A lot of sellers were spoiled during the most recent housing boom over the last few years. Pardon the expression, but homes were selling like hotcakes.

            Since the beginning of 2006, the housing market has been noticeably declining. As every month goes by, there is more evidence that the market is no longer beneficial for sellers and may not be so for quite some time.

            As if that is not bad enough news for home sellers, there has recently been a report released that is even more devastating.

            The article, “Snippy Things Folks Say About Your Home Are Now Also Online,” written by James R. Hagerty and Kevin J. Delaney of The Wall Street Journal, explains how consumer views can set you back even further in your selling process.

“Operators of two real-estate Web sites, ZipRealty Inc. and Reply Inc., in August began encouraging customers to write reviews of homes available for sale. Early submissions suggest it might be better not to know what strangers really think about your house.”

“After a visit to a four-bedroom house offered for about $1.5 million in Lafayette, Calif., a ZipRealty customer writing under the pen name YuppieHomeBuyer remarked: ‘The house was OK, but the bathrooms should be cleaner. There were some broken tiles and loose panels. I wonder if water comes into the house or the basement during the rains.’”

While this review seemed not to be slanderous, any person who wants to can write a bad review of your home and damage the potential for future home buyers to view it. Even if people reading the reviews do not think that the writer is a credible source, if two properties were very similar but one had a bad review, which one do you think the buyer would be more interested in?

“These rude reviews threaten to undercut the gushing language in marketing materials prepared by real-estate agents. Even worse for real-estate agents, the reviews are popping up just when a glut of homes on the market in many areas is allowing buyers to take their time, dwell on defects and demand price cuts. Some agents and homeowners already are howling that the reviews are hatchet jobs, perhaps motivated by spite or a desire to discourage competing bids for property the reviewers want to buy.”

Home buyers are realizing that the market is turning in their favor. More homes are available for sale, prices are starting to slightly drop and mortgage rates have finally started to decline after a four month increase.

Buyers do not have to settle and these reviews may turn them away from even looking at the price or location of the house. They do not have to waste their time.

But these reviews do have a good intention. “Operators of the sites say the reviews -- some of which are full of praise -- will provide valuable insights for home shoppers. Companies like Zip and Reply hope this free, user-generated material will lure more shoppers to their sites. Redfin Corp., an Internet real-estate broker based in Seattle, plans later this year to start encouraging both buyers and sellers of property to add online comments on the Redfin site.”

            However, in most cases, it takes a small imperfection to stir up a negative review, while the house must be in near pristine condition to receive praise.

            This situation can be related to a restaurant experience. If the food and service do not meet expectations, you will most likely tell everyone you possibly can about how terrible the experience was. On the other hand, it would be rare if more than a couple of people were informed if the opposite happened and the food was good and service met expectations. Only great food and service is praised.

            So, unless you know that your house is the greatest in the world, you may want to fix the minor imperfections before putting it up for sale, or at least expect some negative feedback.