As people share more personal info online, experts warn not to say too much about a real-estate deal until it's completely done.
by Marilyn Lewis of MSN Real Estate
Pity the poor Tiburon, Calif., homebuyer who shared her real-estate triumph too soon on Facebook. The post went something like: "Found our dream house!" and she named a coveted neighborhood where she'd long been shopping.
"She didn't think anyone but those in her own network, which was quite small, was listening," says Ginger Wilcox, who was her real-estate agent. "Unfortunately, a friend saw the post and shared it with a pal who was looking in the same neighborhood."
The friend of the friend moved quickly. She tracked down the listing and offered more money, snatching the home from under the Facebook poster, who later learned through the grapevine how she'd shot herself in the foot with her post.
The Facebook poster did, eventually, buy another home. This time, she was discreet until the deal was done, Wilcox says.
Wilcox, head of agent training at real-estate website Trulia, uses the story to warn salespeople to tell their clients not to share deal-killing personal details on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter.
Social media are embedded in many people's lives. But as of now, most homebuyers, sellers and real-estate agents are using these sites just to comment and report on their experiences and feelings.
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