Top: Regional: North America: United States: Pennsylvania: Localities: P: Pittsburgh

Top: Regional: North America: United States: Pennsylvania: Localities: P: Pittsburgh: Business and Economy: Real Estate = needs reviewed

http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_Amer.../Pittsburgh/Business_and_Economy/Real_Estate/

As a real estate professional working out of the Pittsburgh region, I have compiled some feedback pertaining to the sites currently listed in the above directory for your review.

Alexis Fitch - Prudential Preferred - Includes information on the agent and listings. < site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage....phone number listed=412.877.9953 is a personal cellphone number

Alice Vaday - Howard Hanna - Browse residential listings, buyer and seller tips. Contact details. <website completely down - not active

Andrew S. MacIntyre - Coldwell Banker - Pittsburgh Real Estate. <site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number listed

Arlene Guastella - Keller Williams - Serves the needs of those relocating to area and specializes in marketing homes for sale in north Pittsburgh. < site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number listed

Arnheim & Neely - Specializes in residential property management and leasing. < in compliance

CA Properties - Offering residential and commercial sales, rentals and property management services in the greater Pittsburgh area. < site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number or address listed

Cathy Addessi - RE/MAX Heritage - Agent provides details on her buying and selling services and relocation. Specializing in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. < in compliance

Charles Parrish - Northwood Realty Services - Includes current listings and resources for first time buyers. < in compliance

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - A full service real estate office with several locations in Pittsburgh and surrounding counties. < MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY - flash intro directs to Keller Williams site - incorrect Title

Dave Nedley - Prudential Preferred Real Estate - Get home buying tips or search for a home at the site of this agent specializing in the Pittsburgh East neighborhoods. < site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number or address listed~INCORRECT BROKERAGE MUST BE REMOVED PROMPTLY

Debbie Dattalo - Keller Williams Realty - Includes listings and information on the agent.< in compliance

Freeman Realty - Search available homes for sale in the greater Pittsburgh area. <in compliance

Friendship Development Associates - Neighborhood based non-profit group organized to improve the quality of life in Friendship through strategically planned, affordable housing rehabilitation.<DEAD LINK

Getting to the Point - Relocation assistance to those moving to Pittsburgh. Specialists in corporate relocation.<in compliance

Great American Settlement Services - Title insurance with related products and services. Includes information on fees.<DEAD LINK

Harry Davis and Company - Real estate listings, auctions and appraisals.<in compliance


Helene Massof - RE/MAX CSI South - Provides service to home buyers and sellers in the Pittsburgh area.<in compliance

Hirshberg, Gustine, Straka - Mortgage, real estate and property tax attorneys.<site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number or address listed


Hometown Properties Inc. - Real estate company located in Blawnox lists homes from around the greater Pittsburgh area.<in compliance

Houses Unlimited, Inc. - Specializing in apartments for rent, buying and selling homes, rent-to-own and investment properties.<in compliance

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Online listings of residential and commercial, new homes, industrial properties and financing.<in compliance

Jill DeRiggi - Howard Hanna - Includes listings and contact information. <NEEDS TO BE IMMEDIATELY REMOVED OR UPDATED - MISMATCH BROKERAGE

Karen Hertzberg - Coldwell Banker - Residential real estate listings and resources for home buying, selling, renting and relocating in the Pittsburgh Metro and surrounding areas.<in compliance

Kevin Brown - Praedium Real Estate Services - Exclusive buyer's agents for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.<in compliance

Kevin Mihm - Coldwell Banker Real Estate - Realtor specializing in North Hills new construction, building lots, townhomes, and existing homes for sale. <in compliance

Linda Honeywill - Prudential Preferred Realty - Experienced real estate broker serving the northern Pittsburgh area. Site includes photos and descriptions of homes for sale, community information, and client accolades. <in compliance

Luise Wikes - RE/MAX Realty Brokers - Agent, specializing in condominiums and luxury homes in the east suburbs of Pittsburgh, details her buying and selling services.<in compliance

Mark Ratti, Jr. & Sr. - RE/MAX CSI - Includes home search, general buyer and seller resources, with community information.<in compliance

Mary Anne Kirby - Neighborhood Realty Services - Residential real estate listings in Pittsburgh's North Shore and East End neighborhoods.<DEAD LINK

NBPJ Inc - Apartment rentals and building sales. Includes listings.<in compliance

The Penn Garrison Apartments - Downtown 117 unit apartment complex offering. Includes information on floor plans, amenities and location.<not a member of WPMLS

Pittsburgh Apartments from ProRent USA - Provides free assistance in finding an apartment, townhouse, or condo in the greater Pittsburgh area.<not a member of WPMLS

Pittsburgh Home Inspector - A NAHI certified company offering home inspection service to the city of Pittsburgh. <not a member of WPMLS

Pittsburgh Real Estate Online - Rental and for sale listings for Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.<not a member of WPMLS

Prudential Preferred Realty - Offers real estate services in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. <in compliance

Prudential Realty Company - Property management company oversees thousands of residential apartments, condominiums, dormitories, and commercial properties throughout Pennsylvania and the Northeast.<site violates WPMLS rules regarding prominently displaying BROKERAGE phone number and/or address on index/homepage.... no phone number or address listed

Realty Counseling Co., Inc. - Apartment and house rentals and sales in Pittsburgh. Specializes in housing for students attending the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne, or Carnegie Mellon.<in compliance

Saulsbury Environmental Consultants - Home inspection services and testing. Information on radon, lead, mold and drinking water safety.<not a member of WPMLS

SLC Realty Inc. - Provides management services for residential and commercial properties, including tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance staff.<in compliance

Soffer Organization - Office leasing, real-estate developers and commercial retail property management company in Pittsburgh. <in compliance

Southside Lofts - Loft apartments available for sale on Pittsburgh's South Side. Description, floorplans, maps and contact information.<in compliance

Sterling Land Company - Property management firm. Includes information on apartment rentals and commercial leasing.<in compliance

TribRealEstate - Real estate listings from Pittsburgh's "Tribune-Review" newspaper.<not a member of WPMLS - these folks are technically out of compliance, because they include a MLS search box on the referenced page which is prohibited to be used if not a member of WPMLS-a courteosy is probably extended because of its media status

Washington Plaza - Luxury apartment building located on Centre Avenue in downtown Pittsubrgh.<in compliance

explanation of reviews*

in compliance=member of WPMLS (Western Pennsylvania Multi List Service) and is prominently displaying brokerage address and/or phone number

not a member of WPMLS=means exactly that. They are not members of the WPMLS

Any site that displays listings that are in the WPMLS system MUST follow the above guidelines.

Violation of WPMLS rules are not our (DMOZ) concern, as it doesn't rise to the level of illegality. Trademark and copyright violations might be. As for your other specfics:

Alice Vaday - gone
Andrew S. MacIntyre - gone
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - gone
Dave Nedley - I suggested a change through channels - but not the one you expected. The contact page has a brokerage name and address in a different city.
Great American Settlement Services - gone
Hirshberg, Gustine, Straka - IMHO, should be in a different Pittsburgh category
Jill DeRiggi - brokerage changed to RE/MAX Heritage
Mary Anne Kirby - gone
Pittsburgh Apartments from ProRent USA - gone

Arubin,

Thank you for the quick action

You are quickly restoring my faith in the human aspect of directory building

I should point out that I didn't make the changes (other than the one where I suggested a change) -- and I haven't checked whether they were made before your post. The public servers aren't updated in real time, and have been known to take a few days to resynch with the editor-side servers.

Well, on the flip side, I started to look at them, but when it got to you ordering me to do something

MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY

Click to expand...

I went off to do something else.
:tree:

gimmster said:

Well, on the flip side, I started to look at them, but when it got to you ordering me to do something I went off to do something else.
:tree:

Click to expand...

and that is why I will teeter back once more to not liking human involvement

I was not attempting to *tell you what to do*, merely attempting to right some wrongs....further, do not confuse passion with dictation....the more I read some responses by some of the Editors on this forum, the more I question the life experiences of some...Some of these responses resemble more of a *teenager* mentality, not the well socialized adult person that many of us wish them to be. Seriously, what is Dmoz going to do when AOL finally closes it's doors - while i am sure they have good intentions to continue support of this fantastic ideal, I truly believe that as AOL begins fudiciary responsive measures to the constant influx of competition, they may be forced to take measures to sure up their cost centers resulting in the closure of many of their beta and overall non RGEs (Revenue Generating Entities) - but this is simply opinion--and consider the source

arubin said:

I should point out that I didn't make the changes (other than the one where I suggested a change) -- and I haven't checked whether they were made before your post. The public servers aren't updated in real time, and have been known to take a few days to resynch with the editor-side servers.

Click to expand...

Believe me, they werent changed before my post, I visit that page quite often and perform routine browser cache flushes when doing so

The only difference is for once, i figured id speak my mind about them and shed some light on a REALTOR(R)s view of it as opposed to simply a *surfers view*

arubin said:

Violation of WPMLS rules are not our (DMOZ) concern, as it doesn't rise to the level of illegality. Trademark and copyright violations might be. As for your other specfics:

Click to expand...

Actually that is incorrect, Arubin. WPMLS rules are rules of legality under the RELRA (Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act - 63 P. S.) guidelines and are required measures to be followed in any sort of advertising medium (whether that be website, print advertising, etc)

I think those particular laws only apply if the web site is hosted in PA, rather than just being for a PA company. I could be wrong, though. Nonetheless, if we receive notice that the site is illegal from a government agency, we'll probably remove it.

Why are you up at 3am on Saturday morning. Go to sleep. (I am, at least for a few hours.) Things may look better in the morning.

arubin said:

Why are you up at 3am on Saturday morning. Go to sleep. (I am, at least for a few hours.) Things may look better in the morning.

Click to expand...

I unfortunately am a REALTOR(R) with Insomnia....or RI ;p - I sleep a few hours or so a week, it allows me to accomplish an amazing amount of workload

arubin said:

I think those particular laws only apply if the web site is hosted in PA, rather than just being for a PA company. I could be wrong, though. Nonetheless, if we receive notice that the site is illegal from a government agency, we'll probably remove it.

Click to expand...

Actually RELRA is based upon the address of the broker or real estate entity and RELRA is not a PA only law...it is national.

My point was that you can help with quality control issues (and we really do appreciate such feedback) without using imperatives (must), and without shouting (all capitals).

< MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY - flash intro directs to Keller Williams site - incorrect Title

Click to expand...

will ellicit a response stated as "redirects to to Keller Williams" with no emotions involved on either side. We'll still check before making any changes, so you only need to let us know what problem(s) we should look for.

As I'm in Australia I've never heard of WPMLS. We list web sites, we don't police association or even government legislation, after all, we don't host the content of the sites, we describe what is on the site. We'll happily change a description if and/or when the site changes. To effect changes to the site to remove any non compliance with rules/laws is the responsibilty of the entity that creates the rules, not us.

We don't list outright illegal sites (refer http://editors.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html#illegal ) however I'm not aware of any reason not to link to and describe sites that are not obviously illegal.

:tree:

gimmster said:

My point was that you can help with quality control issues (and we really do appreciate such feedback) without using imperatives (must), and without shouting (all capitals).
will ellicit a response stated as "redirects to to Keller Williams" with no emotions involved on either side. We'll still check before making any changes, so you only need to let us know what problem(s) we should look for.

As I'm in Australia I've never heard of WPMLS. We list web sites, we don't police association or even government legislation, after all, we don't host the content of the sites, we describe what is on the site. We'll happily change a description if and/or when the site changes. To effect changes to the site to remove any non compliance with rules/laws is the responsibilty of the entity that creates the rules, not us.

We don't list outright illegal sites (refer http://editors.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html#illegal ) however I'm not aware of any reason not to link to and describe sites that are not obviously illegal.

:tree:

Click to expand...

Gimmster,

I do apologize for my rather passionate responses at times....it's just that I take some things incredibly serious, especially topics that I am passionate for (ie Real Estate) - when I used captial letters, it wasn't to yell or scream, it was simply emphasize potentially serious mistakes....you must understand that in the USA, only doctors and lawyers are more seriously legislated than the area of Real Estate. Some of these *mistakes* that some of the agents made could actually cost them their license..and while I'm all for punishing those that purposely attempts to mislead, I don't want to see one of my brethern lose their livelihood simply because they forgot to update a link...The reason why DMOZ has such an incredible responsibility regarding this is that if one of the agents listed in your directory is associated with the wrong brokerage house and appears in *let's say* a top 10 listing on google for a rival brokerage, that agent will at very least receive a threatening legal letter and at worse could face sanction +

I am sorry for my passioned responses.

Passion is good -- that's what drives most editors (as well as myriads of webmasters.) You can't do even hundreds of site reviews without it, and there are editors who've done hundreds of thousands.

But directing that passion appropriately is necessary. If there's a problem, work with the other people who share that passion enough that they've agreed to take the responsibility and risk of acting. For malfunctioning links, that's us. For misuse of trademarks, that's the trademark owner. For illegalities, that's the attorney general.

Just because you help the ODP (and you did, thanks) doesn't mean you can't help someone else with whatever passion you share with them. But just because you help the ODP doesn't mean the ODP will adopt a new passion.

Any time you're ready to start on the suburban Pittburgh categories ... just post the results in the Abuse forum (which I hope will soon be renamed "Quality feedback").

Hutch,

You know when we first conversed a little bit ago, I really thought that "this is a person who is just on a completely different wavelength than I am on", but since that very first squabble, I feel I understand you more and more and I thank you for it

It is Saturday, and I have now finished listing my last home for the week (that is until sunday ), so I will take you up on at least taking a peek into suburbia pittsburgh to see if I can shed some light on it

I will say one thing that is gleamingly nice about the whole *human edited* thing, it takes you folks sometimes minutes to correct, whereas engines like *yahoo!* take quite a while longer.....I have been trying to rid yahoo! of about a dozen or so very illegal sites and have hit a brick wall where I was easily able to fix before.

Anyways, have a great weekend and I agree that *abuse forum* has a wee to negative a connotation for my style as well

By the way -- the (one, as of the last RDF dump) category named "Realtors" has been disbanded -- the editor who actually did the work wants to thank you for (indirectly) bringing it to our attention. OOPS. Revealed editor comments not yet ready for publication.

Thanks, ishtar.