BE AWARE OF POSSIBLE MOLD. I am NOT a MOLD expert, but see photos and make sure you get it inspected. Also be aware of those with allergies & small children & elderly entering this home for preview. Mold can be remedied, so no need to 100% remove it from consideration. Also the bird under the deck is REAL. It really freaked me out!
Might this be an answer to picture-less listings? The above photo was uploaded to FranklyMLS.com and attached with the above comments to a property listed in the MRIS MLS. What would you do if the above photo of one of your listings was uploaded to a public site with comment like, “house appears to have mold”?
FranklyMLS pushes the boundaries set by traditional MLS – it lets Buyers’ Agents upload photos of homes they have shown; part public service, part service to fellow Realtors. As of 6 July 2008, over seven hundred properties have been reviewed, and the database contains more than twenty-one thousand photos.
The current policy of FranklyMLS.com is:
Anybody can remove any comment for any reason. Hence the Wiki format, so if the seller, or anybody, wants to flag a comment (and verify their email address) then it will be flagged and removed.
From a Buyer’s (and Buyer’s agents’) point of view, the ability to search an MLS unfiltered by Listing Agents’ necessary predilection and responsibility to portray a property in its best light is fantastic. Buyers are demanding more information – and more visual information – than ever before. In addition, with gas prices increasingly rising, being able to “preview” a home across the county – thanks to the candid point of view of a Buyer’s Agent, could prove very valuable. FranklyMLS.com seems to help solve answer those demands.
From a Seller’s point of view, the possibility of a Buyer’s Agent (or buyer) uploading candid yet unflattering photos presents a challenge – what is one to do if pictures such as the above are uploaded?
FranklyMLS.com’s existence raises as many questions as it answers. Notably –
– Is this the answer to photo-less listings?
– At what point can/should the seller prevent such pictures from being publicly displayed?
– What about the privacy implications? Does a seller of a vacant home relinquish all privacy when the property is put in the MLS?
– Will this be the push needed to force Listing Agents to put photos online (the way they should already)
– As a Buyer’s Agent, does E & O insurance cover this type of thing?
– Is this transparency gone too far, or a sign of the times? Buyers absolutely are demanding this candid, unfiltered information – should they have it?
– How is this different from the Redfin debacle that came about when they were blogging about houses? Or the apparently-defunct ShackYack?
In response to the last question, Frank Llosa said:
“One of the differences between problematic Redfin’s Sweet Digs blog (google redfin $50,000 fine), and our service is that blogging about a property is essentially advertising a listing without permission. That would be like me putting an ad on craigslist for another agent’s property without permission. You can’t do that.
But with FranklyMLS.com, we are within the boundaries of the MLS, so within this platform we have permission to advertise other listings.
Note that Realtor.com and many other sites offer “Listing Enhancements” that also are not approved by the listing agent. Like a Zillow Zestimate being posted on Redfin’s MLS listings. What if the listing agent doesn’t want a Zestimate next to their listing? Are they Zhit out of Zuck? Or what if they don’t want the links that Realtor.com added to their listing? With our site, if they don’t want the remarks or photos to be added, they can remove them.”
Personally, I love that this link is on each listing: (If you have a buyers agent, call them, NOT the listing agent. Why?)
There are quite a few similarities and parallels to the ongoing discussion about Zillow and a seller’s right to remove his or her property/Zestimate from the Zillow database. At what point should a seller or listing agent be able to dictate what information is put online?
FranklyMLS.com may have what the afore-mentioned Shackyack did not – critical mass to nurture and grow its database and popularity.
Related Reading:
– Inman – Broker launches ‘Wiki MLS’ site and a corresponding Letter to the Editor
– One of Sellsius’ opinions on Zillow and sellers’ rights
– A great discussion/debate between Joseph Ferrara and David G of Zillow
