Comments on: Trulia Discrepancy

By: Paula Henry

Paula Henry — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:33:03 +0000

Kevin – Is this the same one mentioned above? It clearly states it is for sale.

By: Kevin Tomlinson

Kevin Tomlinson — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:37:00 +0000

what is it with Trulia and Miami Beach real estate:

Here’s another one, guys.

Sorry for the link, Lani—

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Property_QandA/I_assume_that_the_price_on_this_property_is_incorr-130148

By: Kevin Tomlinson

Kevin Tomlinson — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:37:04 +0000

Realty Trac info is dicey, at best, and shouldn’t be used for a Trulia type web site.

I was reading something in the NYPost today that services like Realty Trac are almost unnecessary now.

By: Kevin Tomlinson

Kevin Tomlinson — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:33:14 +0000

Matt:
Hey how are you? Yes things have not gotten that bad and I wonder what the larger issue is a Trulia with regard to these “blips”. I notice them all the time and most are the aggregate amount (like the house on North Bay Road) of the yearly lease amount.

Right now it’s kinda a free for all because so many people feed info to Trulia–some good and, well, others not.

By: Matt Carter

Matt Carter — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:25:53 +0000

Go to Trulia and search for homes in Miami Beach for under $100,000. I just did and got 244 results. Many or most are foreclosures.

Here’s part of the description for one: “This property is an REO (Real Estate Owned). This is the final step in the foreclosure process. Ownership has reverted to the lender. This 0 square foot property has 0 bedroom(s) and 0 bath(s). The estimated sale price is $2100.”

You can pick up homes in Detroit right now for $2,100, but I don’t think things have gotten that out of hand in Miami Beach. That figure is most likely the amount of a lien against the property, not the lender’s asking price.

I’d be very surprised if any of the homes that came up in the search can be had for less than $100,000.

Same issue crops up at other sites that carry foreclosure “listings” that aren’t necessarily listings, but information on distressed properties culled from public records. Many of these homes are not actually on the market — in some cases their owners may be trying to negotiate workouts with lenders.

There’s definitely a demand for that kind of info, but it can be confusing when these properties are mixed in with MLS listings…

By: Brendan Aiello - Team Tapper Realtors

Brendan Aiello - Team Tapper Realtors — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:20:06 +0000

Happens all the time. The information given to trulia isn’t always just MLS IDX. They use a company called, “Realty Trac” which gives trulia viewers abstracts of what is defaulting. The prices seen are usually what the home owner still owes or how far behind he/she is.

By: Weekend in Rearview | Shout-Out Mania | My Realtor Jake

Weekend in Rearview | Shout-Out Mania | My Realtor Jake — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:04:10 +0000

[...] brewing in response to a post about a discrepancy on Trulia (shout-out to Agent Genius blogger Ines Hegedus-Garcia). I’m a big fan of Trulia, Zillow, ANYTHING Google, etc and use them all the time. In fact, [...]

By: Joe Loomer

Joe Loomer — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:32:30 +0000

When you get down to the smaller areas of the country – like my own – you find the mistakes become more prevalent. I’ve had past clients calling me (for some reason they believe I can fix this) about Google Earth showing their address on a home five doors down and across the street, and their home still showing as for sale on Trulia. I explain about going to the site and “claiming” the property and moving it, but the layman doesn’t have the time or the inclination. They simply feel like it’s something I did purposefully. Explaining indexing and other terms might as well have me going “blah, blah, blah.”

I have had positive experiences with Trulia Voices, which alerts me automatically to mostly relevant real estate questions from bonafide buyers and sellers in my town. For God’s sake, let’s not get on them for pulling data wrong . Our local MLS is finally kicking and screaming (and still somewhere around 2005), several websites index our properties with the bathrooms and bedrooms “flipped.” Not good.

By: Kevin Tomlinson

Kevin Tomlinson — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:45:28 +0000

OH man reading all these comments—there are some pretty nasty conspiracy theories cooked up here.

Man!

By: Kevin Tomlinson

Kevin Tomlinson — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:43:44 +0000

No, no guys. This is such a non issue and i said so. I said it back on the Trulia site and anyone who’s been in the biz more than four months could see it:

The property was listed for rent (originally at $45K per month) so $540,000 was the aggregate amount of the lease for a year ($45k x12).

This is actually the rental listing that was being displayed.

This is so not a crime. Almost a non-issue.

By: Chris Bailey

Chris Bailey — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:16:11 +0000

In the org branding model I use, there’s a small element called Trust. If you can’t trust the organization for accuracy and focus, then the brand suffers. So Trulia needs to put some energy into managing its content for accuracy or it will fade into the ether while another online site comes along and builds a better brand. Maybe a few less gurus and a few more experienced brand-focused marketers might do the trick?

By: Matt Stigliano

Matt Stigliano — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:04:42 +0000

Ines – It seems lately like many of my Trulia Voices answers involve old listings, questionable foreclosures, or the most recent one – which is an agent manually entering HUD homes, but using the wrong photos, listing the street name as a place that doesn’t exist (the new favorite is “Readynow”)…the same agent also likes to advertise their tax preparation services (they’re free!). It’s aggravating to say the least when I feel I have to clean up someone else’s mess. Of course, I could avoid it all together, but I think there’s a certain value to it (both for myself and the consumer), so I carry on anyway. I just try to do my best to explain to the consumer what may have happened and then flag the post. I doubt there will ever be a perfect listing site, just because there are plenty of people in this world that just don’t care about the details. To me it’s the same problem as agents who put in “Nice house.” for a description. The details are the key to solving problems, but I don’t think we’ll ever convince everyone to care about them.

By: Kori Covrigaru

Kori Covrigaru — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:22:30 +0000

Does the extend of the numeric error really matter though? Is it more of a crime for the error to be $5 million off rather than say $80k?

You state that the consumer looks to Trulia for accurate data, and “this reflects poorly on them since the consumer is trusting them as a provider of current and factual real estate information.” I think we are in an age where the consumer MUST know and understand that when it comes down to it, the agent representing the listing must be held accountable for misrepresenting the listing. Its like getting ticked off at facebook because someone provides inaccurate info about their work history, age and gender. If you think a listing in that location with that size and those pictures is going for under a million, you were probably not serious about purchasing a home in that area to begin with. You were probably a “window shopper” (song by 50 Cent).

In the end, everyone needs an agent to sort out all this business, and make sure information is valid and credible.

By: Ines Hegedus-Garcia

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:28:38 +0000

Kori, I can’t speak for other boards but here in Miami our board fines you if there is incorrect information on the MLS (i.e. if you keep a listing Active when it’s already under contract or sold – when you publish wrong information) – they give you a warning to correct mistakes and then fine you.

As much as many may dislike the concept of R.com, at least their information is monitored by local boards and the extent of mistakes may be listings that are no longer active – not $6.9 million listings that appear as $540,000

By: Rudy

Rudy — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:08:26 +0000

All fixed. Looks like it was a feed error.

http://www.trulia.com/property/1063566142-2700-N-Bay-Rd-Miami-Beach-FL-33140

By: Kori Covrigaru

Kori Covrigaru — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:40:24 +0000

Errors occur no matter what site you’re using. Human and technological errors are, and always will be unavoidable. Last week, I searched Realtor.com (a site I trust more than others) for condos in Boulder, CO. I found two I liked and contacted both agents. Turns out they were BOTH sold over a month ago. How can this be? On Realtor.com? They get their data straight from the MLS. This is simply an issue of human or technological errors, neither of which are avoidable.

By: Ines Hegedus-Garcia

Ines Hegedus-Garcia — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:25:12 +0000

Rudy, thanks for coming by and clearing things up and knowing that this is nothing against you personally. If the issue was one isolated case I would be less likely to even point it out, but it seems to be happening more and more often lately.

It is Trulia’s responsibility to check, double check and monitor their sources and of course the job is not easy if the broker is providing the wrong information. But I would be happy if Trulia were to be very open and clear to the consumer about the possibilities of inaccurate information.

The consumer that contacted me yesterday felt it was a “bait and switch” tactic from the provider (his words exactly). When the consumer starts feeling tricked, you know SOMETHING needs to change.

By: Mark Brian

Mark Brian — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:59:50 +0000

I try to contribute to the online communites such as Trulia and it is sad to see how many questions from buyers/sellers are regarding incorrect information. Or is it not sad because it shows a computer program can never take the place of a real estate professional with local hands on expertise?

By: Paula Henry

Paula Henry — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:19:06 +0000

Ines – Funny – I just received an email stating there was a new question on T. It wasn’t really a question, but a statement form a hoemowener who wanted to clarify the home listed on T was listed in the wrong neighborhood. It’s not a home for sale, T is now adding homes in neighborhoods throughout the country for the sole purpose of ranking for addresses and subdivisions. This is a lack of diligence on their part.

While it may not seem an issue to be listed in the wrong neighborhood, it certainly is if there is a distinct property value diference and T has comparative property values on their site.

This isuue has really struck a nerve with me becasue of recent events here in Indy. We are held to a higher standard in reporting to our MLS and when a buyer searches our websites (assuming they are allowed to be indexed) they are receiving accurate data (for the most part).

And, what seller wants inaccurate data out there as comparable homes?

Although I don’t put any info there, I did sign up for Trulia Pro when it first came out and it’s interesting to see the public response to these type of situations. The public is watching and luckily they are seeking reputable agents who can give them accurate data.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:51:13 +0000

Hi Ines!

Thanks for the post and for flagging it. We will look into the cause of the error and correct as needed.

If you click on the link within the listing,

http://www.trulia.com/property/1080241813-2700-N-Bay-Rd-Miami-Beach-FL-33140

you will see there is an error on Sotheby’s side:

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/ErrorPages/500.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/PropertyDetails.aspx

http://www.trulia.com/property/1080241813-2700-N-Bay-Rd-Miami-Beach-FL-33140

We take errors like this very seriously and do our best to eliminate data errors we receive from 3rd parties. We have internal mechanisims in place to help and are always looking to improve our system.

Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia