R Rated Photos

R is for restricted and this is the rating for taking any unauthorized photos in a Seller's home. 

As Buyers you are concerned that you will not remember every house that you are going to see.  You plan to take your camera or your phone camera and use it while you go from room to room in each house.  Don't!  This is an invasion of the Sellers' privacy, a security issue and just impolite.  Yes, the house is for sale and yes there are photos available on the MLS® but these were taken for public consumption.  They have been carefully taken to ensure that personal information about the owner is not posted.  You, a potential Buyer, are there by the grace of the Seller and under the supervision of your agent.   Put yourself in the Sellers' shoes and ask yourself if you would like strangers taking pictures of the interior of your house. 

In lieu of photos, keep the feature sheets for each house and write down any thing you need to remember on the sheets or in a notebook.  Track by the MLS® number and the address so that you can go back on the internet and see the photos, videos, electronic feature sheets and description.  If you are really interested in the house and are not sure of something, ask your agent to go for a second booking and then confirm what you need to know.  If you need photos to send to your contractor or to send to your parents for their approval, ask your agent to ask the Seller's agent if it is permissible for you to take extra photos.  If you are at the stage of having the house inspected as a condition of purchase, ask if you can take photos.  There is often a lag between when you buy and when you have possession so Sellers usually say yes.

A picture is worth a thousand words - with permission.

Photo credit:  signs=no signs @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/neoliminal/518031835/

Valerie Zinger  email: vzinger@royallepage.com  (613-723-5300)

Royal LePage Gale Real Estate,  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada