First of all you need to know that I really dislike puffing. Agents know the term puffing: it’s what some agents do when describing a property.

Stunning views! (yes the mountains are great, but what about 50 junky cars that my neighbor has on their property right below that view)

or handyman’s dream (ie please be cautious of the hole in the floor).

Puffing can lead to misrepresentation if agents aren’t careful.

Now, it is important to describe a property accurately, and often times we use adjectives to get our point across. I personally don’t like flowery descriptions of properties. I prefer to get the facts, let the photos do the talking, and then make up my mind if a garden is luscious, a view stunning, or hardwoods are amazing, but there is a balance.

Puffing has been a staple in real estate marketing for a long time. There has been a general trend in my MLS to have more accurate descriptions, which I personally appreciate. I think I came across my first anti-puffing description on the MLS today. The PUBLIC remarks started out with

There are no known major problems with this home…

and ended with

Please remember it is the buyers’ responsibility to verify all details and measurements inside and outand. (we have a disclaimer on the bottom of every MLS sheet already).

Now, my first thought when reading this was, well…what are the minor problems then? The house has been on the market for 357 days…

Now, as anti-puffing as I am, this is not a solid way to start a conversation about a house. I can’t help but look at the words used and think there must be 100 small things wrong with this house. Why the heck would anyone start out that way?

Salem Oregon has a 10 month inventory of homes for sale. I have no doubt that the verbiage in the public remarks section is turning off many potential clients. With the massive amount of inventory to choose from, it is imperative that agents not turn off potential buyers. I was screening over 60 homes for my buyers, I know I read it and thought what the heck?

Next!

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  4. What a buyer agent should be doing for you…