Aren’t You Tired of the Hello Are Your Carpets Dirty Guy?

Don’t you ever wonder how many do-overs the guy who recorded Hello Are Your Carpets Dirty had to do? Because you just know he had supervision, some manager, carpet store owner, who oversaw the production of that Robocall and squealed, “Can you just say it with a little more energy?” — until the guy was so far over the top he was completely irritating. “Yeah, yeah, that’s it, make them want to stab your eyes with an icepick.” The good news is new federal regulations are supposed to put a stop to this robo-calling business.

The FCC’s new Robocall rules say the consumer must give written consent to receive this crap. Further, the telemarketers can’t call a residential landline based on an “existing business relationship” — oh, thank goodness, just in time for the next election. And the icing on the cake is the telemarketers are supposed to give callers an “opt out” right at the beginning of the message, before the words Hello Are Your Carpets Dirty leave their lips.

See, I never get past that first sentence because I’ve already hit erase again on the answering machine. So far, they aren’t calling my cellphone, yet.

Even more interesting is how the new FCC rules affect real estate agents and mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers, according to C.A.R., are not allowed to contact a borrower more than 18 months after the loan closed. Real estate agents can’t call sellers of expired or canceled listings if their numbers are listed on the Do Not Call Registry. Call me silly, but I highly suspect few of these individuals will comply, either due to cluelessness or outright refusal. This is Amaireeeeka.

Why, just yesterday I received a spam newsletter from a mortgage broker. I emailed to explain I do not know him, have not business with him, and I am trying to reduce the amount of unwanted emails I receive every day. It was, after all, my second request to him. There are days I receive anywhere from 300 to 500 daily emails as a Sacramento real estate agent. Unfortunately, in my haste to get rid of this guy, I had clicked “reply all”, and my kind request begging him to stop emailing me went out to all of his customers.  Question: what kind of person sends a bulk email exposing addresses? Answer: I guess the kind who spams real estate agents.

When I complained, he wrote back to argue that he had represented a buyer who bought one of my sellers’ listings last year, so he figured we had “worked together.” He was hurt I didn’t remember him. Why would I? My records show I closed more than 100 homes last year. Moreover, to a Sacramento listing agent, a mortgage broker is a third-party vendor hired by a person the agent does not represent. There is no working relationship. I work with the buyer’s agent, not by extension the buyer’s mortgage lender.

For more information, please see the FCC Do Not Call List website. And let’s tell the Hello Are Your Carpets Dirty guy to stuff a sock in it.