How Would You Answer This Question? Did the REALTOR® Lie? Is That Even the Issue?

If you're familiar with the Trulia real estate site, you may know that REALTORS® can setup their accounts to e-mail them with any questions that have been posted in their areas they work. I have Trulia setup to e-mail me when questions have been posted about real estate in Volusia county, (although I only work in East Volusia county IE: the Daytona Beach area).

This evening while I was blogging, a question popped up in my e-mail from a home owner in West Volusia county; specifically, Deltona. I'm posting this here for anyone to comment on either my blog, or on the home owner's question (or both). I'm doing this because this particular home owner is very disgruntled, and blaming her REALTOR® for her choice in the home she bought in 2005. I know. 2005... OUCH!

Here's a link to this home owner's question titled "REALTOR® lied to make profit?" IMHO, this particular purchase was not about the REALTOR® lying to make a profit. It was probably what this REALTOR® genuinely believed to be true... which is that Deltona was a great place to buy a home. But this home owner is now unhappy with the purchase, and is apparently placing all the blame squarely on the shoulders of the REALTOR®. The owner's complaints?

• Her husband has to pay to drive to work on the turnpike to Orlando.
• They hate Deltona. (No details on this.)
• She doesn't trust REALTORS®. (I don't know why.)
• The house is now not worth what they paid for it in 2005. (*sigh*)
• She now has bad health because she's so unhappy.

There you have it. I know some of you may find it hard to leave a polite response, but how about you try? ;-) I know, and most of you know, that the majority of REALTORS® are professional. And unless this woman's REALTOR® wasn't working very hard, and was desperate for a sale (which would be very difficult in 2005) it's not likely that they "convinced" this home owner to buy where they are. I don't know about the rest of you but I've never had much luck (well, I've never really tried) in pushing a buyer into a particular location. However, there is one factor that should be known about Deltona. It's less expensive than the surrounding cities. Get the picture?

So here's the response I left this distraught home owner. Yes, I know. It's long. But I hope it sets an example of being truthful yet compassionate. At least that was my goal. If you'd like to offer me some constructive criticism on my response, in light of my intentions, I wouldn't mind hearing it. =)

"I'm sorry to hear you're so unhappy. But there is a very good chance that your agent really believed that Deltona was a good way to save money if your husband was going to be working in Orlando. A lot of people buy in that area for that very reason. Also, Deltona's prices have always been lower than the surrounding cities. Sometimes we have no choice but to buy where we can afford. It stinks, but we all have to deal with that, at one time or another.

As for trying to determine when the values will increase, none of us can predict that until after it has started happening. But it's highly unlikely that you overpaid. 2005 was the apex of the real estate boom for central Florida. You probably paid the amount that was the value of the home at that time. Real estate has never been a static-valued product. It always has, and always will be unpredictable. But what happened in this last sellers' market was unprecedented. We've never seen anything like it before, and we probably never will again. It's going to be a long time before the values of 2005 come back around. Unfortunately, we now have even bigger problems. Banks are dropping like flies, and of the ones that are still in business, most are insisting that buyers put down 20-30%. At the same time, people are making less money or losing their jobs altogether. But the problem is still bigger than that. We've been in a recession for over a year.

I really do feel for you. It's been hard for me to see so many people lose their homes, jobs, and investments. My own family has lost a tremendous amount of income from both my job and my husband's job, and our investments are precarious. But I'm thankful that we're not losing our home. Our family has realized just how much we were taking for granted, and how spoiled we had become. We've cut out everything that's not a necessity, and are still looking for more ways to save money.

But please don't make yourself sick! I've had severe Fibromyalgia for 9 years now. It's very painful, and if I let myself dwell on negative things, the pain only gets worse. So I choose to think positively. I dwell/focus on what we do have, instead of what we don't have. And we give thanks for every little thing that brings us joy, no matter how small. My daughter went on a missions trip to Haiti a couple of years ago. What she saw and told us about just reinforced our understanding of how many reasons we have to be thankful.

I hope you and your husband are able to find joy, regardless of the circumstances. Feeling sick and miserable is not worth it when you can't change the circumstances anyway. I can think of a few positive things for you... you're close to DeLand, which has a beautiful downtown area to visit. The St. John's River and several springs are close by, you're only about 40 miles from Daytona Beach, your husband still has his job, you have your own pool... I'm sure there's much more. And I hope you know that I'm just trying to help you cheer up and see how blessed you are, compared to so many other people. It could be a lot worse!

Feel better, and be blessed."

Lisa Hill, "The Smart Choice" Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS® 386-761-6100. www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

Looking forward to your comments...

• Did I succeed in responding honestly yet compassionately?
  
• What is your advice for this home owner?
  
• What is your opinion of the REALTOR® who sold the house to this home owner, based on the limited information that's been given?
• What are your thoughts on any of this?

** Adding this after reading several comments. It's ironic that most of you thought I was being too compassionate. I say it's ironic because I'm usually the one to slam the door on everyone. LOL! However, in my own life, I'm going through an internal shift. I'm trying to be more understanding of others. I don't know enough about this woman to pass judgment on her, and I agree that she was venting. But we know that the public opinion of everyone involved in the real estate industry is pretty low right now. Many of you mentioned that this woman just wanted someone to blame. I agree with you on that. But rather than lash out in return, or wait until others who are not in the industry come along and start a major Bash Fest, I felt that at least one of us should... point out the obvious, without being mean. I say this because if we snap at her, we just look even worse in her eyes.

Oh, and yeah. I usually do just ignore these types of questions or comments on Trulia. But I've noticed that usually ONE of us always leaves a calm, rational answer. And that works out pretty well ;-) We don't gang up on them, and we don't all ignore them. We kind of take turns. I like it when I see that =D

*** Have to add one more note. My comment about not liking Deltona is because I really just don't like it. It has nothing to do with any other agent. I tried to subtly let this lady know that I know she bought in Deltona because the prices are lower. My reasons for not liking it are because I got lost there one time, and then some crazy young people in a car started chasing me down the road, and I couldn't figure out what I had done to offend them. I was alone and scared since I was lost and there were no other vehicles around. So that's my reason, and I did say it was just a matter of personal opinion.

**** One more edit >.< lol. Since so many of you felt I shouldn't voice my personal opinion about an area, I changed that part of my response to this woman. I don't want her to feel I was judging her.