Everyone has a camera or a video recorder on their mobile phone. People are taking pictures and video everywhere they go, so it just seems natural to want to take photos of a house you may purchase. But you should take photos of the homes only if you have written permission from the residents.
It is usually okay to take a photo of the house from the street because that is something the public can easily see. Besides, the photo of the front of the house is probably on Google maps already anyway.
However, to take photos of the interior, you should get permission from the seller. Even if it is a vacant house, the seller probably won’t mind; but ask your REALTOR® to contact the seller and get permission first anyway.
Unless you have written permission from the residents, taking photos of occupied houses is a different story! Sellers and renters do not know you, and they do not know where you may distribute your photos. Many a surprise photo has been known to show up on Facebook, right?
A good rule of thumb is that if the house is occupied by sellers, get their permission, preferably in writing. If tenants live in the house, do not take photos. I know you want to take a photo so you can remember the house later on and it is so easy to pull out your cell phone and snap a picture, but remember this is not your home.
You should kindly refrain from photos or videos of a tenant-occupied house because you do not want to jeopardize the relationship between the tenants and the sellers. Instead, you will have to take good notes!
If you DO take photos of a house, either the inside or the outside, do not distribute them to anyone. They are for your own personal use in deciding whether you want to purchase this home. The seller does not want to see photos or videos of their house landing on the internet or on YouTube! The seller would probably feel violated. Put yourself in their shoes and honor their privacy.
Read more in our book, "Buy Your First Home", http://preview.tinyurl.com/cs4724e.
Comments(8)