Surprise, home buyers: You might be on hidden camera. You may believe you’re having private discussions about the merits of a homeowner’s wallpaper, the ugly, orange tiles inside the bathrooms, or perhaps the to-die-for bay windows while you tour a property. But what people often don’t realize is the fact that those surveillance cameras in the hallways may be turned on, based on Bankrate.com. And that smiling teddy bear in the corner? He may be taping everything you say.
You may well be Under Surveillance
Even the not-so-neurotic sellers often would like to know who exactly wants to buy their homes, what they don’t like about them, and just how far they’ve fallen in love with the residences (valuable information with regards to negotiations), say real estate agents. And what better way to find out than to play Big Brother?
“It’s not unusual to see a camera at the edge of a playroom,” says Atlanta real estate agent Jen Engel. “But people don’t realize they’re on.”
Engel once represented a seller who used a “nanny cam” to record everything prospective buyers said with regards to the seller’s home. Engel learned of it after the property sold.
“They want to know what people don’t like,” says Engel. “They want to know if there’s an issue they’re not being told about.”
The cameras are most likely legal, however the laws can vary by state, says Indiana University law professor Fred Cate.
“It’s against the law to record someone on audio or video if they’re in a situation in which they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, [such as in] a changing room or a locker room or a bathroom,” says Cate, author of “Privacy in the Information Age.” “But when you’re in somebody else’s house with a real estate agent, it’s a little harder to argue you really have an expectation of privacy.”
For sellers, getting that honest (if ethically murky) feedback can inspire them to make changes-such as replacing that ’70s kitchen flooring or putting in new carpeting.
It may also be valuable during negotiations to be aware of just how much buyers want the home-and how much they said they’d be willing to pay for those properties when they thought no one else was listening.
That’s why Houston Realtor® Greg Nino cautions his Re/Max Compass clients to play their hands close their vests and not say something that may potentially be used against them-from commenting on the family pictures on the wall to gushing about how they finally found their perfect home.
“I’ve had sellers actually go and spy on buyers to see if they are the kind of people they want living in their house,” Janine Acquafredda, a Brooklyn, NY-based associate broker at House-N-Key Realty, told Bankrate.com.
But Boston real estate broker Douglas Bray of Century 21 Cityside doubts that’s common.
“What’s important is if someone is financially qualified and capable of purchasing the home,” he says.
Of course, sellers could simply feel nervous about having strangers inside their home, amid their possessions, and would like some measure of security.
“If the home has precious works of art [or other valuables], then by all means, I think cameras are an important part of the home-selling process,” Bray told realtor.com®. “But it’s important that people be told there are cameras present. That’s just useful in making everyone feel comfortable.”