Website Accessibility For Realtors
The way we view properties and land has significantly changed in the last 10 years. Instead of calling a real estate agent and viewing residences for weeks, a potential renter or buyer can go online and view all pertinent information about a property or house in minutes.
Losing Out On Your Potential Clients
If your website and its content aren’t accessible to those with disabilities, you could be losing out on 20% of your potential clients. However, web accessibility isn’t only important to further your business’ profits. It’s also about giving everyone the chance to feel like they are wanted by your business.
The Fair Housing Act
For those in real estate, the Fair Housing Act and its laws are nothing new. Many class action lawsuits are being brought against real estate brokers, lenders, and building companies for violating these laws because their websites are inaccessible to disabled individuals.
Courtrooms are finding that if someone can’t access information on a home or development online because of web accessibility issues, then they do not have access to fair housing. Many real estate agents and developers will at one stage receive a demand letter from a plaintiff’s attorney who feels this way. While it might be hard to envisage how to solve this issue, you do need to act upon it. If you receive a demand letter, it might be to claim that your organization is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That’s a serious allegation.
Since a website can be considered a place of public accommodation, you need to achieve the levels and standards expected. If you would like to know more of the kind of changes that you may need to make, then the DOJ often refers to the World Wide Web Consortium’ Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.