I’m sure you’ve heard the slogan “too good to be true” many times in your life. I have realized that the older I get, the more these popular sayings really do carry weight. Although the advertising guidelines for Realtors in Ontario are outlined very clearly I see misrepresentation committed on a daily basis. This misrepresentation not only cheapens our industry but has a very negative effects on consumers who use a realtor based on a claim they have made.
The most recent and ridiculous claim I saw was in a bus advertisement and the realtor stated “Buy or Sell with me and I will buy your plane ticket for anywhere in the world”. Without any asterisk or description about different circumstances this realtor is misleading people into believing something that he may not actually be able to carry out.
If I wanted to Travel to India on December 24th that ticket would likely cost me over $3000.00, that’s a pretty great gift! Buuuut what if the property I am selling is only $125,000 and the realtor’s commission (even at 2.5%) would be less than that? It is more than likely many conditions would apply to this claim, but unless it is in print, how would you know?
Misleading claims are used for one purpose only, to get bad realtors leads. Some other common ones are: If I don’t sell your home in 30 days I will buy it OR I will sell your home for FREE if you don’t like it. All of these are bogus claims that trick you into using that realtor.
Giving gifts and incentives to clients is a great thing, but not at the expense of quality of work. If someone is making a claim that is too good to pass up, be aware that the money they are using for the claim has to come from somewhere. If I am going to sell your home for free how motivated would I be to sell that property? Would I market it the same as if I was making my full commission? It is highly unlikely.
Real Estate is a people business and the foundation of that business is trust. Don’t allow yourself to get tricked or misled into using a realtor based on a claim that seems too good to be true. The most important criteria that you should have are: will my realtor do everything they can to make sure that my interests are being looked after and will they treat my money like it is their own?
If you can confidently say yes to that question, it is worth more than any free gimmick or claim in the world. Have a great day!