More information than you realise is available online. Here are five private details about you and your home that anyone can find online.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to safeguard your privacy. Steps to blur your home on Google Maps and Apple Maps are available by tapping or clicking.
There’s no reason to leave interior photos and other details on real estate websites like Realtor, Zillow, and Redfin if you’re not trying to sell your home. Consider how valuable your floor plan could be in the wrong hands.
Information for the general public
When selling your home, you want potential buyers to have access to all relevant information, such as condition, photos, floor plans, furnishings, and appliances. However, if you have recently purchased a home, you may not want all of that information available to the public.
Do you want another person to see each room’s entry points? This information exposes you to criminals who can devise strategies based on your floor plans.
You might expect your real estate agent or seller to remove your home’s information from real estate websites once you’ve reached an agreement, but this isn’t always the case.
A directory network
When you list your home for sale, the broker uploads the information about it (photos, floor plans, and so on) to a Multiple Listing Service. This is the service listing where houses and pictures are displayed.
This group then distributes the information to real estate websites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and others. Brokers and agents who pay a membership fee to that listing service can access all of the information.
Unsubscribing from a Multiple Listing Service
Only licenced agents and brokers have access to a listing service and can make changes like removal. Ask your listing agent to close out the listing on the listing service, whether you’re a buyer or seller. This may not get rid of everything right away, but it’s a start.
The fact that your home’s information has been removed from the listing service does not mean that it has not been posted elsewhere. It may still be available on publicly accessible real estate websites.
Again, you can request that your listing agent remove your photos and other home information from websites to which they have access.
If your agent is being slow, you can take matters into your own hands by removing the information from each site. You’ll need to set up accounts.
Before making any changes, you may need to establish ownership of the property. This activates tools for tracking the value of your home and provides pricing information, such as the value of nearby homes, purchase history, and personalised recommendations.
The first step in removing information and photos is to claim your home. Here’s how to do it on a few well-known websites:
Zillow
To find your home’s property page, log into your profile at zillow.com and search for your address. Then:
• Select Verify your ownership from the More drop-down menu.
• Answer a few questions to prove your ownership.
After claiming ownership, you can begin removing photos from Zillow.
• Sign in to your Zillow.com profile.
• Select Your Home from the menu after clicking on your profile icon.
• To access the property page, click on the tile for your home.
• From the property page’s Owner View, click the Edit Facts icon.
• To remove a photo, right-click on it and select Remove Photo.
• Delete all of your photos, then click Save Changes.
Having trouble completing this task at Zillow? To get assistance, go to zillow.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new.
Realtor.com
To begin claiming your home, go to realtor.com/myhome, enter your address, and click the magnifying glass.
• Complete the steps to prove your ownership, and you’re done.
Do the following now:
• Sign in to your realtor.com profile.
• Navigate to your owner dashboard via the My Home tab.
• Select the Remove Photos option.
If you require assistance, please submit a ticket at support.realtor.com/s/contactsupport.
Redfin
To claim your home, go to your Owner Dashboard.
• Follow the steps to demonstrate your ownership.
After claiming your home, you can make the following changes through your Owner Dashboard:
• Sign in to your redfin.com account.
• Navigate to your Owner Dashboard by selecting it from the drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the page.
• Select your home.
• Select Hide listing photos from the Edit Photos menu.
• When prompted, select Yes, Hide Photos.
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