New California Law Means Big Changes For Photos of Homes in Real Estate Listings (sfchronicle.com)
- Reference: 0180660740
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/26/1938228/new-california-law-means-big-changes-for-photos-of-homes-in-real-estate-listings
- Source link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/california-law-home-listing-photos-21308040.php
Assembly Bill 723 mandates that real estate agents and brokers include a "reasonably conspicuous" statement whenever photos have been altered using editing software or AI to add, remove, or change elements like furniture, appliances, flooring, views or landscaping. Agents must also provide access to the original, unaltered image through a QR code, link, or placement next to the altered photo.
The law does not cover wide-angle lenses -- a perennial complaint among buyers who find rooms smaller than they appeared -- nor does it apply to routine adjustments like cropping, color correction or exposure. California is the first state to require such disclosures, though Wisconsin passed a similar law in December that takes effect next year.
[1] https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/california-law-home-listing-photos-21308040.php
Glorious real-estate photos (Score:3)
There was a local forum about houses etc, and a 800+ post thread with "glorious" photos from real estate agents. It wasn't just altered photos but also weird camera angles and odd photos. My favourites:
- TV lying on its side in the basement for storage. With the picture on.
- Several photos of the garden but none that showed the whole thing. In one of the photos inside you could see out of the window that the garden photos avoided a 1 meter tall light-blue concrete snail sculpture.
- Stove top edited to look like kitchen table. They forgot to remove the knobs on the front.
- A brothel with all the equipment (presumably bankrupt due to covid-19)
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> - A brothel with all the equipment
Just what a bachelor would call "furnished".
Why do we need these laws? (Score:3)
The fools who buy houses like it's something on amazon are why we need laws like this. My neighbor bought his house online without looking at it and it sits empty because they ended up disliking it. They didn't move in just looked at it once and realized they couldn't fit and his wife never has been seen again after that 1st visit.
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I can't fathom making basically likely the largest purchase of your life without seeing it in person 1st. Or at minimum if you really can't get there in person yourself having a trusted 3rd party go check it out and maybe live stream a walk through for you.
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No, the reason laws like this are needed is to stop unscrupulous, dishonest real estate agents trying to rip people off.
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> No, the reason laws like this are needed is to stop unscrupulous, dishonest real estate agents trying to rip people off.
Here in Florida you pretty much have to at least Photoshop the lawn on any vacant home, because if it hasn't been actively maintained it'll either be overgrown or mostly dead, depending on what the weather has been doing.
That, at least, is actually less dishonest than the pictures fast food restaurants use for their menu. If you buy the house and do the necessary yard work, you actually can end up with a lawn that looks like the photo. There's nothing you can do to get McDonald's to give you a burger that
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I could care less about photo shopping the lawn hell if the picture was taken months prior the lawn probably doesn't look the same now. Any one who lives in Florida knows lawns need maint and change seasonally. I'd be more concerned about photo shopping the actual physical looks of the building. Hiding imperfections, making it look to be in a significantly different condition than it really is.
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Yeah, they're diabolical, I hear they even stage those open houses. Imagine tricking some first-time homebuyers into thinking they will suddenly have good taste if they move in and their home will smell like lemons and cookies all the time instead of cat piss?
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I really can’t find fault here. If you doctor photos then you have to provide the originals. How is that bad?
Re: Why do we need these laws? (Score:2)
We don't need laws to protect him, obviously, if he can afford to buy a home he doesn't need. In fact we need laws for protection FROM people like him, who are reducing the housing supply. The solution is an empty unit tax.
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Actually, not rich; so he's even more foolish!
He was stuck a few years trying to buy another house and renting the mistake then selling his existing house and juggling the whole mess of debt. He didn't get to build his dream house or buy one as over sized as he said wanted...making it seem even more stupid; but I think if he had the money he'd have torn it down.
Because bait-and-switch is bad for everyone (Score:2)
The real estate agent is happy to have a busy open house. Everyone else suffers from wasted time, inefficient markets, and occasionally being suckered into a bad deal.
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Yeah, your neighbor doesn't sound smart. But that doesn't mean that we should allow other people to post misleading pictures.
Even at the best, fake ai pictures are wasting people's time having to go to the house showing that they wouldn't have otherwise gone to if factual images were posted.
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It's not just buying a house site unseen, it's submitting false pictures to lure people into visiting.
I went through remote house shopping 5 years ago. Relied on the online pictures and a realtor we found in the area to put together a plan to see as many houses over a 2 day period. If most of those pictures had been manipulated beyond the "standard" tricks of the trade I would have been extremely pissed off.
I know the selling agent often has to put lipstick on the pig.. but maybe being more realistic
Jigsaw puzzle art (Score:2)
They should have added a provision in the law that expressly forbids making any property photo look like a creepy glowing Thomas Kinkade painting. That would cover most of the issues.
Although they should also ban using whatever software straightens out all the curved lines in their ultra-fisheye lens images. It just don't look right.
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Hey! It's a Frank Gehry house.
Should Have Probited Altered Photos (Score:2)
Treated them with kid gloves.
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If that was the case and the free market had a quick and strong enough reaction, then they wouldn't be doing it. However it's still enough of a problem to cause legislation.
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Maybe there's a market problem?