Snippy Things Folks Say About Your Home Are Now Also Online

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Snippy Things Folks Say About Your Home Are Now Also Online

Real-Estate Web Sites Solicit Reviews of Listed Places; 'Rats the Size of a Dog'
By JAMES R. HAGERTY and KEVIN J. DELANEY
September 6, 2006; Page A1

(snip)

Operators of two real-estate Web sites, ZipRealty Inc. and Reply Inc., in August began encouraging customers to write reviews of homes available for sale. Early submissions suggest it might be better not to know what strangers really think about your house.

After a visit to a four-bedroom house offered for about $1.5 million in Lafayette, Calif., a ZipRealty customer writing under the pen name YuppieHomeBuyer remarked: "The house was OK, but the bathrooms should be cleaner. There were some broken tiles and loose panels. I wonder if water comes into the house or the basement during the rains." At a condo on offer for $389,000 in Cambridge, Mass., another anonymous Zip reviewer spotted "rot" in the bathroom, said the bathtub should be replaced and commented that the "green paint isn't nearly as charming in person as in photos." If all that wasn't bad enough, the reviewer added: "Neighborhood questionable. Two kids had a loud, screaming fight outside the door during showing. Loud cars drive up and down the street with thumping music." These rude reviews threaten to undercut the gushing language in marketing materials prepared by real-estate agents. Even worse for real-estate agents, the reviews are popping up just when a glut of homes on the market in many areas is allowing buyers to take their time, dwell on defects and demand price cuts. Some agents and homeowners already are howling that the reviews are hatchet jobs, perhaps motivated by spite or a desire to discourage competing bids for property the reviewers want to buy.

(snip)

The phenomenon has also reached rental properties. Apartment Ratings Inc., for one, says it has about 425,000 apartment ratings and reviews from around the country on its site. Internet company Yahoo Inc. is encouraging users to rate apartment complexes, as well as real-estate agents. On Yelp Inc.'s site, a renter complained about an apartment building in San Francisco's Mission district that she says was infested with "rats the size of a small dog." Another Yelp reviewer claimed she "risked getting splinters" from a broken wooden toilet seat in her apartment in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood.

(snip)

If some people post misleading reviews, others will step in to correct them, predicts Patrick Lashinsky, a senior vice president at Zip. Homeowners also might reply to criticism and provide more information, he says. Mr. Lashinsky says people at a screening service read each review before it is posted on the Zip site. Any reviews that might violate laws, such as those against racial discrimination, are blocked, as are those containing "inappropriate" content, including vulgarity, phone numbers or advertisements, he says. But Zip doesn't verify whether reviewers' descriptions of the homes are accurate. Zip's lawyers believe that providing a forum where consumers can post opinions about homes doesn't violate any laws or regulations, Mr. Lashinsky says.

(snip)

As for the home in Lafayette, Calif., Ann Ward, the real-estate broker managing the sale, says the bathrooms are "absolutely beautiful." She says that a viewing for a Zip customer was arranged on very short notice, which may have left little time for cleaning up. Steve Rankin, the agent for the condo in Cambridge where a Zip customer reported "rot" in the bathroom, concedes that there is "a little gushiness to the tiles." Replacing them, he says, would cost just $1,500. He adds that squabbles and loud music can erupt anywhere. "People fight in the most posh neighborhoods of all," Mr. Rankin says. "Just ask O.J. Simpson."

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URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115749793328554439.html (subscription)

[MADem]

1. Wow, I LOVE IT....what a timesaver for a househunter! NT

[Warpy]

2. Homeowners could also respond to repeated criticism

by fixing the problems. In a tough housing market, the house that's ready to move into with nothing but a change of paint color and some window coverings is going to sell a lot more quickly than one with cracked or missing tile, obvious leaks and other defects, and generally shabby appearance.

[yankeedem]

3. Very true

I just bought a house and we got one that was clean and needed nothing. It also had modern equipment and a home warrantly. We looked at about 20 houses and we saw lots of outdated stuff, which I can understand, but also lots of grime. One house very similar to the one we bought had an unkempt yard, scratches and stickers on the walls and smelled like cat pee. The house we bought had none of those problems.

Six weeks later, the other house sold for about 20% less than we paid for ours, having been dropped over 70k.

[fed-up]

7. looks like you wayyy overpaid-70K would get a lot of landscaping/carpeting

and a paint job.

Looks like the buyer of the house needing cosmetic repairs got a great deal...


Not everyone can afford to update cabinetry, I rather like my 1950's pine kitchen cabinets, they reminded me of the house I grew up in and are much nicer than the cheap particle board crap that can be found in some NEW houses.

[yankeedem]

8. looks like you've never bought a house

Obvious problems usually indicate unobvious problems- if there is such neglect of minor cosmetic issues, then likely some major issues are hiding too. I wasn't going to find out.

The house was also part of a divorce proceeding which was ugly, which meant that they were very motivated to sell.

[fed-up]

10. I bought my first house 20 years ago, an inspection would find major

problems. Major problems to watch for are roof, plumbing, electrical and foundation which are usually easy to spot. Other problems can be hidden by paint jobs, new carpeting etc. It is always buyer beware. Cosmetic things are usually cheap to fix. Outdated cabinets can be very expensive which is why they are not always replaced. As long as the house is solid that is all I care about.

I have lived in three different houses and sold twice before, with this being my third sale. I am downsizing and am lookng for one that will just need cosmetic work.

I am not replacing the carpet in mine (factored into the price) which is currently on the market because I want the new owners to be able to pick their colors. Previous owners put WHITE carpet down before I bought it.

[Truthiness Inspector]

4. Good to know

Very interesting article, thanks for posting it!

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Great idea. Would help cull out the misrepresented properties.

A place down the road from me just went up for nearly 900k. The ad description makes it sound like paradise, "tranquil and quiet". There are indeed some nice amenities, but the property sideline literally abuts a railroad whistle crossing, the home is no more than 50 feet from the tracks and sits only 30 feet away from a rather busy, although scenic, road.

The listing agent went way overboard on her description. There will be some disappointed and angry prospective home buyers on this particular listing. I'd be pissed if I drove a long distance to find these conditions weren't mentioned.

Thanks for a good post.

[fed-up]

6. Zip doesn't verify whether reviewers' descriptions of homes are accurate

I see some huge lawsuits if people post false statements about a house that cause a buyer to back out or not buy. (may be hard to prove)

So now a homeowner has to have a computer and has to check the realty websites to see if anything malicious or untrue is posted?

Since the market is in a cool period homeowner's don't need anything that may wrongly interfere with a sale.

A buyer should always get a professional home inspection done and should spend time at their potential new house at varying hours of the day.


just a venue-I call BS

[MadHound]

9. Just one more reason not to use a real estate agency

Frankly I've always thought of them as parasitic middlemen, and have never used one. I've bought two houses and sold three without using a real estate agency, and I've always gotten the prices I've wanted, buying or selling, and have had few hassles. I frankly don't see the need for a realtor, and judging from the horror stories of friends and aquaintences, I've been better off not using them.