Anonymous wrote:BS, 22:12 -this what most people hate about the D.C. Area. Nosy good for nothings- good at nothing but being nosy! It is amazing anything gets done here at all. How do you people have all this kind of time ? Ew. What sucks the most is I probably know you. Ugh.

Bullshit. My non dc parents did this for years with the real estate sales in the paper. You couldn't look up far after the fact , but you knew what sold for what price. Part of knowing your neighborhood.

00:00. The names are public too. I think you have to specifically request it not be shown, at least on the Fairfax County site. Though that may not help with the listing in the Post.

I guess they all do the same to you too - so they all know your business as well.

I go on a similar website, mostly to find out how much square feet a home is. I don't feel guilty. It's usually considered rude to ask, so I just check myself. Oh well.

Anonymous wrote:Well, for some reason, some company called blockshopper posted a blog post when my husband and I bought our home, complete with a picture of me they swiped off the internet. So, oh well I guess. People only have to google my name to get that gem!

Also, I should mention, I'm not a public figure in any way.

Well, for some reason, some company called blockshopper posted a blog post when my husband and I bought our home, complete with a picture of me they swiped off the internet. So, oh well I guess. People only have to google my name to get that gem!

I don't look forward to when we buy our first home, and then all those details regarding our transaction will be made public. At the least, the names of those in the transaction should not be disclosed; that is private information.

Anonymous wrote:Guilty too. Can't help myself, except I go to the county websites (I.e. Alexandria).

I always feel guilty but I'm happy to see so many others fess up to this behavior... I do the same.

Northern Virginia Housing Bubble Blog has links to all county assessment websites, as well as realtor sites with every possible bit of information about properties you could imagine. Zillow is amateurish.

With the data out there, we were able to make smart decisions about buying our own house...and stumble across really heartbreaking info about whole neighborhoods. I can't imagine being upside down $300K, only to see people move in next door, knowing they paid less than half what I did, with a much lower interest rate. How do you stay sane?

BS, 22:12 -this what most people hate about the D.C. Area. Nosy good for nothings- good at nothing but being nosy! It is amazing anything gets done here at all. How do you people have all this kind of time ? Ew. What sucks the most is I probably know you. Ugh.

I'm even worse. I can never remember the neighbor's names I see infrequently. If a neighborhood party comes up, I go to the County tax records and look up their names.

I've done this. I just like knowing what shit costs. Like, if we hang at someone's house and I like it, I think, hmmm, should we have bought here? Could we even afford it? Then I check zillow. Im the type of person who would discuss my finances openly, though, if someone cared to ask. My dad used to always say that not talking about finances is pretty stupid, because we could accomplish and learn so much more if we were open about them. For example, not discussing what your salary is with fellow employees really only benefits the employer. And keeping your debt a secret because you're embarrassed might stop you from getting the help you need. This is one reason I love DCUM. I love talking finances!

Guilty too. Can't help myself, except I go to the county websites (I.e. Alexandria).

Sometimes it happens to me by accident, I type in an address and zillow pops up along with the map I am looking for (obviously this is when I search on regular google not google maps but I do that sometimes when I am rushed/lazy). And of course then I *have* to click on the link...

Its public record but it makes me feel crappy because of the higher price I paid