In Search of Internet “Wisdom”
Residential real estate has been completely revamped over the last two decades through the surging power of the Internet, yet it’s imperative that consumers understand and accept that websites and Google searches have clear limits. Failure to come to grips with this drawback often is the difference between success and failure in the purchase or sale of a home. No doubt buyers and sellers have been empowered by the Internet, yet some fail to discriminate valid from bogus information and all too often they fall prey to the modern equivalent of a cyberspace snake oil salesman.
That’s why BrokerIntell offers a closed technology system, one that provides clients with the power and information they need and deserve, yet strips away the superfluous and inaccurate.
Take, for example, two of the most common uses of the Internet in real estate: searching for a home to buy, and figuring out how much a home might be worth In both instances, BrokerIntell would offer what it believes is a statement of fact: Some websites care not at all about the accuracy of the information they provide. All they are interested in is your personal details. Let’s say in anticipation of a move a search is conducted of homes listed for sale throughout a specific region using one of the many real estate websites designed for that purpose. The user is directed to complete one page of a form, asking for information on what type of housing is desired by price, home type, number of bedrooms, amenities and more. Once completed, once the user has invested some personal time and energy, a second page comes up asking a few more questions, such as your name, email address, employer, mailing address, and telephone number.
Some folks think nothing of it, providing their personal details and quickly hitting the “enter” key so they can quickly view homes listed for sale. It’s fast, yet it’s not always trustworthy or reliable.
Indeed, in some instances the people operating the website have exactly what they wanted — a lead that can be sold to companies that pay a fee to obtain personal data. Who cares if the real estate information you need has not been updated for weeks?
Your email inbox may shortly thereafter be flooded with spam from any and every company under the sun. Sure, perhaps you got some details on homes listed for sale, yet can you be certain the information is current and accurate? Even if you find a house you like, the listing may no longer be available. There are plenty of reliable websites out there that offer accurate, timely information.
Yet for a transaction to proceed smoothly, clients and their real estate professionals need to using similar, if not identical, relevant data. That’s why BrokerIntell provides an array of powerful support services for its clients. Still, if you want to do your own research, ask your BrokerIntell expert which sites are worthy and which websites are best avoided. It would save both of you a lot of grief, false starts, and wasted time.
It’s fantastic that clients want to be and deserve to be empowered, yet a dose of wisdom is needed when deciding who to listen to and which Internet sites are run by professionals and which one are operated by con artists and charlatans.
