The latest expert opinion on passwords is that complexity doesn’t necessarily equal security. A password such as applepoetrysalute is just as safe as P@ssw0rd1! but much easier to remember.
On the Advice for REALTORS® blog, Soapy Sudbury pointed out that password requirements for many websites haven’t been updated to reflect this new guidance. “You have to use what they want, rather than what you can remember,” Sudbury says.
The new guidance from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology also states that passwords only need to be updated when there is a breach. Rick DeVoss suggested that Multiple Listing Services update their password requirements. “I’d be willing to bet that changing my password every few months has never kept anyone from getting into the system if they wanted to,” he says.
Responding to a post about emails and text messages being targets during real estate lawsuits, Candy Cargill says “saving my emails has saved my rear end a few times.” Deleted emails can also be targets during litigation, Michael Dougan says. “In some cases, if the plaintiff’s attorney wants to, the deleted emails and texts can be retrieved by court order,” he says. “It just depends on how much time and money the plaintiff wants to spend.”
When we noted that the Texas Property Code doesn’t require sellers to disclose deaths on their property that resulted from natural causes, suicide, or an accident unrelated to the property’s condition, Pauly Tamez responded that it’s still best to disclose any death on a property upfront. “If you don’t, the neighbors will,” he says.