I ran across an ad for rental property in a Front Royal paper this past week.

The ad states:

"Rent to Own - Problem Credit OK - Earn Rent Credits"

Then it asks "Why should you rent to own?"

And it answers:

• It's fast and easy (move in days)
• You don't need a 20% down payment
• No bank qualifying
• You don't need good credit
• No fees, commissions or closing costs
• Earn Equity faster than purchasing

Some of these points are clearly true. Renting is faster than buying, generally. A bank is generally not involved is another true statement. And, no one asks for 20% of the purchase price up front for a rental. (But how many people put 20% down on a home these days?!)

The "don't need good credit" is disturbing. If you're a seller and can't sell so decide to go the rent to own route, you're setting yourself up for serious problems down the road if you don't care about the renters credit. And, if there is a credit check and people with low credit scores are turned away this is very misleading.

"No fees, commissions or closing costs" is another misleading item. There may not be the closing costs associated with purchasing a home, but there is almost certainly a deposit. And some of the rental deposits can be very large, up to three months' rent.

The last one is laughable. "Earn Equity faster than purchasing" the ad says. With a rent to own situation typically some of your rent each month is going towards an eventual down payment. The ad says up to $400 in this instance. But depending on the house and the situation there's no automatic guarantee that you're earning equity faster. There are people getting great deals on short sales and foreclosures where they are getting thousands of dollars in immediate equity. And, each month when they make their mortgage payment their equity is increasing as well.

Of course, there are also plenty of people in this market whose equity is decreasing right now.

But the point is that whoever wrote the ad can't possibly guarantee anything with regards to equity.

If you're looking for a rent to own situation, be careful of ads like this. The actual property for rent may be a great one. The deal may be terrific. But you should be on full alert given the lack of honesty in the ad!

I was fortunate enough to hear John Tuccillo speak this week. John was formerly the chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS and I always appreciate his candor.

John's remarks along with some statistics I heard yesterday reinforce yet again how insane it is for real estate agents to continue to pour tons of money into print advertising.

Yesterday I heard a statistic from a national marketing group that only 4% of all newspaper readers ever look at the classified ads, including real estate ads. Today John Tuccillo talked about how the younger generation, basically most people under 40, never, ever pick up a newspaper. Think about that! What is the population most likely to be buying the typical suburban family home? It's the 20 and thirty somethings! And they're not looking for those homes in print, they're looking at the internet.

I'd add another factor in here locally. Buyers got trained during the booming sellers market that there was no point in looking in print, even in they were so inclined. The houses in the newspaper were under contract before that newspaper ever hit the stands.

So, it makes no sense to advertise in print from a seller's perspective because that's not where buyers look. It makes no sense to advertise in print from a real estate agent's perspective because they're throwing away enormous sums of money. Why, then, are there still so very many print ads?

One reason is habit! Real estate agents can be a slow bunch to adjust to change! Advertising in the newspaper and putting up signs is how real estate has been sold for generations!

One reason is sellers who don't yet get it either. But it's our job as their agent to educate them. If an agent is spending all their advertising money to get the client's home in the newspaper, that leaves next to nothing for the online advertising that can truly make a difference!

And, just putting it in the MLS is not an internet marketing strategy!

Bottom line is, both agents and sellers need to adjust to the new reality of today's marketplace!