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To tell the truth: Some realtors skirt ethical lines on listings
Curious photographs and descriptions underscore the importance of visiting a home before you buy.
The listing description landed with a thud on social media back in July.
Tucked in West Roxbury, the three-bed, 3.5-bath home, listed for $778,000, featured hardwood floors, a flat and grassy yard, and a glaring inconsistency in its listing description: “Step into the warmth of this charming single-family home, situated in the coveted Boston Latin School District.” While admission to Boston Latin School is certainly coveted, it’s also a public exam school. Students must live within the City of Boston to attend, but simply residing there certainly doesn’t guarantee admission.
“Realtors just be lying,” read one of the comments.
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When contacted, the realtor said she had changed the wording.
While the description was ultimately edited, its presence signified a particular lack of candor or misinformation that can rear its ugly head in real estate listings. Occasionally, this can land agents in court. In the 2006 lawsuit Seit-Olsen v. Reliance Appraisals, LLC, a Michigan buyer sued a realtor over the square footage represented in the listing, among other complaints. The plaintiff argued that the home was 938 square feet because the basement couldn’t be counted. The realtor ultimately prevailed, but Reddit is rife with complaints about alleged inaccuracies in listing descriptions.
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In the Massachusetts case Schoembs v. Schena, Robert and Kimberly Schoembs sued sellers Robert and Christine Schena, the real estate brokers, and the home inspector in July 2007, alleging that the house they bought in Medford had “significant structural issues” and was smaller than the square footage the listing cited, according to research by attorney Mark S. Einhorn of Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks. The court sided with the defendants, ruling that the statute of limitations period had lapsed, and noted that the appraisal had the correct square footage, that the buyers should have noticed the square footage discrepancy during the walk-through, and that they purchased the property “as is.”
Let the buyer beware
But for prospective buyers attempting to navigate a chaotic market amid a housing shortage, surfing through online listings can mean inaccuracies ranging from doctored photographs to address fibs.
Many realtors say inaccuracies in listing descriptions can simply be the results of typos, auto-population, or lack of experience. Other times, listings include subtle acronyms to take the responsibility off the seller’s agent like “BATVAI,” which stands for “buyer’s agents to verify all information.”
More Fall House Hunt
In the Boston area, Jason Niles, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty-Cambridge, notices a lot of inaccuracies regarding a property’s ZIP code or neighborhood.
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“Sometimes people will have a place in Roxbury, and they want to make it be Jamaica Plain,” Niles said. “You’ll have Jamaica Plain 02131. No, that’s Roslindale.”
Kate Ziegler, a realtor with Arborview Realty in Boston, said many of the inconsistencies she sees in listing descriptions are associated with a home’s systems. She once took clients on a showing to a property listed as having a new heating system. But upon examination, Ziegler realized that while the water heater was new, the boiler was “fully depreciated.” Her clients’ interest in the property soon disappeared.
Listing photographs often can be the source of inaccuracies. While virtual staging can transform a space, agents are supposed to disclose that they used the technique, whether it appears in the text in the listing or on the photo itself. Sometimes agents will follow the staged photo with a picture that shows the space empty. And while drones provide great photography, the click of a button to zoom out can make a property appear much closer to the ocean than it is.
“In real estate, that’s called puffing,” said Ryan DeLisle, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty in Marblehead.
Some realtors argue that saying that a home is within “walking distance” to an attraction violates US Department of Housing and Urban Development fair housing laws. Einhorn said the wording does not break the law, but advises realtors to use more mindful language, such as “convenient access to,” “less than 100 yards from,” and “two blocks away.” “This approach ensures that the language is inclusive and considerate of all potential buyers and tenants,” he told the Globe.
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Michael McDonagh, general counsel for the realty firm Lamacchia Cos., said agents should also avoid saying whether an area is “safe.” McDonagh said the word is subjective and “even the safest neighborhoods have crime.” He also advises Lamacchia Realty agents to avoid mentioning the quality of the schools, because it may imply that the seller is looking for a particular type of buyer: a family.
Best look before you buy
Back in June, Laura Alix went to visit a two-bed, 1.5-bath condo in Somerville listed for nearly $600,000. While she thought the space looked a bit dirty in the listing photos, she realized the level of filth only when she arrived in person. Plus, the description didn’t mention the stench (“it just smelled so basement-y,” said Alix, a business writer) and the “ominous” stains.
At a time when prospective buyers feel burned out by their home search, discovering that a description is misleading can be particularly disheartening.
“There’s not a lot on the market anyway, and usually you’re trying to compete with people. It’s a whole other job to go look at places and try to put in an offer. It’s an emotional suck,” said Sarah Rodewald, broker and owner of SR Realty in Boston, who noted that it’s important to remain ethical while still serving her client. “It just doesn’t feel good.”
According to a representative for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, no listing inconsistency trends have been reported to the New England bureau’s ScamTracker. The bureau encourages people to research their agent and use realtors who are BBB accredited.
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To combat misleading listings, Ziegler tells her buyer clients early on to send her every listing they look at, even if they’re not serious about it yet. While prospective buyers may be bright-eyed and excited at the start of a home-buying journey, repeatedly showing up to properties that look great online and terrible in person can lead to significant frustration.
“Thirty years ago, you wouldn’t have seen a space online before deciding to go see it,” Ziegler said. “I can take a look and tell you what I see because I notice things that you don’t.”
Send comments to [email protected]. Follow Megan Johnson on X @megansarahj and Address @globehomes.
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