Why do some listings have no interior photos, and missing info?

Question

Ugh. I just drove an hour out of town, and back,  to look at a fourplex, and didn't realize until I got there that it had been in a fire. The interior of one of the units was completely  covered in black soot. This was not mentioned in the listing. The other 3 units were not available for viewing — they only put a lockbox on the extra tasty crispy burned one, so I just looked in the windows. That makes it super hard to evaluate the property... but based on the fire, it's a no-go anyway. Also, it was one of ten fourplexes for sale, and all ten were completely vacant. That was also a surprise. I've been trying to evaluate multifamily properties in the Dallas area for purchase, and I've noticed that a lot of the listings are just so vague. Some properties don't have photos. Some have only one photo of the exterior, with no interior photos. Many are missing most or all of the financials. My real estate agent tried to call the listing agent for more information, but he didn't answer his phone or call back. There was another property I had found on LoopNet, but when I emailed to ask for more information, the agent wanted proof of financial performance before sharing any details. Anyone know why listing agents and/or owners hold back so much information that's crucial to making a decision on buying a property? It's so frustrating. I thought I had found a smoking hot deal, but this is not what I had in mind. Lost a day's work, with nothing to show, and it could have been avoided if they just disclosed the fire in the listing. Many investors might still be interested; I just don't have the cash for that type of rehab right now.

Ryder Meehan · Answer

I couldn't agree enough.  A realtor or REI gets thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on the sale - you would think they least they could do is spend an hour taking photos and writing a description with some basic performance numbers.  They could also save themselves a lot of trouble fielding calls if the info was in the listing.  For these reasons and others I always insist on creating my own listings for sales and rentals - even though I still use a realtor for other parts of the process.

Laurie Williamson · Answer

Y'all, thanks for validating me and my whining! I guess I just really wanted to complain to a group of people who could empathize. :) @Daria B., that must have been so frustrating! My real estate agent mentioned that the listing I looked at had been a prior foreclosure and also was bank-owned. She said the listing agents probably were not getting much of a commission on it, so they did the bare minimum. Sounds like your situation might have been similar. @Don Johnston, thanks for joining the club! ;) Yes, you would think that someone on BP would know what investors are looking for — but it seems like either a case of laziness/disinterest at best, or intentional dishonesty/withholding information at worst. I feel like, as an investor, I am going to do my due diligence and any issues will be exposed in that process. Just because I discover a problem, that is not going to mean I'm not interested in a deal. I just might want to negotiate based on the situation. An investor with deeper pockets might want the complex I looked at today, and including the information that it had been in a fire might attract the right kind of investor. For me, though, I want something with minor / cosmetic repairs. So it was just a total waste of time! Appreciate you both and good luck on your next purchases!

Don Johnston · Answer

I have not had much of a good experience with any real estate agent I have had to use or be in contact with.  @Laurie Williamson and @Daria B. add me to your club of frustrated real estate ad viewers.  I have found it no different here on BP in the Market Place...maybe even worse.  Barely a picture with words touting a "Great Deal for Investors" but absolutely no numbers for us to run on the calculators on this site.  And what I have seen when browsing through a lot of the posts, they don't have the decency to respond to any questions.

As far as the real estate agents are concerned, most have no clue how to market an investment property so don't know what we mean by financials and they are too lazy to go out and take good pictures and post them.  One point in their defense, they would have to get the renter's approval to take photos and most won't allow it because it would be proof of how they are trashing the place.

Those who post in the Market Place here have no excuse.  Totally inexcusable when you post a property with a thumbnail picture, asking price and swear it will cash flow like the golden goose but when asked to provide more information, they just come back with "What other information would you like?"  In my opinion, best to keep their names in a spreadsheet of people NOT to do business with.

So...can you tell you touched on one of my BIG pet peeves?

P.S.  Just today, I looked at someone's post in the Market Place that had a very brief but honest description and a link to a host of great inside / outside pictures.  I left a post commending him on the pictures...the kind any rehabber would love to see on any property for sale.

Daria B. · Answer

That's happened to me as well. I drove from Gainesville FL to Tallahassee FL all to find the duplex in ruins.

Luckily I was making it a see-friends-and-scope-the-area weekend. It wasn't just to see the duplex.

I thought it rather misleading that the pictures didn't reflect the true condition. I don't know if that is all on the agent or if the owner says use these regardless. That duplex happened to be a foreclosure so it was owned by the bank.

Got there and the place was vandalized. We never found out if it was the owners or tenants. I did a little research on the owners from finding their name in public records tied to the property. They were flippers.

Sorry you had to drive all that way only to be disappointed.

I think they hold back the true condition because they know no one will want to buy it. Or that they will be limiting their buyer pool.

Why do some listings have no interior photos, and missing info?

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