What is my house worth in Princeton? What is my house worth in Hopewell? Should I sell now or wait till spring? Where is the real estate market going?  I have yet to meet a person who is not interested in real estate. We are talking about home values at cocktail parties, go to the neighbors' open houses, look for home values on Trulia. Why is that? In his book "House Lust: American's Obsession with Our Homes" - Daniel McGinn (Doubleday, 2007) suggests that the reason is our lack of community and isolation. To me the answer is the fact that a big portion of our income is spent paying for a place to live, whether we own a home, rent it, or are real estate investors. Added together real estate in its various forms represents a big part of our economy and affects most of us.

It is completely understandable that real estate issues are important. It is a big financial commitment and/or investment for many people and is therefore on their minds in terms of issues, concerns and questions. The importance of these issues is the reason  the US President and Congress are involved and it is clear from the active press coverage of the mortgage crisis and the condition of the housing market. If real estate questions and issues are important, then the answers to them must come from credible sources, which brings me to the next point. 

Where and who on the Internet has the credibility to answer real estate questions? There are some who believe that it should not be real estate agents. I disagree and suggest that getting credible answers on the Internet, if you are searching professional Web 2.0 -type networks and forums, should start by finding credible forums.

This leads me to the subject of my post. How does one know if real estate forum is a credible place to look for answers? I already wrote about it in my post "Are real estate buyers/sellers looking for answers in the right places?" . I am coming back to the issue again from a different angle after reading Melissa Sieg’s post “Ugly conversations on other blog site” about what she encountered on a thread on Zillow. The thread on Zillow consisted of an opinion offered by an agent and was followed by what I can only describe as verbal abuse by the commenters. I read the thread (I am not providing the link on purpose, but if you want to read ugly things you can find it) and just could not get it out of my mind. I kept thinking about what represents a credible Internet professional network or forum.  Here is my take on the question.

Credible forum means that advice is given by experts. I would not ask a question on a medical forum about a drug and take the advice of someone who has used the drug. It would be dangerous for my health to take the advice of a person, whose only knowledge is his own experience and who has no knowledge of the drug, the medical field or me.  In real estate, experts are people who are licensed by the state to practice real estate.

Credible forum means that advice is given by specialists. It would not be good for my health to get an eye doctor’s advice when I have a stomachache. Similarly, real estate is not universal across the country. There are different state laws, real estate commission rules, market conditions and practice. Getting generic opinions from real estate professionals is not the same as getting advice specific to one’s state and town. In real estate specialists are agents who know local real estate laws, rules, practices and market.

Credible forum means that there is no mudslinging by participants. If I found a medical forum where “patients” verbally abused doctors by calling them names, insinuated prostitution and gloated over running the doctors off, I would think that this is a forum for mentally unstable people. It would be dangerous for me to take advice or even participate in such a forum. In professional real estate forums, verbal mudslinging is just as unacceptable as in other professional interactions in life or on the Internet.

Credible forum means it is is well moderated. Forums encouraging diverse opinions represent a great value to all participants. Forums, where the behavior described above is permitted, are a web equivalent of bullies taking over the playground with no adult intervention. I wouldn’t send my kids to a playground, where the idea of non-intervention is that it’s good for other kids to learn to stand up for themselves and learn what bullies are up to. In real estate who would want participate in a forums where the guidelines and/or moderators allow such behavior?

Credible forum is a forum of people genuinely interested in the subject matter. It is usually professionals in the field and consumers who have questions and want to find the answers. Why would anyone spend their time bashing the opinions of participating professionals? Are they looking for answers? I don’t think so. I don’t want to guess what their real motives are.

Credible forum is a forum of nice people. Nice people are not the same as the mutual admiration society, or speaking with one voice. Nice people can differ in views but not in civility. Nice people attract the same. I see that the opposite is also true – meanness attracts meanness. I have to hold my keystrokes here in order not to violate AR guidelines by mentioning names. What would make the experts want to participate in such forums and make it valuable for others? 

There is an argument that people on Active Rain are too insular without active consumer participation. The “ don’t take hostages” approach of other forums is supposed to allow real estate agents to hear the “public” sentiment and thus learn. I did learn and would like to share these lessons, but I can’t fit all of this in one post. Please stay tuned.

If you want to know what your home is worth in Princeton, Hopewell, West Windsor and Montgomery, I would suggest visiting a credible forum - Active Rain or similar forums and look for the professional advice there. You can always contact local experts directly.