Manage ‘For Sale’ Sign Guidelines in Your Area & Don’t let your “For Sale” sign ruin a great shot
As markets develop, board requirements can be hard to navigate. We’ve been seeing an increase in the number of photo take-down requests by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) due to changes in For-Sale sign guidelines.
The REBGV has some specific guidelines about Real Estate picture content:
“The number of complaints regarding For Sale Signs has increased dramatically as of late. Generally speaking as long as the REALTOR’s® name or company name isn’t readable it’s fine. A lot of REALTORS® have been taking their photos so as to promote themselves rather than the property they are selling which is in violation of the Rules of Co-operation. The reasoning behind the Rule is that since the entire concept of MLS® is co-operation between members (i.e. one member lists & the other may sell it) a buyers agent would not want to direct their client to deal with the listing agent directly thereby forfeiting his/her commission. Rules of Co-operation: 3.24 Photographs, Pictures and Sketches Images that are provided to the Board in respect of an MLS® listing shall become the property of the Board and may be used by the Board at its discretion. Only MLS®-approved watermarks may appear on images. The display of a child’s image on an MLS® listing is prohibited. The Board reserves the right to remove images which in the opinion of the Board are inappropriate. Other than the front exterior photo, additional listing photos shall not be used in future listings without the consent of the originating Brokerage. Images that contain information that is considered to be promotion of a Member will not be permitted. Images are to relate only to the real property for sale. No comments or additional information will be permitted to be placed on the image.”
What the board isn’t considering with the new For Sale sign guidelines is that often signs are put up right away to maximize local drive-by exposure when you first sign a listing. As we well know, the first weeks on the market are critical.
Pretty often, your sign will go up before your listing photos are even taken. The last thing you want to do is take a bad angled shot because the name on your sign might be seen. You also don’t want any great interior shots excluded because of your client’s family photos with their kids.
Keeping compliant with For Sale sign guidelines and other board restrictions can be pretty stressful. The good news is, you don’t need to exclude any of the shots and can maintain the angles you need! We’ve been able to quickly rectify this problem for our clients and get those great shots back online. You can rely on our experienced photo editing team to blur and obscure any details that do not meet your local board for sale sign guidelines.
Need help finding the best option for your next listing? You can check out our Services here or reach out to our skilled listing marketing team today!
