigorate the housing market, calling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1422,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1422\/60-minutes-delivers-400-hits-in-sixty-minutes\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":3},"title":"60 Minutes’ Redfin.com story delivers 400 hits in 60 minutes flat . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"May 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Who says the old media is dead? In the hour just ended, Redfin.com's Real Estate Consumer's Bill of Rights: A wolf in sheepskin clothing had over 400 hits from organic search. Just think what might happen if the NAR made reasoned arguments instead of trying to club reality into shape\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17835,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17835\/overnight-news-why-johnny-5-cant-close-no-rainmaker-no-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":4},"title":"Overnight News: Why Johnny 5 can\u2019t close: No rainmaker, no\u00a0rain.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"February 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"How lame is real estate marketing? Zillow is making money with this for a tagline: \"When you\u2019re ready for a change, we\u2019re ready to help.\" Of course, they're not selling to the public. Check the MLS: They're terrible at selling houses. But at the boiler-room huckstering of gullible self-bankrupting real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":323,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/323\/negotiating-buyer-representation-real-estate-is-probably-the-only-industry-that-doesnt-respect-fully-the-person-who-pays\/","url_meta":{"origin":628,"position":5},"title":"Negotiating buyer representation: “Real estate is probably the only industry that doesn’t respect fully the person who pays . . .”","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"On the general topic of buyer representation, Jim Duncan at Real Central VA has a post up about being very choosy about which clients he will take on. Interestingly, Jim provides a link to a specimen copy of a Virgina Asscoation of Realtors Buyer Broker Exclusive Employment Agreement. I think\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}