One of the most important things we ask prospective clients to do is to change their social media privacy settings so that only friends can see what you post, particularly on Facebook. If you’re not careful, what you post online about yourself or your property can come back to hurt you.
For instance, when we’re representing a buyer and we’re negotiating an offer, we often times google the seller and find out everything we can about that person. If the seller posted a picture on Facebook of the $1.5M house they just bought, had a recent job promotion on LinkedIn, or posted that they moved out of state, we’re going to use this information to our advantage in negotations because we now now that the seller has a lot of motivation to get the home sold. On the flip side, when we represent a seller, we often times do the same thing and Google the buyer. You’d be surprised how many times we find the buyer posting a status update that says something like “We just put an offer in on a beautiful house we absolutely love. This is the ONE!! Wish us luck everyone. Hope we get it.” When we see this, we know that our sellers are in a strong negotiating position because the buyers are in love and already sharing news about the home with the network.
Revealing too much about your personal life, your family, or the home you’re about to buy or sell can unknowlingly provide information to people that you may not want to have it. This hurts in negotations but can also be a more serious matter of safety. If you’re buying or selling a home, be sure to change your privacy settings to the highest security setting possible, while still allowing people to Friend you. Do not post anything about your home or home search that may be used against you during negotiations. While it’s okay to let your friends know you’re buying or selling a home, don’t share WHY and try not to post anything about your new place until after you’ve closed on the property. Then you can SHOUT it from the rooftops!
Pro Tip: Preview your page as an anonymous user so you can see what information on your social networking pages is public, and what is being kept private.
And remember, there is no such thing as true privacy online, so don’t put any information online that you don’t want the world to see.
Need help changing your privacy settings on your social media accounts?
Let us know! 317.430.0866
