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Real Estate Listing Embellishment 101

January 2nd, 2009 by Rich Jacobson

Last 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:bridge

“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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Posted in Buyers, Real Estate Bites, Seabeck WA Real Estate, Sellers | 3 Comments »

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