How to Get Home Photos Off the Internet After Closing in Sacramento

With diplomacy, you might be able to remove your home photos from the internet.

Let’s see, the caller says she just closed escrow in Sacramento and now wants the listing agent to get her home photos off the internet. What can a listing agent do about that? Do listing agents even respond to these requests? Many Sacramento Realtors at Lyon Real Estate enjoyed a gripping 3-hour legal update yesterday that covered a slew of real estate-related topics, including how to get home photos off the internet.

Basically, the bottom-line from our legal representative is the same thing I’ve been telling disgruntled buyers for years.  The gist I walked away with was it can’t really be done. There is some truth in that. However, although it is improbable, getting home photos off the internet is not entirely impossible.

First, decide whether the photos of your home are enough to warrant a campaign for the removal. Does all of that furniture in the photos belong to you? Probably not. As some smart-aleck on another website blurted out: you should put your walls on casters and move them around, show the crooks what for. Are you experiencing paranoia? Have you talked with other family members and friends about this anxiety?

OK, sorry I asked those questions. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I did not realize how many words can be prefaced by the F-word. JK. You’re upset that anybody in the world, especially those with evil intentions, can see the precise placement of your fireplace in relationship to your windows. You are an extremely private person, I get it. But you will get much further with your request if you stop swearing and threatening to have your lawyer call, because neither approach will get your home photos off the internet.

Tips for Getting Home Photos Off the Internet

When a listing agent completes a property profile, there are two buttons for “internet advertising,” and they are yes, which is the default if it is unchecked, and no. The seller signs the profile authorizing its contents. The seller expects the widest distribution possible to obtain the greatest exposure, which maximizes profit. Once MLS inputs the listings, that info is distributed to the world wide web, and where it goes from there is anybody’s guess. When a listing sells, MLS typically refuses to remove photos after the listing has been withdrawn as sold.

The best way to get your home photos off the internet is to go back in time to when the listing agent and the seller signed the listing agreement which, of course, is impossible, unless you’re Michael J. Fox. However, you could contact the listing agent just prior to the transaction closing and ask the listing agent to please remove your soon-to-be home photos from the internet by taking them out of MLS, while the agent still has access to the photos. Your buyer’s agent can make that request on your behalf.

However, the drawback to that is the listing agent will now subject herself to countless phone calls from appraisers who can’t use that particular home as a comparable sale because there are no photographs to assess. Not your problem, though. Then realize that by removing the photos from MLS, deletion is not enough to get those pictures out of all of the other websites. The listing agent has no control over external information on the internet.

If your home photos are online at Zillow or Trulia, you can remove them by “claiming” the home in Zillow (which feeds to Trulia). The downside to that is you must create an account on Zillow, then claim your home and edit the photos. You might not want to create an account on Zillow. And that’s not the only website, anyway. There are hundreds of websites that could have photos of your home online. Put your address into Google. With diplomacy, gratitude and patience, tackle those results one by one.

When it comes time to eventually sell your home, think back on this. You might be amused at your change in attitude. Or not. Don’t hit me, OK?