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Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly
The Real Estate Adviser

July 24, 1998

'Cozy' or cramped: Who's to blame when real estate ads fib?

By TOM KELLY
The Real Estate Advisor

The young couple, with three school-aged children in tow, had just boarded the Washington State ferry at the Coleman Dock. They were returning to Kitsap County, real estate advertisements in hand, to tour more homes. King County prices simply had jumped out of their reach.

While reading the ads on board, the woman said: "We saw this home last time. It's not as great as the ad makes it sound."

The couple is not alone in its opinion. Advertisements sometimes are too complimentary and do not accurately describe the property for which they were written. Some home owners and some real estate agents, like many people in the sales game, dress up a product prettier than it actually is to lure the largest number of potential buyers.

Do you steam when you follow up on a newspaper ad for "cozy cottage" and find a falling-down fixer? Can the term "waterfront access" accurately describe a public boat launch 3 miles away?

Does the medium in which the ad appears have the obligation to check these ads for accuracy?

In a capsule, you don't shoot the messenger. Most of the time, when an ad is out of line, so is its author.

"Ordinarily, the newspaper would not have the obligation to check the accuracy of the ad," said Stephen A. Smith, media attorney in the Seattle law office of Preston, Gates and Ellis.

"The newspaper would be held to the ordinary standard of care. This basically means that unless the paper knew, or should have known, about an inaccuracy, it has no real duty to investigate the factual statements made in the advertisement."

There's no doubt that it is extremely difficult to continually find ways to describe homes. Let's face it -- ordinary places are ordinary. Many agents dread the task and some firms now have designated ad writers.

Ten years ago, when home-loan rates jumped out of sight, agents and ad writers were faced with the difficult task of merely getting buyers to look at homes. Some ads were clearly in dreamland.

For the past three months, with home-loan rates bouncing near their lowest levels in 20 years, potential buyers have not had to be coaxed to Sunday open houses.

The market is good and if there is a complaint registered by sellers, it's usually about window shoppers who constantly tour but seemingly never make a competitive offer.

Newspaper classified managers say they rarely get a complaint about a real estate ad. Many give advertisers booklets to explain newspaper policies and copy guidelines, but they are also reminded that misleading advertising usually reflects negatively on the advertiser's business or product.

Smith, who represents several newspapers and broadcasting companies, said accountability can shift depending upon the specific circumstances.

"If the ad states a home has three bedrooms and it only has two, the newspaper does not have the responsibility to check that statement," Smith said. "However, if an ad stated, for example, that a home was a waterfront property and in a totally homogeneous neighborhood and it was neither, the newspaper could be held accountable.

"Most of the time, it is up to the seller or real estate broker to verify information. In this context, the newspaper is not in the business of verifying information."

Folks here are spoiled and often take for granted the number of properties with amenities in this region. The numerous bodies of water coupled with terraced hillsides offer Puget Sound-area residents view opportunities not available in most areas of the country.

But don't get carried away if you are a seller attempting to write an ad. A "peek-a-boo Sound view" should be more than standing on a toilet near a second-floor dormer window craning your neck to get a glimpse of water through the neighbor's trees in winter.



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