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1. Embed this notice
   Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Friday, 20-Feb-2026 15:10:44 JST Jeri Dansky

   • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
   • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

   @sindarina @cafechatnoir Staging is so common here that most buyers (and certainly their agents) will know when a house has been staged.

   Here's one near me, obviously staged:
   https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/613-Grandview-Blvd-Half-Moon-Bay-CA-94019/295378689_zpid/

   "Let's pretend that's not a small dining space by putting a really small table there." It just makes me laugh, it's so obvious.

   This just doesn't bug me the way the photos in some magazines do, where the perfectly organized spaces are so unrealistic. There the photos are actually suggesting this is how your space could/should look, too. I don't feel like the home staging sends the same message.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 02:23:20 JST Jeri Dansky

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective
     • eclectech

     @eclectech @cafechatnoir @sindarina Now *that's* super deceptive, and the kind of thing that just shouldn't be done.

   • Embed this notice
     eclectech (eclectech@things.uk)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 02:23:26 JST eclectech

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

     @cafechatnoir @jeridansky @sindarina We were helping someone find a flat to buy near us a while back, and one place looked possible, and I spent an age trying to work out the positioning within the main building before realising they'd faked the views from the windows. They were views you can get in the village (a lovely wooded hillside) but not from that property 😮

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     Play Ball and Fight Fascists (cafechatnoir@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 02:23:27 JST Play Ball and Fight Fascists

     in reply to

     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

     @jeridansky @sindarina

     LOL, the room that has only one chair in it.

   • Embed this notice
     Bob Horowitz (bobhorowitz@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 05:07:45 JST Bob Horowitz

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective
     • eclectech

     @eclectech @jeridansky @cafechatnoir @sindarina
     California law changed this year. The state now requires disclosure of any digitally altered real estate photos (not just AI alterations). The "truth in advertising law comes with possible misdemeanor charges and fines for violations.

     https://youtu.be/wBAa_Gjq7Pk?si=9NZQ1VghRYhyEKFG

   • Embed this notice
     Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 05:07:45 JST Jeri Dansky

     in reply to

     • Bob Horowitz

     @BobHorowitz Oh, cool!

   • Embed this notice
     eclectech (eclectech@things.uk)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 05:07:47 JST eclectech

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

     @jeridansky @cafechatnoir @sindarina It's appalling isn't it? I really hope someone viewed it and asked about it. I was getting so confused working out how there could be a window looking out in that direction and at a height to get a view of it.

   • Embed this notice
     Bob Horowitz (bobhorowitz@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 05:59:09 JST Bob Horowitz

     in reply to

     @jeridansky There are still photo edits permitted, like for exposure and contrast and white balance, but gone are the days when realtors would patch walls, remove utility wires, and add sunsets to the sky.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:03:51 JST Jeri Dansky

     in reply to

     • Hippy Steve

     @exador23 Yeah, that's odd, even for a house very close to the ocean.

   • Embed this notice
     Hippy Steve (exador23@m.ai6yr.org)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:03:52 JST Hippy Steve

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective

     @jeridansky @sindarina @cafechatnoir

     Never seen a surfboard as a staging prop before. Must be something ugly in that corner that can't be easily fixed.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:17:45 JST Jeri Dansky

     in reply to

     • Gail Parenti

     @gparenti Not having the AI renderings identified as such is atrocious. If that's allowed, it sure makes house shopping harder.

   • Embed this notice
     Gail Parenti (gparenti@mstdn.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:17:46 JST Gail Parenti

     in reply to

     • Play Ball and Fight Fascists
     • Sindarina, Edge Case Detective
     • eclectech

     @jeridansky @eclectech @cafechatnoir @sindarina I agree with you. We've encountered this several times in Italy, and the AI renderings were not identified as such. It's damned frustrating to go to a viewing and walk into a shell. Now we are on the lookout for advertisements that look too perfect.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeri Dansky (jeridansky@sfba.social)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:27:42 JST Jeri Dansky

     in reply to

     • Hippy Steve

     @exador23 All staged homes seem to have that sterile vibe.
     Here's another:
     https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1557-Mizzen-Ln-Half-Moon-Bay-CA-94019/15554340_zpid/

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     Hippy Steve (exador23@m.ai6yr.org)'s status on Saturday, 21-Feb-2026 06:27:43 JST Hippy Steve

     in reply to

     @jeridansky and it doesn't fit with the decor. a surfer pad would be more comfy chill than that somewhat sterile vibe.