The more things change...the more things stay the same. When I started my professional career as a real estate agent almost 13 years ago, there were certain things we had to get permission to do when we listed a home.

These included: obtaining written consent to place a sign in the yard and a keybox on the door. The listing agreement also indicated that we had permission to market their property and advertise. There was no mention of advertising on electronic media. Nor were there disclosures required for the condition of the property or lead based paint. Index cards with listing data were still being delivered to real estate offices everyday.

Today, we have to get permission for a lot more than we did back then. Today, the seller agrees to allow us to advertise their property on electronic mediums including video and still media and other forms of media (not specifically designated) Today, the seller has an advanced electronic gadget on their door which allows remote programmed access to agents and special codes for contract workers; a system which is digitally monitored 24/7.

Yet, Home owners have given agents much greater latitude in the marketing of their homes even as the potential exposure for a home listing has increased exponentially. Herein lies an interesting issue. I wonder if such broad levels of permission are inherently in the best interest of all concerned.

Property Mapping:

Take for instance, the issue of property mapping. The google mapping system and others such as maps.live.com provide extremely realistic 3 Dimensional renditions of property in most localities within the United States. In some of these programs, the home can be manipulated on the screen and seen in detail from just about every conceivable angle. Here's my question. When a homeowner allows us to portray their home on any website, are they giving us implicit permission to display every angle and street view of their home to an unscreened populace which may contain those with malevolent intentions?

Social Media:

The same issues could be raised with regard to some forms of social media. Is it conceivable that the owner of a luxury executive home may not really intend that his home be purposely purveyed for the viewing pleaure of mostly teenagers and college students on Facebook who are largely unlikely to be part of the audience who will be able to afford to purchase his home listing?

There are so many new options exploding on to the market everyday, that right now the instinctive response is simply to try something and see if there are results. Some of this is fueled by an anxiety hidden underneath the cloak of the dreaded consequence of irrelevance if one misses the next new thing or important cue. But, we may be creating a potential minefield of unintended consequences if we are not careful to explain to our clients exactly how we intend to market their homes and YES...perhaps begin to consider asking for permission in a more specific manner. For their own protection as well as our own.

SECRET ENGAGMENTS:

Marketing a home for sale should not be a "Secret Engagement"...an exercise carried out apart from the informed consent of your client. Do you have a list which details what you will be using as a keybox and explain which websites you will be utilising and where pictures of their home will be viewable? Have you discussed the potential benefits and drawbacks of whatever marketing program you choose to employ? If you will be linking to a map...do they know how their home and neighborhood can be accessed and viewed?

Frankly, the reality is that this is no longer necessarily within our control as agents. Because listings are often exported by MLS systems through Broker Reciprocity to other channels which may mash-up the data in ways that are very different than the initial listing data, brokers may not even necessarily know everything which is done with the data they have collected from the homeowner.

RISK LADEN PROPOSITION:

Does this seem to be a risk laden process to you? May we be inadvertently giving our clients much more than they bargained for? Are Brokers taking listing information and assuming responsibility for a process which in all practical aspects they do not really control? I know this is a burning question being debated by MLS systems throughout the nation. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and if you are doing anything to limit risk & liability with regards to your disclosures and seller acknowledgments in these areas of potential concern.

photo courtesty of: Dave-F's photostream on flickr.com

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