Real Estate Listing Embellishment 101
January 2nd, 2009 by Rich JacobsonLast week I was going through our local MLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service), checking up on some newly listed properties out in Seabeck WA, when I came across the following description another Agent had used for a home she was marketing:
“Adventures await in the plushly landscaped backyard. Indiana Jones-type bridge spans adjoining creek“
Okay, so what the heck is an ‘Indiana Jones-type’ bridge? And is this something that I would necessarily want to promote as a valued feature? As I seem to recall, the bridge in “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” was highly unstable and hazardous!
Here on the picturesque Kitsap Peninsula, surrounded by the scenic waterways of the Puget Sound, views can be a critical feature of a home and impact a home’s valuation significantly. One of the common phrases you’ll encounter as you read through the various listing data sheets on the NWMLS is the term ‘peek-a-boo‘ view.
Now just what exactly constitutes a ‘peek-a-boo’ view?
Translation: “If you stand tipee toe on a 10 foot ladder in the dead of Winter when all the leaves are gone, and strain your eyes, you just might possibly see something that remotely resembles water.”
Many of the homes in the Seabeck WA area have stunning views of the Olympic Mountain Range or Hood Canal. Once I found a photo on the MLS of a home for sale in Seabeck that had an expansive view of Hood Canal and the Olympics. But when I looked at the location address, I knew that the potential for the view in the photo was highly suspect. When I actually toured the property firsthand, my suspicions were confirmed. The only way you could replicate the view from the photo was to rent a cherry picker and snap a shot from on top a 50 foot boom!
I am a firm believer in telling the truth about my listings – good, bad, or indifferent. I want the pictures that I take and use to market my Seller’s home to be an accurate representation of what you’ll actually see when you tour the home. What you see is what you get.
Gee, what a concept!
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Tags: peek-a-boo view, seabeck wa real estate, view properties, waterfront properties
![A classic Port Gamble "painted lady"](http://soundbiteblog.com/wp-content/gallery/port-gamble/port-gamble-013.jpg "A classic Port Gamble "painted lady"")
I know of a beach cottage that sold as a “two bedroom on the Sound.” It was a two “bedroom” with two small rooms and a large open room with a full bath and a laundry room.
The two bedrooms were so small, only a double bed and dresser fit in the first room, with a twin taking up all the space in the second (You had to stand on the bed to get into the closet).
The “bathroom” was so small, that when the door was open, it hit the commode, and two people couldn’t stand in the room at the same time.
The laundry room was a stackable washer/dryer unit in the kitchen, next to the stove.
If you haven’t guessed, it was my home sweet home while a graduate student. And yes, I had a view of the Long Island Sound, but no, I didn’t see it on “tippy toe.” No, I had to wait to move out, and 6 months later the Sound came to the front door of the cottage, by way of a 50 year flood. So, yes, everyone got a view of the Sound that year (there were boats going down the street that week).
Nothing like a cottage on the water…..
Love the Indiana Jones type bridge comment! I think I’m finally immune to all the puffing I see in the comments section of the NWMLS.
Did it sell?
Boy are you on a roll today! I\’m still laughing. I especially like “If you stand tipee toe on a 10 foot ladder in the dead of Winter when all the leaves are gone, and strain your eyes, you just might possibly see something that remotely resembles water.”
Great article Rich. Honesty cannot be over-rated.