Why, oh why...

For Sale by Owner? Surely a realtor didn't use this in a listing, I hope.

Realtor. I have a number of pictures with people in them. Under the covers, smoking at the kitchen table (just arms), standing in doorways, walking through.

I would imagine many of them are tenants rather than owners and just refuse to get out of the way.

I agree with Bonnie. There is no reason to post a photo in the MLS with the occupants in the room. if they won't leave the room, don't take the photo. And if you choose to take the photo, don't use it in the MLS. You can't blame the child, they don't know.

Wow. That's really irresponsible on the part of both the owner and the realtor. Anyone looking at that listing knows a young child lives there AND has the address. I would be inclined to report it to the real estate company and encourage them to take it down.

I think someone should have moved that picture up 5" so it completely touched the ceiling. It doesn't look committed.

Oh wow!

Anybody who lives in the neighborhood knows a young child lives at that address. I am not sure there's a safety issue here. Children are most under threat by their own relatives or the mother's boyfriend, or at school. And in this neighborhood just possibly from a stray bullet, although that sort of thing has decreased dramatically in that location.

I blocked out the face myself btw.

Pal, you are correct that the majority of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone known to the family. I have worked professionally with victimized children for many, many years and have extensive post-graduate training in this area and I can tell you that there are aspects of that photograph that make it a strong target for certain types of pedophiles/pedophile groups. I will not go into detail because it is very disturbing, but the image would altered and then shared in other groups. This would rarely result in victimization of the child in the original photo, but it certainly increases the risk of victimization of other children. My concern isn't for people in the neighborhood reacting to this photo, but for the multitude of sick individuals searching online. This is why people should be very, very careful about posting photos of their children on-line.

Yes, I understand this. I would never post pictures of children publicly in a forum like this. I know that they have to be careful even with clothing brands for children's underwear and bathing suits.

If the child had been in front of the chair instead of behind it, I would have thought twice about posting it

Thank you, Pal. My issue is not with your post, it is with the real estate company. The parents have responsibility as well, but I'm surprised there aren't guidelines for realtors about creating on-line listings with easily identified children.

teeda, there are strict guidelines. My MLS has specific guidelines about no people in the pics. Also no logos, no real estate signs and a few other things. My broker probably has guidelines, but I haven't been called out on anything except once: my professional photographer had his name & logo on the bottom right corner of the one set of listing photos (about 35 shots). I was contacted almost immediately by the MLS that I was in violation and would be fined if the pics weren't replaced without the photographers name/logo within 24 hours. I got a second set of shots without the name/logo and replaced them immediately.

To me, children in the pics are much more egregious. Not you pal. You blocked the child's face. But the Realtor that put these in the MLS needs to remove the pics and understand why people don't belong in the shot.

The broker of the Realtor should be notified so the shot can be removed or replaced with something else.

I see MLS photos with people in them at least once a month or two , and photos on Estately with the photographers logos on them every time I look?

I can only tell you my experience. I was blown away when I was contacted by the MLS with a stiff fine if I didn't remove within 24 hours.

The people - I don't see them in our MLS. Maybe our MLS is more aggressive in their compliance methods? idk

Interesting. I have never seen people in photos of the prestigious brokerages here, only smaller, more local agencies and properties at the lower end of the market. However, they are all on the MLS because that's the only way I would have access to the listing. I wonder if it has anything to do with recognizability because I have seen pictures of people with their heads turned and one of a woman standing right in the middle of the photo with a hand over her face...and of course there are the people under the covers photos.

I think you are right about this: "recognizability".

Edit: The lumpy bed issue - I don't think that would be an issue unless it was clearly an outline that looked like a person under the covers. I've seen photos of bedrooms with lumps that look like they could be people OR a bunch of pillows under the covers. I don't think that's a violation if you can't discern the difference between a lump that could be pillows or a lump that could be a person :)

This is why people should be very, very careful about posting photos of their children on-line.

I made it a point when my children were underage to never post their photos. In this sick world we live in, my feeling is better safe than sorry.

Just seen today. Not looking for people, just looking at old houses.