It doesn’t appear to be happening widely in the home mortgage world yet, and lenders must be very careful not to violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

As the Huffington Post reports,

RapLeaf said its analyses were not used for credit decisions. Lending Club said it does use information from social networks–but “only to confirm people’s identities and minimize fraud.”

This may be true, but if you lose your job and put it on Facebook, they can find that. Keep in mind, though, that if your circumstances change from the time you apply to the time you close, (i.e. you lose your job), you must notify your bank immediately, because you will not want to be committing mortgage fraud — unintentionally or not.

What this shows is that any information you put out on social media networking sites can be seen anywhere. Even if your privacy settings are high, some of your information can still be viewed. Always be careful what you put on Facebook and other sites. Be careful!

I was asked to present based on my experience and success using social media to enhance my Towson real estate business.

The four networks I discussed were Facebook, ActiveRain, Linkedin, and Twitter.

Although I also actively participate on Trulia and Zillow, I only had 20 minutes to present! On May 21, 2009, I have been asked to present a follow up because there was so much interest from the Baltimore realtors.

I met some fantastic people, and enjoyed speaking with many of the attendees afterwards. I am looking forward to the next presentation, and will also be teaching another 1.5 CE credit course on the same topic for GBBR on May 28, 2009.