too blunt?

[urbanrealtor]

This is for a client where I am not the primary listing agent but I am consulting for another agent who wants my help in getting it sold.

I am curious (and I am serious about this) if it seems too blunt or if others would put certain parts of this

I truly believe everything I am saying but I don’t want to just piss people off.

On the other side, being delicate can be a real disservice in this business.

I would really like to hear some feedback.

Even if it is negative.

Flame on but please try to be constructive.

—————————————————–

Mr. (client name deleted).

(agent name deleted) has asked me to email you the photos we have of your property.

They are attached to this email.

As you can see, photos do not present this in a particularly good light.

The property is regularly in need of paint and every time I have
visited it, it has new graffiti up.

The house, has a yard filled with belonging and large, aggressive dogs
behind a chain link fence.

That being said, it gets lots of looks online.

Loopnet shows a view count of 676 views in the last 30 days.

This means it is getting
looked at regularly and dismissed by possible buyers and by their
agents.

It also means it is getting looked at approximately 650-700 times per
month (just on Loopnet) or about 23 times per day.

Bottom line: this property does not show well and is overpriced.

Just adding more ugly pictures will not help.

I strongly recommend that you
-lower the price (at least to a point where you are competitive with
the nearby listings)
-invest in some paint,
-hire either a security guard or a handyman to deal with the graffiti
-take a hard line with the tenants about keeping the exterior clean and tidy

Sorry to be so blunt but we are paid to be honest and tell people how
to get what they want.

You want money for this property but currently, there is essentially
no possibility of getting that amount, in this market, for this
property in its current state.

Alternatively, you may want to cancel the listing.

To put effort or funds into advertising would yield no return and
would be wasted.

[Aecetia]

I think it is honest. Why waste your time on someone with a derelict property that is over priced? Your time is worth something.

[Aecetia]

I think it is honest. Why waste your time on someone with a derelict property that is over priced? Your time is worth something.

[Aecetia]

I think it is honest. Why waste your time on someone with a derelict property that is over priced? Your time is worth something.

[Aecetia]

I think it is honest. Why waste your time on someone with a derelict property that is over priced? Your time is worth something.

[Aecetia]

I think it is honest. Why waste your time on someone with a derelict property that is over priced? Your time is worth something.

[afx114]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Prop 19.

That said, I don’t see how any client would want anything but honesty from an agent. If I were them I’d appreciate your honest professional opinion. That’s what they’re paying for right? Then again, it is human nature to want to be told what you want to hear, so I suppose it depends on the client. If they are an absentee landlord and weren’t aware of the issues, I could see them appreciating the heads up. But if they are sloppy landlords and fully aware of the issues, perhaps you are just telling them something they already know and don’t seem to care about.

Tough love has a fine line, and how it is perceived completely depends on the recipient. Not knowing much about your client, it’s hard to say if you were too blunt or not.

[afx114]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Prop 19.

That said, I don’t see how any client would want anything but honesty from an agent. If I were them I’d appreciate your honest professional opinion. That’s what they’re paying for right? Then again, it is human nature to want to be told what you want to hear, so I suppose it depends on the client. If they are an absentee landlord and weren’t aware of the issues, I could see them appreciating the heads up. But if they are sloppy landlords and fully aware of the issues, perhaps you are just telling them something they already know and don’t seem to care about.

Tough love has a fine line, and how it is perceived completely depends on the recipient. Not knowing much about your client, it’s hard to say if you were too blunt or not.

[afx114]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Prop 19.

That said, I don’t see how any client would want anything but honesty from an agent. If I were them I’d appreciate your honest professional opinion. That’s what they’re paying for right? Then again, it is human nature to want to be told what you want to hear, so I suppose it depends on the client. If they are an absentee landlord and weren’t aware of the issues, I could see them appreciating the heads up. But if they are sloppy landlords and fully aware of the issues, perhaps you are just telling them something they already know and don’t seem to care about.

Tough love has a fine line, and how it is perceived completely depends on the recipient. Not knowing much about your client, it’s hard to say if you were too blunt or not.

[afx114]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Prop 19.

That said, I don’t see how any client would want anything but honesty from an agent. If I were them I’d appreciate your honest professional opinion. That’s what they’re paying for right? Then again, it is human nature to want to be told what you want to hear, so I suppose it depends on the client. If they are an absentee landlord and weren’t aware of the issues, I could see them appreciating the heads up. But if they are sloppy landlords and fully aware of the issues, perhaps you are just telling them something they already know and don’t seem to care about.

Tough love has a fine line, and how it is perceived completely depends on the recipient. Not knowing much about your client, it’s hard to say if you were too blunt or not.

[afx114]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Prop 19.

That said, I don’t see how any client would want anything but honesty from an agent. If I were them I’d appreciate your honest professional opinion. That’s what they’re paying for right? Then again, it is human nature to want to be told what you want to hear, so I suppose it depends on the client. If they are an absentee landlord and weren’t aware of the issues, I could see them appreciating the heads up. But if they are sloppy landlords and fully aware of the issues, perhaps you are just telling them something they already know and don’t seem to care about.

Tough love has a fine line, and how it is perceived completely depends on the recipient. Not knowing much about your client, it’s hard to say if you were too blunt or not.

[PCinSD]

Caveat: Acting on any opinion I have would probably be a mistake.

But . . . your usage of the phrase “Just adding more ugly pictures will not help” could be left out. I’m sure if you asked the client if “adding more ugly pictures” to the listing would help – they would obviously say no. It is not necessary to the advice you’re giving and may even have a negative effect.

Is it safe to assume that you are not being paid to give any specific advice regarding the price, other than pointing out that it needs to be lowered?

The phrase “invest in some paint” seems a bit snarky coming via a written opinion from a professional. Wouldn’t a client prefer to see “the exterior and/or interior should be painted”? And maybe even advice on color scheme?

About the security guard or handyman approach: Do you have an opinion as to which option you think is the right one, for this house, in that neighborhood? Again, that may be outside the scope of your task, I don’t know.

Same with the advice about keeping the exterior clean and tidy. Your idea of clean and tidy may be completely different than that of the client, so maybe expand a bit on what you mean.

It seems most of your advice is small one-liner zingers which are more aimed at driving home an obvious point in a fairly negative way. I think you can change the tone of the letter and still maintain the honesty you feel the client deserves.

I would lose the part where you apologize for being blunt and informing the client what you are being paid for. Again, just seems awkward and unnecessary to see that in a professional letter. And, if the tone is changed, the same info will be sent but without seeming quite so blunt, and you won’t feel the need to apologize.

Frankly, same with the rest of the letter. It seems like you are more on a personal rant, rather than providing a professional, written opinion. You’ve chosen a writing style for this letter that comes across as unnecessarily blunt, and in some instances, perhaps rude.

The client needs to hear the honest truth given the facts, but deserves to have it presented in a more professional, and possibly a more helpful, manner. Just my 2 cents, but as written, that letter would never leave my office.

[PCinSD]

Caveat: Acting on any opinion I have would probably be a mistake.

But . . . your usage of the phrase “Just adding more ugly pictures will not help” could be left out. I’m sure if you asked the client if “adding more ugly pictures” to the listing would help – they would obviously say no. It is not necessary to the advice you’re giving and may even have a negative effect.

Is it safe to assume that you are not being paid to give any specific advice regarding the price, other than pointing out that it needs to be lowered?

The phrase “invest in some paint” seems a bit snarky coming via a written opinion from a professional. Wouldn’t a client prefer to see “the exterior and/or interior should be painted”? And maybe even advice on color scheme?

About the security guard or handyman approach: Do you have an opinion as to which option you think is the right one, for this house, in that neighborhood? Again, that may be outside the scope of your task, I don’t know.

Same with the advice about keeping the exterior clean and tidy. Your idea of clean and tidy may be completely different than that of the client, so maybe expand a bit on what you mean.

It seems most of your advice is small one-liner zingers which are more aimed at driving home an obvious point in a fairly negative way. I think you can change the tone of the letter and still maintain the honesty you feel the client deserves.

I would lose the part where you apologize for being blunt and informing the client what you are being paid for. Again, just seems awkward and unnecessary to see that in a professional letter. And, if the tone is changed, the same info will be sent but without seeming quite so blunt, and you won’t feel the need to apologize.

Frankly, same with the rest of the letter. It seems like you are more on a personal rant, rather than providing a professional, written opinion. You’ve chosen a writing style for this letter that comes across as unnecessarily blunt, and in some instances, perhaps rude.

The client needs to hear the honest truth given the facts, but deserves to have it presented in a more professional, and possibly a more helpful, manner. Just my 2 cents, but as written, that letter would never leave my office.

[PCinSD]

Caveat: Acting on any opinion I have would probably be a mistake.

But . . . your usage of the phrase “Just adding more ugly pictures will not help” could be left out. I’m sure if you asked the client if “adding more ugly pictures” to the listing would help – they would obviously say no. It is not necessary to the advice you’re giving and may even have a negative effect.

Is it safe to assume that you are not being paid to give any specific advice regarding the price, other than pointing out that it needs to be lowered?

The phrase “invest in some paint” seems a bit snarky coming via a written opinion from a professional. Wouldn’t a client prefer to see “the exterior and/or interior should be painted”? And maybe even advice on color scheme?

About the security guard or handyman approach: Do you have an opinion as to which option you think is the right one, for this house, in that neighborhood? Again, that may be outside the scope of your task, I don’t know.

Same with the advice about keeping the exterior clean and tidy. Your idea of clean and tidy may be completely different than that of the client, so maybe expand a bit on what you mean.

It seems most of your advice is small one-liner zingers which are more aimed at driving home an obvious point in a fairly negative way. I think you can change the tone of the letter and still maintain the honesty you feel the client deserves.

I would lose the part where you apologize for being blunt and informing the client what you are being paid for. Again, just seems awkward and unnecessary to see that in a professional letter. And, if the tone is changed, the same info will be sent but without seeming quite so blunt, and you won’t feel the need to apologize.

Frankly, same with the rest of the letter. It seems like you are more on a personal rant, rather than providing a professional, written opinion. You’ve chosen a writing style for this letter that comes across as unnecessarily blunt, and in some instances, perhaps rude.

The client needs to hear the honest truth given the facts, but deserves to have it presented in a more professional, and possibly a more helpful, manner. Just my 2 cents, but as written, that letter would never leave my office.

[PCinSD]

Caveat: Acting on any opinion I have would probably be a mistake.

But . . . your usage of the phrase “Just adding more ugly pictures will not help” could be left out. I’m sure if you asked the client if “adding more ugly pictures” to the listing would help – they would obviously say no. It is not necessary to the advice you’re giving and may even have a negative effect.

Is it safe to assume that you are not being paid to give any specific advice regarding the price, other than pointing out that it needs to be lowered?

The phrase “invest in some paint” seems a bit snarky coming via a written opinion from a professional. Wouldn’t a client prefer to see “the exterior and/or interior should be painted”? And maybe even advice on color scheme?

About the security guard or handyman approach: Do you have an opinion as to which option you think is the right one, for this house, in that neighborhood? Again, that may be outside the scope of your task, I don’t know.

Same with the advice about keeping the exterior clean and tidy. Your idea of clean and tidy may be completely different than that of the client, so maybe expand a bit on what you mean.

It seems most of your advice is small one-liner zingers which are more aimed at driving home an obvious point in a fairly negative way. I think you can change the tone of the letter and still maintain the honesty you feel the client deserves.

I would lose the part where you apologize for being blunt and informing the client what you are being paid for. Again, just seems awkward and unnecessary to see that in a professional letter. And, if the tone is changed, the same info will be sent but without seeming quite so blunt, and you won’t feel the need to apologize.

Frankly, same with the rest of the letter. It seems like you are more on a personal rant, rather than providing a professional, written opinion. You’ve chosen a writing style for this letter that comes across as unnecessarily blunt, and in some instances, perhaps rude.

The client needs to hear the honest truth given the facts, but deserves to have it presented in a more professional, and possibly a more helpful, manner. Just my 2 cents, but as written, that letter would never leave my office.

[Author]

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