Have you ever woke up one morning and questioned why, how or when you had gotten into the habit of doing something in your business? One of those things that really went against what you actually believed was in the best interest of your clients, simply because it had become status quo in your industry?

I've done it more than a few times over the years.

A few months ago, my son was showing me how nifty his new I-Pod gadget was. He tapped an icon and with a couple flicks of his fingers, he was plopped right in front of our house, looking up and down the street. Yes...that was my car in the driveway...and yes, that was my license plate clearly exposed.  I somehow felt helpless and violated...is this what we really want as a society? The ability of everyone...or anyone to cybervisit us if they know our address? So much for home sweet home!

That little thought started my brain processing some pretty alarming thoughts. It is common practice to have homeowners addresses published on MLS.ca. I'm not sure when this became the norm....it was ushered in with MLS.ca, and it's now a common practice, that in my opinion, leads homeowners into the false belief that they have to sacrifice their rights to privacy if they want to be affective in selling their home.

Things have changed so much over the past decade. A listing isn't complete without 10 or more pictures and a virtual tour of your home. Living room, Dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, baths, basement, garage, back yard, front yard....you name it and it's photographed! Add onto that your address, and the cyber home-shopper or anyone else can find out a tremendous amount about you...and perhaps it's just a bit more than you really wanted anyone to know...or realize they can get. The scary part about this is that there's nothing you can do about it, because you've allowed your Realtor to put your address out there...and with that, you've authorized and invited the whole world to look into your life.

Personally, I don't like it. This whole street view on Google Maps creeps me out! I remember a few years ago when a couple booked an appointment with me to view a home. Unknown to me, the homeowner was only a few houses away and was watching me while I greeted the clients in the driveway and took them into the house. I would later find out that the husband I showed the home to,  worked for the Canada Revenue Agency, was recognized by the Seller and happened to be looking after their file. Was it a co-incidence? I was told it was...but they had come well equipped with a copy of the MLS.ca listing. That little address makes it very easy for absolutely anyone to get information about people who are simply trying to sell their home.

The point of the matter is that publishing addresses on MLS.ca or any other feeder website does absolutely nothing, except give away peoples privacy. It's been said that the "buying public" wants this: that people expect easy access to Real Estate information. I'm sure that these buyers wouldn't be too happy if they had to put their address in the system so everyone could zoom down into their driveways and have a peek around every nook and cranny, both inside and out.

Having homes listed in areas designated by the first 3 digits of a postal code should suffice for absolutely anyone looking to buy a home in any City and I'm certain that if the searchers were legit, and the home was something they were interested in...they would contact the Realtor by text message, email or phone for more information. Pre-MLS.ca, you would very seldom have seen an address published unless it was for an open house, and that was usually a one-day deal in the local newspaper. There was always an effort to maintain the anonymity and privacy of the homeowner. But now, we work in cyberland: 24/7 ad copy complete with digital pictures, 5 x optical zoom and virtual tours. Your hairdresser, mechanic, furnace repairman, utility company, debt collector, neighbor, telemarketer, travel agent, ex-partner, kids friends parents, other parents from your kids sports teams or anyone else for that matter should not have such easy access to your private life. If they had to track it down by sorting through several listings in your area, snooping may not be worth their effort. But by putting your exact address out there, you're clearly inviting everyone and anyone to easily make a virtual entrance into your house....without even ringing the doorbell.  Selling your home should not go hand and hand with invasion of your privacy.

Real Estate is a massive industry...and you can bet your bottom dollar that as I type this blog today, someone out there could already be phishing and compiling information off of numerous real estate websites and the key element of interest is your address! If you have a listed Bell Telephone number...they have it all! Your name, address, phone number, and depending on how thorough your virtual tour is, what kind of TV you have, your appliances, your preferred colours, your furniture and a bit of an idea on your net worth or socio-economic status! They may even be able to guess at your race or religion by looking at the pictures on the wall!  Geesh....I even see some MLS.ca listings with detailed floor plans! I would think that a potential thief or unsavory character would love surfing MLS.ca....what a time saver!

We all have the right to privacy and we have to cherish it and protect it.  I've decided that I don't feel comfortable doing this anymore and I'm going to step outside the status quo and recommend to my clients that they don't allow for the publication of their exact address....for their own sake. With any luck at all others will feel the same way I do, and it will no longer be the norm. :) It was just another one of those things I started to do...and woke up one morning thinking it really wasn't all that great of a thing to be doing!