Seriously Dude, Learn to Spell and Write in Paragraphs!
How many ads do you read that have not been read by the people that write them? I wonder if a fore bedroom house has a golf course in it or is it on the 7th tee? Come on people (now, smile all together) and remember what Miss Joseph taught you in 4th grade.
She would be so disappointed that you, Tony Rumpkin (made up name!) never learned to at least use spellcheck. And do your potential customers who read misspelled ads think, “Oh, he’s just like me. Can’t spell for nothin. I am gonna use him as my reelter.”
No, they move on because they want someone that they can trust, a leader who can negotiate for them, find them the right house, write a contract that is legible and is in their best interest.
Oh, and you probably want a client that has a job, very good credit score and has money to put down so they can get a mortgage from the mortgage rule psychos (I could and you probably have used harsher language!).
Sometimes, accidents happen but it is easy enough to check your ads, MLS copy (don’t get me started on repetitive adjectives now….that article will follow soon), emails, letters, signage (yes, even your sign), website and business cards.
Your commission might will depend on it.
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This article published on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm | Contact the editor
Topics: Marketing
About this Columnist (Full Profile)
Realty Reality! That describes Fred, a sharp witted and outspoken realist for the mortgage and real estate world who has appeared on CNBC and NPR’s Marketplace along with being quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer and other media outlets.
Fred is the owner of U S Spaces, Inc (a real estate brokerage firm in PA and CA) and U S Loans Mortgage LLC (mortgage brokerage in PA, CA, CO, FL and VA).
Fred serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals and the UpFront Mortgage Brokers, both consumer oriented organizations that help to make the industries better.
Stand by and enjoy his brain-to-finger translation of thoughts surrounding what we do or what we can do for our clients and learn how the real estate/mortgage world really works.
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- Real Estate Feeds:
Dude, Learn to Spell and Write in Paragraphs!: Where some writing belongs!
How many ads do you read that have n.. http://bit.ly/1Y3DBd - Nikki Dever:
@agentgenius Dude, Learn to Spell and Write in Paragraphs! http://bit.ly/1QZ1eQ <<agreed
- RealEstate Babble:
AgentGenius: Dude, Learn to Spell and Write in Paragraphs! http://bit.ly/3HWgkP Full http://bit.ly/3UDAmd
- Top 10 real estate posts of the day for 11/19/2009 : Tempe real esatate and free home search:
[...] Seriously dude, learn to spell and write in paragraphs – This is why I spell check everything before I put it into MLS, because I am horrible at [...]
- Real Estate Investor:
Seriously Dude, Learn to Spell and Write in Paragraphs!: On the way home I say a bandit sign on the side of the.. http://bit.ly/4bIUBB
- stevebeam:
Bloggers should do this! http://ow.ly/DMCC
Benn Rosales
Conal Campbell
Elijah May
Lani Rosales
Tara Steele
Marti Trewe
Charlene Jimenez
That wuz a grate job Fred!!!!
That is one of my pet peeves. Another one is over flowery descriptions on “dog” property. Here is a funny video on that subject. http://realestateinvestorgirl.com/2009/09/21/how-to-describe-your-listings.aspx
I cnt spell neether
But the Little red line under just about ever application gives you a good indication. Our Birmingham mls system even has spell check option. Before that I would write in word to check for errors and then re post in the information section. My biggest thing is not being able to type very well not saying I would win a spelling bee.
All that being said we have an agent locally that has nothing better to do but go through our office listings finding mistakes so she can report the issue. Not saying any names but her first initial is Nicole
Fred are you one of those people LOL
DUDE, I may be on the short bus,but I’m trying really hard.
You are right, most of it is silly, but accidents do happen. Check your own post above where you typed “thing” instead of “think”. See, it sometimes does slip through the cracks.
Fred – I actually had a consumer tell me that they had visited several sites to read some blogs of agents that had been recommended to them by another agent. They eliminated anyone who had a flashy-look-at-me-I’m-the-greatest kind of site (they weren’t looking to work with any egos). Then they looked at experience (I lost on that criteria – I was still very new). Then they started reading. The woman was an ex-school teacher and said they eliminated several agents for spelling and grammar. The one that took the time to spell check and write sensible sentences wound up working with them. It was some of the best feedback from a consumer I never worked with I’ve ever had.
Write(sic) on Bruther(sic).
Your post illustrates one of my pet peeves. Why would you expect someone to write a legal document for you when they demonstrate their ignorance so blatantly?
While I would like to excuse typos, even a typo will change the meaning of a document.
Being careful is part of due diligence.
I wrote my comment before I left the office. On the way home I say a bandit sign on the side of the road. It read:
Real estate investor seek trainee. $20K/mo
I thought it would be funny if I placed a sign next to it:
Grammar teacher seeks real estate investor. FREE.
Just thought it was appropriate to mention this after reading your post today.
I honestly do work with an agent (I’m in tech, not real estate) who consistently misspells Realtor… in different ways… and he’s not being ironic. It’s hard to find a tactful way to tell people that their spelling may be turning people off. I try to offer helpful ways to combat these problems by suggesting they write things in Word first and then copy and paste it over. I even try some tough love like, “I would never buy a home from someone that has awful spelling habits because it makes me wonder if I’m going to end up living at 123 Mine Street instead of 123 Main Street.” They all laugh when I bring this up, but I wouldn’t say it if someone hadn’t done it already.
Spell check has been around for years folks, you should already know how to use it. The best part is that most modern browsers will auto spell check for you and underline anything in red that you get wrong. -Tyler
Of course, there are all those Realtors in the world that still need to go through their ESL classes (English as a Second Language).
Welcome to America, the great melting pot of the world and Real Estate, the greatest of all melting pot professions where you only need enough English language skills to pass the exam.
Fred, you’re a hoot. The more I read your stuff the more I love it.
BTW, that client you wrote about in the fourth paragraph – can I have one?