10 Ways For Realtors to Avoid Being Sued

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Good article. Wish all Realtors would read it!

http://www.abcplan.com/landy/download/topten.pdf

 

[Dave Smith]

Pamela:

Thank you. Thats a good link. I just sent it to the EO for our Board of Realtors. She may send it to the total membership. But then... getting most Realtors to do things right is like hearding cats.... can't be done.

Our MLS won't even use the ANSI guidelines for figuring GLA. The argument is that ANSI standards make houses look too small on Realtor.com. Talk about misrepresentation!!!

 

[Joe Birrell (NY)]

Dave:

They don't even know what GLA is, let's not confuse them with ANSI.
I've been preeaching to local board for over 20 years and I've given
up, they are impossible.

P.S. "herding cats" - I like that phrase, good one !

Ranting Joe

 

[Mountain Man]

"Agents sometimes exaggerate or over emphasize features of a house"

NO WAY!!?? 8O

 

[Anonymous]

The dumbest thing I routinely see on listings are promises about future public improvements or events.

I saw a listing once that promised the road the house lay on would be paved within a year or two. That was about 10 years ago. It still is not paved. (i would have sued)

Another is with a new regional airport, one listing promises the area "will be in Phase II of the airport developement" - that is this cow pasture is going to be developed soon......3 miles away from the airport?

Rural water soon!! I was promised RW in 1992...still not here. DON'T MAKE PROMISES SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO KEEP!

Ditto for appraisers. Had to change the wording of a sub's remarks about a future survey. I AM NOT A SURVEYOR....simply say I ASSUME something SUBJECT TO a survey. Recommending tests, etc. is not a bad idea for appraisers. Recommend rather than require. Let them make the choice.
ter

 

[Bobby Bucks]

Terrel
Reminds me of a refi I did last year. A 20 year old brick ranch, 1100 SF on a 1/2 acre site with 10
houses to each side and all were basically the same....all the same subdivision, all zoned residential
SF, all on septic and well, no public water/sewer within 5 miles.........anyway, 2 years prior some
huckster who claimed to be an expert Real-i-tore convinced 5 of the owners that Sam Walton’s
heirs wanted the entire area for a new Wal-Mart and if they listed with him, he’s make it all work.
Never mind the zoning people and the law. He listed the homes for around $300,000 each and it
went from initial high hopes to anger as time went by. Sam's heirs never made any offers......All the
signs read “Future Commercial Use”.....gotta love that.....puffing I think the agents call it. When I
did the refi I was at a realistic $90,000 and the homeowner went ballistic....he kept waving a copy
of that glossy flyer the ex-Real-i-tore had made for him with more zeroes on it than my
report..........even more amusing is that the same guy had recently put the tax office through hell
and wanted his taxes lowered......he claimed he was on a busy street and with traffic and noise as
bad as it was, his place was only worth $40,000......that listing agent now promotes himself as a
“land specialist” in commercial brokerage......gotta love it.

 

[Mary Caffey]

thank you for that article- I have a century 21 office and it never hurts to remind my agents !!! Since hubby is an appraiser I already knew what GLA was - but new agents need all the help they can get !!! :lol: