Ever want to do something you know wasn’t right? Something that would’ve broken your Grandma’s heart if she knew you’d done it? My college buddy used to always make the same pronouncement as he’d chain and lock his bike to the rack—‘This will keep the honest people away’. Sometimes the only thing keeping the ‘honest people’ from doing something wrong is… a lock… and the fear being caught—the humiliation, the disappointed relatives, the suspended sentence…

Now you can add a new deterrent to that list: Poison Pen Resident Blogs that NEVER GO AWAY. EVER.

Browse the Internet. Type in “your company name + hate” or just try a generic term, “hate + neighborhood + developer”. You’ll  see what I mean. I came across one whose content I cannot stand behind (so no official link to it here, sorry). But the blog is titled “I Hate My Developer” with its tagline being, ‘Sharing in the American Dream ain’t easy if your condo developer is sleazy.” Ouch.  

And there are more—entire hives of griping residents buzzing about, who share two things: the love of scenic community walking trails and the hatred of their developer. Anytime a wide-eyed prospect Googles that poor guy’s community, the poison blog has a chance of coming up. Maybe even before the community’s official site. All the dirty laundry aired—and, even worse, it’s only the resident’s side of the story. Double ouch.

These blogs spread virally making ebola look like, well, a walk on a scenic, community walking trail. Don’t be that guy. Stay aware. Keep people happy (the regular people, not the ‘I’ll-never-be-happy-no-matter-what people). Keep your word and handle complaints early and often.

Because while most disgruntled residents may not be ballsy enough to picket outside the development with a sign that says ‘This Place Sucks’, every angry resident relishes pulling the shades, starting up the computer and crafting a bludgeoning blog in the privacy of their homes.  

No developer wants that. And I know no developer’s Grandma wants that.