Photo courtesy of Trulia.com
Google search result: Zillow excerpt on house for sale listing.
Here it is, the middle of the night. I was having a dream of owning a house in Sheepshead Bay. I read and reread the paragraph:
Now onto the lowest priced sales listings. For $42,810, you could get 1,224 square feet (3 bedrooms/3 bathrooms) at 2552 E. 19th St. in Sheepshead Bay. The brick house has a front and backyard, too, and is six blocks from the Sheepshead Bay B/Q subway station. One thing to note, though—the Century 21 broker who listed the property says it needs “TLC.”
Imagine me, Ray Johnson — lowly, unpaid Senior Writer of SheepsheadBites.com — owner of a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with a front yard, backyard, and a small garage. Plus, it’s close to my dream job and in my fave nabe. When I read the article in the November 18, 2009 edition of The Epoch Times — which said that the house was for sale for $42,810 — I figured I was dreaming. I decided I would stay awake all night so that I could be the first person to call the agent in the morning.
I started practicing the script that I would use during the emergency phone calls to my bank-accounted friends. It would go something like this: “Hello Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World. I know you haven’t heard much from me, since I started blogging for my community, but — would you please, please, please, pretty please lend me something toward the $43K I need for my new house? I promise I’ll give you a room with your own bath in my new mortgage-free house as long as you live.” To which they would respond, “You better get some professional help. There’s no house in Sheepshead Bay for that price. If you don’t get your head examined, I’ll have your calls blocked.”
Wanting to be fully prepared for their negativity, I decided to check the listing. Typing: 2552 E 19 St, Brooklyn, NY 11235. Bingo!! It’s true. The search results excerpt says that the house is for sale at that Epoch price. My heart be still. My fingers can barely click on the mouse to get to the next page as I ask myself, “What does the house look like?”
Click. Picture and info pops up on Trulia.com. Hey, that’s not too bad. Fully attached. Not a big deal. Needs a little work. No problem, because Doody’s is nearby. Hmm, 1700 square feet. That’s bigger than the article said. What is going on here? Is this a foreclosure? Look this thing over. Oh, no. How did that happen? The price is listed on the main page as $618,000, not $42,810!
I wasn’t even sleeping and my dreams have been squashed!
Oh, well, I guess even the best of journalists can make mistakes, but just who is responsible for the stoppage of my heart- The Epoch Times or Century 21? Plus, isn’t there some law that says an item has to be sold for the advertised price? If anyone knows about the loophole that will make ‘Yours Truly’ a happy homeowner, by all means, write in. I promise, you’ll get a room with your own bath for your lifetime (breakfast and dinner included).
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