Has Having A Real Estate Website Just Become Too Risky?
Is it just too much of a liability to have a real estate website today? The financial risks of having your own website have grown dramatically in the past few years. New laws and precedents set by some lawsuits are making it very expensive to have one. With recent economic trends and higher unemployment, real estate businesses could be a hot target for even more criminals and opportunists. Here are the three biggest risks to watch out for, plus some potential alternatives. 1. ADA Lawsuits Many good hearted and well intentioned entrepreneurs and real estate businesses have recently been targeted by malicious ADA lawsuits. The most notable case so far has been the blind man who sued Dominos pizza for not being able to use their website, and won in the US supreme court. Back in 2018 there were at least 2,200 similar cases filed. Unfortunately, this may just lead to fewer apps and websites, and fewer services available to everyone, as well as increased prices to cover this liability. 2. Images Image copyrights are another huge issue. One which many real estate websites and publications may have to settle for thousands of dollars per image they didn’t have the right to use. Even if they were out there in the public domain. Stolen text content and blogs can also be sources of lawsuits. 3. Data Keeping up with preventing hacks and new data and privacy rules that can vary by jurisdiction can be very expensive. Most businesses don’t know the laws and can’t afford the lawsuits. Even most large companies end up paying bitcoin ransoms or settlements for data breaches when the news of them finally leaks out. Why Most Real Estate Websites Aren’t Nearly As Useful As You Think We’re all told we need a website. It is true that you can’t just hope to get by with a Facebook page. Too few people use Facebook anymore and its effectiveness has jumped off a cliff into an abyss. Yet, most real estate websites are pretty useless. They often haven’t been optimized for sales, and so don’t create the desired results. So many are cookie cutter copies of each other that they are counterproductive. They don’t carry any trust or credibility. While running an automated online business is smart, it doesn’t always work for real estate wholesalers. People, especially those buying and selling distressed property want to do business with real humans, not really poorly put together websites. The Alternatives The first solution is to redesign your real estate website to minimize liability. You can block it from being shown in certain areas. Or make it clear on your home page that you don’t offer your services in Europe or California, where the regulations are toughest and most lawsuits are happening. You can also choose not to make it look like an ecommerce store. Don’t sell directly from your site. Use it more like an online business card, or educational platform in the form of a blog. What issues have you encountered already? How are you switching things up to protect yourself?
