Forbes.com
By: Hannah Clark
NEW YORK - Matthew Haines depends on real estate brokers for much of his livelihood--but that doesn't mean he trusts them. "Brokers fill you up with sunshine," says Haines, founder of PropertyShark.com, a Web site that discloses the dirty details that are hidden in the shade.
As a real estate investor in Harlem before the neighborhood became hot, Haines says he saw brokers make misstatements regularly--saying an apartment was bigger than it was, declaring that a nearby housing project was about to be privatized or implying that a new owner could expand a building more than city law actually allowed. "Sellers don't always give them full disclosure about problems or defects in the property," Haines says.
By: Hannah Clark
NEW YORK - Matthew Haines depends on real estate brokers for much of his livelihood--but that doesn't mean he trusts them. "Brokers fill you up with sunshine," says Haines, founder of PropertyShark.com, a Web site that discloses the dirty details that are hidden in the shade.
As a real estate investor in Harlem before the neighborhood became hot, Haines says he saw brokers make misstatements regularly--saying an apartment was bigger than it was, declaring that a nearby housing project was about to be privatized or implying that a new owner could expand a building more than city law actually allowed. "Sellers don't always give them full disclosure about problems or defects in the property," Haines says.
