More Home Sellers Are Using Security Cameras to Spy on Buyers During Showings
Homebuyers have more to worry about than just skyrocketing home prices and rising interest rates. Apparently, big brother’s a problem too. In a recent poll, 30% of sellers admitted to using a hidden camera to drop in on buyers when their home was on the market. That’s double the share just three years ago. With the wide adoption of home video and audio technology, the jump’s hardly a surprise.
About 9.4 million homes nationwide now have some sort of Wi-Fi-enabled camera on-site. In 2020 alone, Americans bought a whopping 8 million video doorbells. Another 53% of households have a smart speaker, allowing them to easily listen in on conversations throughout the house — often using just their smartphone.
To be clear, most sellers are not installing cameras or listening devices just to keep tabs on buyers. In most cases, they already have them — often for added convenience or security around the house, but agents say they present a legal and ethical minefield once the property is on the market.
Mining for information
Most sellers who dropped in on showings said they did it to find out what buyers did or didn’t like about the house. Another third said they wanted information to use in negotiations. Other sellers simply use cameras to ensure their home is safe during showings or to monitor when buyers have left so they can return home. In some cases, agents say, sellers might just be very attached to the home.
Is it legal?
No matter what the seller’s reasoning is, there are often legal concerns when it comes to listening in or watching a buyer’s showing. The exact laws vary by state, but in most places, video surveillance is allowed — without audio — as long as it’s in an area where the person wouldn’t typically expect privacy. Audio recording, however, is a different story. The legalities here depend on whether your state is a one-party or two-party consent state. In a two-party consent state, all parties involved in the interaction must consent to being recorded. In a one-party consent state, just one of the parties does. There’s a catch, though. To be considered a “party,” the seller would have to be present and participating in the conversation that’s being recorded. Georgia and South Carolina are both one-party consent states.
Skipping the spying
Agents tend to discourage sellers from listening in or taping buyers — and not just due to legal concerns.
In some cases, recording might even turn off a buyer completely. According to LendingTree’s poll on hidden cameras, 44% of buyers said they’d skip out on their dream home if they knew the seller had recorded their tour. Another 56% said the practice is unfair and an invasion of privacy.
Still, with the prevalence of smart speakers, doorbells and cameras — not to mention the baby monitors and other potential listening devices out there, the temptation to spy remains. For sellers who do listen in, the key to legal protection is disclosure. In some cases, multiple listing services — the local databases used by agents to list homes — require disclosing on-site security and recording devices. For those that don’t, agents can include notes about these devices in the “agent remarks” field, so a buyer’s agent can alert them before scheduling a tour.
Are you being watched?
If you’re on the buying side of the transaction, ask your agent about potential cameras or listening devices before entering a home, and be on the lookout for any as you enter and tour the property. Though some devices are obvious (Ring doorbells are often the easiest to spot), others may be hidden or concealed completely. Even if you don’t spot a device, though, agents say you should assume you’re being watched or listened to at all times — and act and speak accordingly.
Courtesy of Aly J. Yale, Author, Published: Jan 14, 2022 via Money.com
