Alternative Truth, Propaganda and Real Estate

The term "alternative truth" has seen a lot of use in the media lately as a way to describe information put forth as true by the White House Administration despite considerable photographic and financial evidence to the contrary. The techniques of spinning the truth, downplaying negative facts in favor of positive ones and outright lying to sell an idea or object to the public are not new. Top performers in a wide variety of professions use "alternative truth" every day to make a ton of cash.

But this is, of course, a blog about real estate: the profession that makes it legal to exaggerate, spin the truth and obscure the facts. For a real estate agent, a tiny sliver of pond becomes a "waterfront view" and a house that's about to collapse into the ground is "fixer upper in need of some TLC." It's called "puffing" and it is actually legal. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) bans puffing in the Code of Ethics that governs its members, but your average rental agent in Chicago is not a member of NAR and not bound by their Code.

Today we're going to take apart some of the techniques used by leasing agents to guide your housing decisions. Not all of them are used to mislead or deceive you: sometimes an agent could be using propaganda to keep you from making a dangerous choice. However, when you see an agent laying it on too thick or using psychological shenanigans to distract you from major problems, we think you'll be grateful for this crash course in real estate "alternative truth."

Example #1: Foot-in-the-door

What they do/say:

• "Of course you can use my pen. No, no you keep it."
• "We drive you around!"
• "Our service is totally free to you!"

How it works: Offering a small free thing up front makes you think that you owe your agent a debt. Of course you'll stay with them and help them earn a commission since they were so generous to you! You wouldn't think of working with other agents or talking directly to the landlord!

Example #2: The Black-and-White Fallacy

What they do/say:

• "So do you like this one better than the last one we saw?"
• "I've shown you everything that fits your budget."

How it works: When you're repeatedly presented with options A and B, you tend to forget that options C, D, E and the rest of the alphabet exist. By restricting your perspective to only the listings that they've shown you, they reduce your ability to compare their inventory with the many other housing options that they cannot show you, including all of the apartments owned by landlords that refuse to work with agents.

Example #3: Plain folks

What they do/say:

• "I'm a renter too and I would love to live in a place like this - if I could afford it."
• "I know this rent seems expensive but it's about what I pay for a similar place and I've managed to make it work!"

How it works: The average Joe is just like you in every way. They know what it's like, they've walked a mile in your shoes. If it's good enough for the average Joe, it's probably good enough for you too, right? But how do you know for sure that your agent really is a renter just like you, or if they're saying what's necessary to get you to make an extravagant choice?

Example #4: Classical conditioning/appeal to prejudice

What they do/say:

• "The schools around here aren't that great." (Translation: The neighborhood is not wealthy and families avoid it.)
• "This is a very colorful and politically active area." (Translation: It's a gay district.)
• "This is such a diverse neighborhood! So many different restaurants!" (Translation: Nobody here speaks English as a first language.)

How it works: If you're allergic to peanut butter and always get sick from eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, eventually you'll view jelly pretty poorly too. If blue people are always around when buildings catch on fire, you'll eventually start to think that blue people cause fires. It's against the law for real estate agents to refer to protected classes such as race and religion as a way to influence their clients' decisions. However, they can use all sorts of euphemisms that clearly allow you to connect the dots.

Example #5: Ad nauseam/Beautiful people

What they do/say:

• Pushing homeownership over renting regardless of your current financial situation.
• "Homeownership is the American Dream."
• "This is a destination address."
• Placing stock photos of attractive people living in well-furnished luxury apartments all over their website.

How it works: This is the premise upon which the entire residential real estate industry stands: everyone should own a home. It's been repeated so many times that it's been largely accepted as the truth, even for those who move around often and those who don't have stable jobs. When you own a home you've "made it" - you're one of the important people. You'll be happy and attractive - until the bank wants to take it all back.

Example #6: Exaggeration and Minimization

What they do/say:

• Show the rooftop deck but skip the basement.
• Say it's waterfront property if the beach is within a quarter mile.
• Say it's a 2 bedroom when one bedroom is a closet with a curtain for a door.
• Load their ads with every possible neighborhood that could define an area.
• Assemble an ad for a non-existent apartment using the best photos from 6 or 7 different addresses.

How it works: This is the bait. They will say whatever they need to get you in the door. In the modern era this extends to search engine optimization, adding every possible key word you might use in a search box to make sure their ad is placed at the top of your results. It doesn't matter what's in the ad as long as it gets you to call them. Once you do, they can start using all of these other techniques to keep you there.

Example #7: Appeal to authority

What they do/say:

• "My boss says that when if doubt we should always take the place that we saw first."
• "Just like they say in the Jungle Book, 'Look for the bare necessities!'"
• "I'd really like to let you keep a dog here but my attorney says I shouldn't."

How it works: You might not trust your 22 year old agent's opinion, but you will probably put more faith in the opinion of an established professional third party, even if that third party isn't present, you've never met them, and they're also 22 years old.

Example #8: FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt)

What they do/say:

• "Oh you know you can't trust Yelp reviews, business pay people to write fakes!"
• "You'd better get your application in for this apartment quickly, or someone else will take it from you!"

How it works: By instilling doubt in your mind about existing proven sources, your new "source" gains your trust and can make you believe their version of the truth instead.

Example #9: The Big Lie

What they do/say:

• "I'd guess that this apartment is about 1000 square feet!"

How it works: Square footage in apartment advertising is a huge ongoing lie in Chicago real estate, repeated for so long that it became the truth. Someone realized that very few people would bother to measure the size of an apartment. So they rounded up a 700 sq ft apartment to 1000 sq feet because big numbers sounded better. For anyone who sees these apartments, their spatial sense is adjusted so they becomes their benchmark for 1000 square feet.

Chicagoans have now been viewing "1000 sq ft" or larger apartments for so long now that they've forgotten what 1000 sq ft actually feels like. Agents who dare to post the real, architecturally-calculated square footage of their listings online might even receive a call from another local landlord, scolding them for breaking step with the city's big lie and strongly suggesting that they fudge the numbers accordingly.

Example #10: Love bombing

What they do/say:

• Provide every possible amenity you could need, including social events where you can make friends in the building.

How it works: Much in the same way that cults operate, large apartment communities create social programs and amenities to minimize turnover. It isn't to make you happy, it's to keep you from leaving. By replacing your existing social circle and favorite outside businesses with their own, they ensure that you stay within their "family" for far longer than you intended.

Very few businesses can say that they completely avoid propaganda techniques. Can you spot all of the types we used in writing this article? Let us know in the comments - extra credit to anyone who includes a technique not included in this list!