Forbes contributor Seth Porges says he’s discovered the secret to “hacking” real estate rental sites — look for apartments advertised with poorly lit photos and listing descriptions “that appear to be written by semi-competent real estate agents” who don’t know how to play up a condo’s features and location.
“What you want are places that could actually be nicer than their listings make them seem,” Porges says, because other apartment hunters “will skip right past it, and you are wading in a pool with far less demand, and you are far more likely to get a good deal.”
Seems like a strategy that might also work for homebuyers — that REO in an up-and-coming neighborhood might be overlooked because the agent’s put it in online with one exterior photo and little or no description.
It goes without saying that any advantage gained by renters and buyers employing this strategy comes at the expense of landlords and sellers, and agents can take most of the blame. Source: forbes.com.
