Costly Listing Agent Typos Means Less Money When You Sell A Home

You might not be shocked to discover that typographical errors in your real estate listing can cost you a lot of money when you sell a home.

But I bet you never considered THESE types of errors and yet they are the costliest of errors that your agent can make.

Real Estate Agents Are Human - Errors Will Happen

Whether you hire a seasoned real estate agent to sell your home, or one who is brand new in the business, I strongly encourage you to "see what you're getting for your money."

Go online and read every word about your property on all the major home search portals and the agent's real estate website too. Make sure the descriptions and measurements are correct, and that your agent has not left-out something you think might be of value to prospective buyers.

Even the most seasoned agents will occasionally make mistakes, and you do not want this costing you money!

This article focuses on two types of errors that listing agents will make, and which ones will actually cost you the most money.

Find These Listing Agent Typos When Selling A Home

• Typos You Expect Agents Will Make - Some of the most obvious typographical errors could be a misspelling of a word in a description or the use of poor grammar perhaps. While these might make you cringe, they very likely will not cost you money when selling your home. But errors such as showing "3" bedrooms instead of "4" will chase away buyers seeking more bedrooms. Using a lower than correct square footage number will cause most property search tools to show your price per square foot far higher than your competition's cost, so you want to ensure all the numbers are accurate. Remember, the information that your agent provides about your home (online) determines the number and excitement of people who choose to come see your home (offline). The more people who appear interested, the more offers you receive, the more you can drive up the sales price. The appearance of your home online determines the size of the buyer pool, and you do not want typographical errors diminishing that pool by even one buyer!
• Typos You Did Not Know Were Costly - Unlike the obvious errors above, the most costly errors will be right in front of your eyes and you likely will not know it. This is where you really need a real estate expert that utilizes mobile and marketing technology to help you draw more interest in your home. These "tricks of the trade" can be the difference between you getting top dollar for your home versus you netting tens of thousands of dollars less. Remember, if a listing agent typo reduces the number of people who see your home online, it could very well mean fewer people will come see your home which could result in fewer people having interest and ultimately making an offer. More = Better for home sellers!

Costly Listing Agent Typos That Cost You Money When You Sell A Home

Neighborhoods - Did you know one of the most popular home search types performed by "ready buyers" (those who are ready to purchase today) centers around the neighborhood or subdivision in which the home is located? Now consider this, in Tallahassee there are more than 1,700 recognized subdivisions that each of the 10,000+ syndicated websites that will feature your listing must recognize. If you agent does not understand HOW TECHNOLOGY WORKS, then your agent will likely cost you money. Here is a real world, recent example of a listing agent that does not understand the correct way to identify the subdivision on a property.

Here is what occurred:

• Leon County Property Appraiser's Subdivision Description: The Vineyards Unrec
• Real Estate Listing Agent's Subdivision Description: The Vineyards Unrecognizable

Why This Matters

OK, there is multiple mistakes here. First of all, the agent is so new he does not even know that "Unrec" in the legal description means "Unrecorded." His "guess" at the property seller's expense was "Unrecognizable." Your listing agent should not be guessing.

So what should the listing agent have done here?

Well, remember how most ready buyers are doing neighborhood searches? Which of the following do you think are neighborhoods on the 10,000+ websites out there that will feature the listing?

1. The Vineyards Unrecognizable
2. The Vineyards Unrec
3. The Vineyards

If you chose the third one, you are correct. Some of the search tools are so unsophisticated that once they see the additional information, they do not include the property. Can you imagine the implication of the "perfect buyer" not seeing that your home was available in The Vineyards on the day that buyer made a purchase decision? Can you really afford to chase any buyers away from your home for sale?

So not only did this listing agent not understand the meaning of "Unrec," (something he could have researched online in less than 30 seconds), he did not understand that the truncated version of the subdivision was used more often than the full version on the numerous websites that would receive the listing information. This lack of experience combined with a lack of know-how is very common and often leads to sellers' receiving less than top dollar during the sale of their home.

This is just one example of the hidden errors that could cost you money, so make sure when you choose the agents to interview for the job of selling your home, you research them online, you read the reviews left by their past customers, and you evaluate their technical experience and proficiency. It could save you tens of thousands of dollars, so take the time to do your homework!

If you would like to know more about getting top dollar for your home, just give us a call at (850) 366-8917 or drop me a note and we will be in touch right away!

Related Links

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