need opinion on advertising use of home photo

[swantree]

I have a client that has his house, or part of his house( not on the market) used in a advert for a real estate firm. I know for a fact the homeowner is not aware of the use of his home nor did he approve of it. I know many of you have great homes that would be excellent for this same usage but my question is, do you think you should be paid an/or at least be given the opportunity to say yes or no to the usage of the picture in question?

 

[scooterbug44]

Unauthorized use IMO and there should be a whoopin!

Unless it's a "group" shot of the community or something similar, they shouldn't be using a photo of a house they aren't selling in an ad - especially w/o permission!

Permission and maybe a nominal fee is the norm in scooterbugland.

 

[Landlocked]

I'd take it as a compliment as long as the Realtor wasn't webuyuglyhouses.com

 

[GoodWitch58]

Is there any credit and/or identification of the house?

Customary to secure persmission...not sure if it's a legal issue; but it could become one if the owner has not given permission for publication.

Seems like good manners would dictate a conversation with the owner prior to publiction...unless it is a group shot of a development..

 

[ckhagen]

Does the person who took the picture know that the picture is being used?

 

[Miss Critter]

Might permission have been given by a previous owner?

 

[ASH]

It will be interesting to see where this goes. When I was in marketing with a previous employer, we were required to have written permission on file to use photography of anyones home in literature on on the website.
And I don't know if it would automatically convey if the home were to sell.

 

[seagrovegirl]

Sounds to me like false advertising.

 

[AAbsolute]

We have seen another builder showing pictures of a home that we built in their ad's. It seems simple enough to write the party that you have the issue with a private and direct claim and give them the right to cure. It usually works fine to put the party On Notice and seems to be fair to be clear and direct.

 

[swantree]

Does the person who took the picture know that the picture is being used?

that is a good question, maybe the person using the picture had assumed the permission was given. I know for a fact it is a recent photo of the house with new owners. so past permission would be moot.