It is in my opnion that there should be a strict guidelines for the posting of real estate advertisement on the internet.

These guidelines should protect the consumer from fraudulent advertisements that will prevent home buyers from being taken on thier future investments.

I believe that there should be pages designed to advertise homes and a disclosure statement should be provided as an attachment for a viewer to pull up with the click of a mouse button. The TDS form that a realtor fills out with his client is not that difficult to fill out. If someone can not fill that form out then it would be unlikely that the person has the mental capacity to sell their home.

There should be pages ,similar to advertisement newspapers that are available in news stands for free, that will allow a person to advertise their home. Also there should be some education as to the use and benefits of the more conventional and professional MLS services. The internet is a vast sea of information, much of it not validated and because of this the consumer needs to be educated to protect themselves.

There needs to be some balance for the consumer so that they may make intelligent decisions to either sell their home through a realtor or by themselves. Many consumers are not aware of the legal consequences of selling a home with out proper disclosures. How many consumers understand that the Smoke Detector and Enviromental Hazards pamphlet is a requirement when selling a home in California ? Or the new ruling about the enviromental and hazards report that is required when selling a home ?

Education should be a requirement on any page that decides to solicite advertisement of property. This could be done by one of two methods:

1.) A hyperlink to text that explains the process, legal requirements for disclosure and all the forms required to purchase a home. As well as were you an purchase them from.

 

2.) Or there should be a phone number or e-mail address that will provide information about the forms and disclosures that need to be addressed.

Anyone not providing this information when advertising property would be liable for any transactions that occur because of the results of someone responding to their webpage /internet advertised ad.

Members of the MLS or C.A.R. board (or anyother real estate association) and private investors should work together to provide these guidelines. A panel of no more than eight members should meet to outline the requirements for disclosure required on web pages.

Smaller groups of real estate boards and private & public groups should be provided a feedback mechanism to ensure that full representation and buyin occurs.

This team should set a timeline when this will be completed. The time should be no more than six months. It is imperative that a vision and mission statement be incorporated in this.

Thanks you for your consideration.