Sopher Realty Broker Insists: We're Still in Business!

Back at the end of January we highlighted an interesting back and forth between the Riverdale Press and one of Riverdale's powerhouse realty companies, Sopher Realty.

You can click here to check out the post, but a basic summary is as follows: a Riverdale Press article implied that Sopher Realty's residential division was maybe/sorta/kinda gunna be closing up shop. A broker from Sopher's residential division, Vivian J. Oleen, then sent a Letter to the Editor basically schooling the Riverdale Press for getting this one all wrong.

Well, back in the beginning of this month, Vivian left yet another rebuttal to the Riverdale Press as a comment on our old post regarding the situation.

Here's what she had to say:

Yes, it is true that Sopher no longer takes out the full-page ad in The Press but that does not mean a) that we are out of business; b) that we no longer advertise in other places; and c) that we do not, from time to time, place ads in The Press' classified ad section. Judging by the feedback from customers, clients and potential clients, The Press' misstatement has cost us business because people believe what they read and no amount of corrections or letters to the editor in subsequent editions of the paper convinces them otherwise. They have to hear it directly from me, or from one of the Sophers--we are in business! (For example, as I write this, I am working with attorneys to set up a closing on one of my listings.) We are advertising! We have many active customers and clients! How many have we lost due to The Press' blunder? It's hard to tell. But if the author of the story had shown it to us prior to publication then this entire mess could have been averted. Furthermore, if the market returns to normal, and we do our normal volume of business, then we will perhaps reconsider our decision regarding Press advertising. I do notice that some other agencies have reduced their ad sizes, or have stopped advertising on a continuing basis, or have left The Press entirely. To single us and our situation out without mentioning the others was just plain unfair. Vivian Oleen, Associate Broker, Sopher Realty

So, for all you readers out there who give a crap, here it is once and for all: Sopher Realty's residential division has not gone down the shitter - they're still in business!

~ErLu