How Truthful does the MLS have to be?

Question

This came up because I asked my agent for comps on my current residence. I found out that my neighbour downstairs sold their property and on the listing it listed as 943 sq feet.

However when I looked it up on my Strata AGM documents I saw that the unit was only in fact 842 sq feet. Is it normal to be off that much?

Also.. on a separate occasion.. I was looking at some properties that were listed as "Fourplex" however when I look into the description it says that it is a Duplex, but the basements (unauthorized) are rented out. And in fact it only has 2 seperate addresses and not 4 separate addresses.

How truthful do these listings actually have to be?

Does anyone have any experience with listings that are way off?

Do real estate agents who post these not get scrutinized by the law?

Is it because they have that little fine print that says "The enclosed information, while deemed to be correct, is not guaranteed." ?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Stanley Kong  There are disclaimers on listings.. any item on a listing is subject to second party verification.

I really like the big bold one on the Charleston SC MLS system

" if square footage is important measure"  this clearly denotes sq. ft. is estimated if you want it exact you need to do your own measuring

In the foreclosure or distressed asset business some of the best deals are when the bank or seller mis states sq ft.. IE 1200 sq 3 and 1 when its really a 1800 sq ft 4 and 2.. this stuff happens frequently..  Ergo time in the field is important.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Stanley Kong in many cases the seller is asked to sign a form that verifies the data is correct that has been input by the agent. This is meant to help shift responsibility to the seller. Listings should be truthful, but human error can easily cause mistakes. I purchased a property that stated there was no HOA and three months later I got a bill for an annual HOA fee. It was less than $100, so I didn't make an issue of it. I have also seen the square feet on the listing not match the tax records or the appraisal. I have never had a big enough discrepancy to make an issue of it. I think agents could get in trouble, but I am not sure how often it happens. You could sue the seller and agent for misrepresentation, but this is probably only worth your time if the discrepancy is large and you can prove it. I have seen even worse misrepresentation on property disclosures. There is a house a few miles from me that has been flooded at least two times in the basement. Each time it goes for sale the disclosure says there have never been water problems. The owners are completely lying to sell the property. The lesson learned from all this is buyer beware. Trust but verify everything. This is where inspections and appraisals can be very helpful. The seller is not looking out for the buyers best interests.