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True enough but as a buyer I can tell you that if I know I'm being recorded or if I see cameras around the house I would pass on the house for a couple of reasons. One of them is if your so concerned about your security in that neighborhood I would question why and I certainly wouldn't want to live there. The second one would be that I'd (and I'm sure my wife) would feel very uncomfortable about being watched. I expect my agent and the other agents showing my house to watch the people touring it and I also realize that my expectation to privacy is mildly given up when I choose to open my house to others, this is why we put our valuables away when we list our house and that's what safety deposit boxes are for.
Actually the "security of the neighborhood" is NOT why most people that have a security system w/ cameras have them. Of the people that I know that have them they are typically business owners or other higher ups in companies. There are a LOT of whacked out people out there and trust me.......... as a business owner I LOVE having security cameras at my residence and business properties. Unless you have ever had to tell your child that if they see a certain person they are NOT to talk to them or go with them and could be a threat then it is hard to know about some of the things we deal with. Having to fire someone and not knowing how they will react and if they will retailate can be unnerving. It really has nothing to do at all w/ any valuables that may be in the home. It is more for PERSONAL safety if they live a certain lifestyle that could make them a target. The overwhelming MAJORITY of homes w/ security cameras are also HIGHER END properties. Not like your going to find a security camera system setup on a rundown shack in the bad part of town.
It is not illegal to have a security camera on your home or business. I have them and would not do without them. When you get a call at 2am from the security comp saying an alarm is going off at a business property one can simply go pull it up on their home computer and see if there REALLY is cause and then have the police called (some cities like Dallas now REQUIRE that secuirty companies or business owners FIRST verify there is an actual crime before they will respond). Or verify that all is safe and sound and go back to bed. Even many cities now have cameras mounted on light poles and corners of buildings. No one is down below on the sidewalk making sure anyone that may pass by is signing to be videotaped.
Would it bother me? Not in the least. I could be in an open house with the listing agent present or model home w/ the saleman and I'm going to say the same things I'd say if they were not.
A Of the people that I know that have them they are typically business owners or other higher ups in companies. There are a LOT of whacked out people out there and trust me....
We have security cameras, and will install them in our new home as well. There are a lot of really screwy people out there, and if one of them decides to target my family, I'd like to know WHO it is
We've never had to review the tapes, and they record over themselves every 24 -48 hours? (not sure) but it does give peace of mind that IF something happened, we would be able to see the 'who 'dun it'.
I think hubby has a monitor hooked up to it, but I don't know that we've ever even turned the monitor on...?
the thought of using them to look at people in our home (who are allowed to be/supposed to be there) has never crossed our mind...
Actually the "security of the neighborhood" is NOT why most people that have a security system w/ cameras have them. Of the people that I know that have them they are typically business owners or other higher ups in companies. There are a LOT of whacked out people out there and trust me.......... as a business owner I LOVE having security cameras at my residence and business properties. Unless you have ever had to tell your child that if they see a certain person they are NOT to talk to them or go with them and could be a threat then it is hard to know about some of the things we deal with. Having to fire someone and not knowing how they will react and if they will retailate can be unnerving. It really has nothing to do at all w/ any valuables that may be in the home. It is more for PERSONAL safety if they live a certain lifestyle that could make them a target. The overwhelming MAJORITY of homes w/ security cameras are also HIGHER END properties. Not like your going to find a security camera system setup on a rundown shack in the bad part of town.
It is not illegal to have a security camera on your home or business. I have them and would not do without them. When you get a call at 2am from the security comp saying an alarm is going off at a business property one can simply go pull it up on their home computer and see if there REALLY is cause and then have the police called (some cities like Dallas now REQUIRE that secuirty companies or business owners FIRST verify there is an actual crime before they will respond). Or verify that all is safe and sound and go back to bed. Even many cities now have cameras mounted on light poles and corners of buildings. No one is down below on the sidewalk making sure anyone that may pass by is signing to be videotaped.
Would it bother me? Not in the least. I could be in an open house with the listing agent present or model home w/ the saleman and I'm going to say the same things I'd say if they were not.
Thank you for pointing out something I did not mention. My DH and I both work at home - he telecommutes and I am a management consultant, so there are not only several expensive computers, laser printers, a scanner, etc here but also cameras, etc. I put things out of sight but people open closets, of course, when viewing a house. So no way to get everything out of sight, especially in an office setting.
And yes, it was a computer that was damaged when someone viewed our home. So it does happen.
We have security cameras, and will install them in our new home as well. There are a lot of really screwy people out there, and if one of them decides to target my family, I'd like to know WHO it is
We've never had to review the tapes, and they record over themselves every 24 -48 hours? (not sure) but it does give peace of mind that IF something happened, we would be able to see the 'who 'dun it'.
I think hubby has a monitor hooked up to it, but I don't know that we've ever even turned the monitor on...?
the thought of using them to look at people in our home (who are allowed to be/supposed to be there) has never crossed our mind...
We have had to pull up the cameras for business during the middle of the night several times when the security alarm comp called to say an alarm was going off. The majority of the time it saved the police from being called and a trip to the office for my husband to make sure all was okay.
Only once have we had to save the recording and it was when some damage was done to the outside of a building. It was THE TAPE that made them pay for repairs and proved they were the responsible party. Even the police that viewed the tape stood by it.
Now, as for watching people on the tape......... done that. One good friend has a monitor in the family room/kitchen area that shows all the camera views. The kids can be out front riding bikes and we can be watching them. Also watched a house full of teenagers one time to make sure no one was getting into something or whatever. Did not care about anything else but just the safety of everyone there and that the home and others were respected. With a house full of about 100 teenagers........... ACK!!! You need all the eyes you can get.
Did not care about anything else but just the safety of everyone there and that the home and others were respected. With a house full of about 100 teenagers........... ACK!!! You need all the eyes you can get.
yeah...With that many teens in one place, I too would watch! lol can't blame you there!
I'm not saying your wrong. I'm just saying it wouldn't be for me and this is why I choose to live in rural areas on private roads or a long driveway instead of a big city anymore. I've worked at a company where we had people call in bomb threats regularly, key card access only, check the entrances before going in or out for suspicious packages or people etc. but thankfully we only had one suspicious bomb like package (right outside my window) that caused an uproar though we did have several people who were irate show up. And yes, it does grind on you after a while I guess.
In Oregon, AUDIO TAPING, a conversation between the potential buyers and their agent would be a Class A misdemeanor. Here is our statute.
165.540 Obtaining contents of communications. (1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 133.724 or 133.726 or subsections (2) to (7) of this section, a person may not: (c) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained.
In Oregon it doesn't matter that it is in your own home. It would still be against the law since you are recording their conversation without their consent. Legally I would think it is considered eavesdropping and I think that is against the law in most states.
Many security cameras don't record audio. They record video. It's the audio recording that presents the problem. When they show security camera footage from a store robbery there isn't any audio with it.
I would think for nanny-cams that since you are the guardian for the child, as the parent, you are making yourself a "party" to the recording, so I would think that would be a little different. I think that is a completely different scenario and can't be used to compare to this particular one.
This thread has gotten so far "off topic" it is laughable.
Posters are talking about "safety of their kids"--"things being broken or stolen" --in defending the practice.
PLEASE go back and re-read what the OP stated. Her main concern was not to see what was going on,but to hear what they were saying so it would give her an advantage in selling her house.
The OP even asked about a tape recorder to listen in on conversations.
NOWHERE did the OP state she wanted to do things to protect her house from theft.
The OP was quite specific it was only the conversations she wanted to be privy to in order to get an advantage in selling her house.
This thread has gotten so far "off topic" it is laughable.
Posters are talking about "safety of their kids"--"things being broken or stolen" --in defending the practice.
PLEASE go back and re-read what the OP stated. Her main concern was not to see what was going on,but to hear what they were saying so it would give her an advantage in selling her house.
The OP even asked about a tape recorder to listen in on conversations.
NOWHERE did the OP state she wanted to do things to protect her house from theft.
The OP was quite specific it was only the conversations she wanted to be privy to in order to get an advantage in selling her house.
I think that is WRONG !
Not to mention many a car dealer has been busted for doing this while buyers talk things over in "private" so the dealer can gain an upper hand. If the above example is ok with you then I guess you'd be ok with saying yes to the OP's question.
True enough but as a buyer I can tell you that if I know I'm being recorded or if I see cameras around the house I would pass on the house for a couple of reasons. One of them is if your so concerned about your security in that neighborhood I would question why and I certainly wouldn't want to live there.
This post is WHY I wrote what I did. Yes it strayed a bit from the OP's original question but to say that if one saw a security camera they would avoid the house............. all I did was point out that these ARE common in upper end homes. There IS a reason WHY people have such. To avoid a home just because one sees a camera without knowing WHY the owner felt the need for it......... I answered it.
So CALM DOWN!!!!!!!!! No one said ANYTHING about putting secret mics all over the place. But one interesting thing did come up and it concerns the nanny cams. Say a seller has a nanny cam for the babysitter. They get a call for a last minute showing and forget to turn it off. They did not INTENTIONALY record the showing as the sole purpose of the device was for the safety of their children. It can happen and I would not be surprised if it has not and the potential buyer was unaware of it.
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