Is It Okay To Take Pictures While Inside The Seller's Home?

I am in total agreement with this. At what point has the line been crossed?

Long before people are in my closet taking selfies thats for SURE!

WOW

    I showed a home recently, the MLS had instructions, "No Photos inside the house".   There was also a note on the counter that read, "No photos, please".

    In my opinion, a house for sale is a commodity.  Put the personal stuff out of sight, let people take photos. 

Greg, depends on why they're taking pictures,not all listings have ample photos, buyers ho might be thinking of making an offer may take pictures but this usually happens with out of state buyers.  I personally don't think it's appropriate to take photos of personal properties,  selfies is a big NO!

Just one example of why I only listed my house (I've sold twice now) with agents who would be present at each and every showing.  No lock box on my home!  I don't want strangers wandering about my home unsupervised.....and a buyer's agent is not enough for me.  Nothing says they can all be trusted.  I want MY agent there representing me.

There are circumstances that may call for a more pics such as Grandpa is paying for the house so let him see what his money is paying for.  Everyone still does not have internet access to see,  whereas they can see the phone pics while visiting with grandpa.

Now if it is particuliar items they are spotting, then a red flag would certainly go up.

Interesting question. As Fred points out starting to see No Pictures Please a lot more often on the MLS. I will be discussing this with my broker to get another opinion. Great question.

I think in the early stages of looking for a home, the listing pictures should be enough. And once a contract is signed, take all the pictures you want.

If agents did proper vetting (in- office consult, copy of driver's lice, loan pre-approval) I would not have a problem with pictures.

But as you know, there are agents who will drop everything and meet "their client" for the first time at the home. Who are these people and why are they in my house?

I encourage buyers to take pictures to help them remember the home. After touring several in a day they all tend to blur. If it is my listing, I have this discussion with the seller at the listing appointment - along with putting away things like cash, jewelry, guns, prescription drugs etc. 

If the home is listed we want it to show well, hopefully depersonalized of photos so potential buyers can visualize themselves in the home.

Depending on the number and quality of the photos provided online, I often preview homes prior to showing them and ask the listing agent if I can take additional photos to send to a buyer prior to their arrival.  Usually if I ask permission, it is granted.  Then I don't have to worry about my buyers trying to do it.  I talk to my buyers about this during our initial consultation and I explain all of the reasons in your post of why it isn't appropriate for them to take photos unless there is something specific that they want to remember about the house that they want to live in.  

While showing one of my own listings to a couple whose agent had asked me the favor of showing them the home, one of the things the buyers did was snap cell phone pics of every room.  I finally asked, "Are my pictures not good enough online?"  The buyer replied by telling me that the photos of most listings she visits look nothing like the home.  In this case, they did.  Then I asked why she was continuing to take pictures.  She didn't have an answer, so she put the phone down and enjoyed her tour.  

Side note, I'm pretty sure she'll never buy anything because she doesn't take the time to actually look at a home while she's in it.  She just snaps photos.

I think it depends on intent.  If they want to take a picture so that they can remember some feature of the home, it seems acceptable.  If they are taking a picture of something so that they can post it on Facebook or Twitter, that is over the line.  No Selfies!