I think that too many real estate agents on Trulia see this as merely a self-marketing platform rather than a user forum. Experienced consumers see right thru this though as evidenced by the thumbs up/down ratings. My philosophy is that if you treat the consumer with respect, they will respond in kind, and sometimes even with their business. The totally self-promoting real estate agents will never understand this, but in the end, it will make the rest of us look better, Don't you agree?

Hi Pam,

I am also frustrated lately. A consumer asked a question about the Lake Nona Area in Orlando and a Realtor replied by saying she should buy i n his area instead and put his phone number on the answer and nothing more.. The public is pretty smart and hopefully they will see how transparent it was and how desparate he sounded. Lake Nona which is not my farm is a great area, and I followed his post with mine.

I certainly don't approve of Realtors ofering cash incentives on Trulia. Have you seen that?

Pam,

I agree, but that's part of the structure. I can't fault anyone for it since one's own contact information can be accessed by just clicking on your profile, I suppose there's nothing wrong with just providing it as part of the answer. If you give really good answers, and you give your contact info, then I suppose the public might be more likely to contact you first since your contact info is in their face.

It's just the nature of the beast.

Best regards,

Jeffrey