Are there pictures of your house online? Here’s why that’s a real danger and how you can remove them from listing sites.
PRIVACY 101: How to get photos of your home off Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com
Are you thinking of selling your home? Hopefully, you’ve used some of your time to spruce it up. If not, it’s never too late. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, and even minor changes can add considerable value to your sell price later. Tap or click here for five tips on boosting your home’s value.
If you’re not trying to sell your home, there’s no reason to leave interior photos and other details on various real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow and Redfin. This information raises privacy concerns and makes your home a target for criminals.
Public information
When listing a home, sellers want potential buyers to have all the information they need including photos, floor plans, furnishings, appliances and more. But if you just bought a home, you might not want all that information to be readily available to the public.
Does anyone need to know about your Persian rug or stainless steel refrigerator? Do they need to see every entry point for each room? This information puts you at risk from criminals who can gather strategies based on your floor plans. And there is an issue of privacy.
You might assume your real estate agent or seller would remove your home’s info from real estate sites after you’ve made a deal, but that’s typically not the case.
Related: 5 private details about you and your home anyone can find online
A listing network
When selling your home, you likely want as much exposure as you can. A wider audience means more potential offers and hopefully more money in your pocket from the sale.
When your residence is for sale, the broker uploads your home’s information (photos, floor plans and more) to a multiple listing service (MLS). An MLS is where house details and pictures are posted.
This group then distributes the details to online real estate sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin and more. Brokers and agents who subscribe to that MLS (for a membership fee) can access all the information.
Real estate agents can also use the information to post their listings on social media and other online outlets.
Protect your privacy: How to remove your home's photos from Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com
If you’re not trying to sell your home, there’s no reason to leave interior photos and other details on real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow and Redfin. Just think about how valuable your floor plan might be in the wrong hands.
This price guessing game is for the person constantly scrolling Zillow
Many people love to browse houses for sale and rentals. If you’re anything like us, you may have already acquired a natural sense of how much it costs to live anywhere in the world. If you’re a real estate fan, we’ve found the perfect game for you.
How much is my house worth?
Have you been thinking about putting your home up for sale? If so, one of your first steps is to get an idea of what it’s worth so you know what you’re getting into. As they say, knowledge is power.
Many factors go into determining the value of a home. Location, square footage, the age and condition of the house, and neighborhood “comps” to name a few.
How to get photos of your home off Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com
You sold your house, but why are pics of it still up on listing sites? In this one-minute podcast, I’ll tell you why this is a privacy no-go.