{"id":2551,"date":"2008-01-30T09:35:07","date_gmt":"2008-01-30T16:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=2551"},"modified":"2008-01-30T09:41:21","modified_gmt":"2008-01-30T16:41:21","slug":"i-hear-rumors-all-the-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2551\/i-hear-rumors-all-the-time\/","title":{"rendered":"I hear rumors all the time"},"content":{"rendered":"

But I rarely blog about them.<\/p>\n

This<\/em> builder’s going out of business. This<\/em> one’s filing bankruptcy. This<\/em> one has plenty of cash on hand. This<\/em> broker’s dipping into their equity line. This<\/em> lender’s leaving the business. This<\/em> agent has a second job.<\/p>\n

It’s a real estate blogger’s responsibility – ethically (at least per NAR and common sense), and one assumes legally, to present the best, most accurate information possible. I do this for two reasons – <\/p>\n

1) I want readers, potential clients, the general public and my peers to respect my opinion and my credibility.
\n2) I don’t want to get sued.
\n3) I really, really don’t want to get sued.<\/p>\n

Builders and companies frequently sometimes do file bankruptcy, having sheltered and protected their assets appropriately, and then re-open under a different name. It’s a fact of doing business. <\/p>\n

I trade on my credibility – with my clients and potential clients, my fellow Realtors, builders, developers, the public and the media. Damaging that credibility – even by an infinitesimal amount – is not an option.<\/p>\n

When on a panel at Inman Connect about blogging, someone asked how I handle writing about local builders and developments, whether I criticize them (in comparison to Jonathan Butler’s excellent Brooklyn blog<\/a>, which is all about neighborhood and property reviews – and much, much more).<\/p>\n

The dilemma is this – step into the world of investigative blogging that might impede one’s ability to do business locally, or write a great piece that might make news and generate conversation – yet alienate those with whom one does business?<\/p>\n

I choose to maintain the delicate balance that exists between being a Realtor – a buyer’s agent advocating for my clients’ best interests, a listing agent representing sellers – and the blogger\/journalist whose foray into biting investigative journalism\/expose could terminate my real estate career. Getting sued could turn out to be the least of my worries if I were to become persona non grata<\/em> to the community in which I have strived to excel.<\/p>\n

Sellsius have the legal primer<\/a>, summed up with this (all bloggers should read this post):<\/p>\n

Bloggers should be careful to couch all writing as Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This agent has a second job.It’s a real estate blogger’s responsibility – ethically (at least per NAR and common sense), and one assumes legally, to present the best, most accurate information possible…. Damaging that credibility – even by an infinitesimal amount – is not an option.When on a panel at Inman Connect about blogging, someone asked how I handle writing about local builders and developments, whether I criticize them (in comparison to Jonathan Butler’s excellent Brooklyn blog, which is all about neighborhood and property reviews – and much, much more).The dilemma is this – step into the world of investigative blogging that might impede one’s ability to do business locally, or write a great piece that might make news and generate conversation – yet alienate those with whom one does business?I choose to maintain the delicate balance that exists between being a Realtor – a buyer’s agent advocating for my clients’ best interests, a listing agent representing sellers – and the blogger\/journalist whose foray into biting investigative journalism\/expose could terminate my real estate career. Getting sued could turn out to be the least of my worries if I were to become persona non grata to the community in which I have strived to excel.Sellsius have the legal primer, summed up with this (all bloggers should read this post):Bloggers should be careful to couch all writing as opinion, double check sources and watch it when it comes to private figures…. (actually, father and husband come first and second)Finding out the finances of the builder might be sound due diligence for clients seeking to purchase new construction; publishing that to my blog is an entirely different matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-real-estate","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11252,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/11252\/real-estate-broker-sued-for-secondhand-smoke\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":0},"title":"Real Estate Broker Sued for secondhand smoke","author":"Robert Worthington","date":"February 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Alyssa Burrage was smoked out of her $405,000 condominium. Burrage has a history of asthma and has smelled smoke since she first viewed the unit on the south end of Boston in 2006 with her real estate broker.\u00a0 The broker assured Burrage the smoke she smelled was from a previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/burning_cigarette1-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/69\/lets-go-get-sued\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":1},"title":"Let’s go get sued . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"June 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"In a comment below, Jon offers this:What are you talking about? Lawsuits against emongoo, zillow and refin? None of them are doing anything wrong...sorry to say. I looked at emongoo, zillow and redfins sites and I don't see anywhere where they say they give legal advice.First, I only cited legal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/73\/lets-go-get-sued-some-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":2},"title":"Let’s go get sued some more…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"At 360 Digest, an exceptionally fine real estate weblog, Marlow Harris weighs in with this idea about an incipient on-line real estate start-up:Blue Roof, like Redfin and Zip Realty, misrepresents their status as \"Realtor\" and claims to be a member of the National Association of Realtors and adhere to its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":72,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/72\/lets-go-get-sued-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":3},"title":"Let’s go get sued again…","author":"Greg Swann","date":"July 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Before we hopped our Southwest flight to Sin City, I had time to read but not comment upon this bit by Catherine Reagor of the Arizona Republic. The truth is, it gets hard to care after a while. Whether the Republic's real estate reporting is completely tendentious, completely uninformed or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6980,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/6980\/bankrupt-ideas-for-changing-bankruptcy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":4},"title":"Bankrupt Ideas for Changing Bankruptcy","author":"Sean Purcell","date":"February 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Two excerpts from a local article:\u00a0 Bankruptcy reform could help hard-up homeowners Overwhelmed by debt from credit cards, a $536-a-month truck payment, $8000 in overdue property taxes and two mortgages, the single homeowner is hoping (San Diego bankruptcy attorney) Colwell can remove the $84,000 second loan on his home, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17816,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17816\/overnight-news-if-an-ibuyer-talks-you-into-taking-a-lowball-offer-in-the-midst-of-a-market-frenzy-how-sued-should-they-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":2551,"position":5},"title":"Overnight News: If an #iBuyer talks you into taking a lowball offer in the midst of a market frenzy, how sued should they\u00a0be?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"February 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The world I live in is routinely selling at around 5% over market: If a house lists at or above its current Fair Market Value, when it closes it will turn out to have sold for ~105% of FMV. That's bidding wars, and it's less the agents' skills than the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}