This post comes to us from the Market Leader blog:

While many agents are working hard to protect the real estate profession's good name, along comes Mr. Exaggeration or Ms. Lazy, and all that work seems to be for naught.

Sure, those agents took an oath to be ethical (if they hold the Realtor® designation), and they are held to the same fiduciary duties as all real estate agents. Yet many real estate consumers seem to have a never-ending list of complaints about agents and their lack of honesty and integrity.

Take the Realtors® Code of Ethics (1-3), for instance: "Realtors®, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value." Yet how many times a month do you hear about an agent who tried to buy a listing?

Here are three major ways that agents tick off real estate consumers.

1. Be Photographically Illiterate

A really good way to get potential buyers to click away from your online listing in disgust is to be photographically-challenged. There is simply no excuse to post a listing online, or even in the MLS, without a photo. And if you think that "Too New!" label suffices, think again. If you want your listing to get that all-important early attention, you must post great photos with it.

Then there are agents who don't post enough photos. One photo of the front of the house is useless to homebuyers. Again, unless the exterior of the house is absolutely compelling, you probably ticked off a pool of potential buyers by not showing them enough of the home. Click: They've moved on to the next listing.