How has the new legislation changed the way Realtors do business? According to many Realtors, the legislation has not significantly changed their way of contacting clients because most agents tend to focus on clients with whom they have already done business. For those Realtors who used cold calling as a means of finding potential clients, it has become a thing of the past. In fact, Realtor associations are taking a proactive stance in regard to the legislation at the national, state and local level by posting Do Not Call lists and helping Realtors and others understand the implications of the new laws.

"One of the biggest issues in the industry has been the Do Not Call Registry and now the Can Spam legislation," said Ron Gates, president of Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos. "We're all over-faxed and over-called. We are responding as an industry by posting Do Not Call lists, by addressing the issue with our Realtor members and asking everybody to opt in."

The National Do Not Call Registry gives consumers an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. Telemarketers have three months from the date a person registers to stop calling. The list is managed by the Federal Trade Commission and enforced by that group, the Federal Communications Commission and state law-enforcement officials.

The list is designed to stop unsolicited calls, although some calls are still allowed, including those on behalf of political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors, as well as those from companies that have an existing business relationship with the called person or those made to a customer who has given written permission to receive calls. Fines for noncompliance can be stiff—up to $11,000 per call in certain instances.

The definition of an established business relationship is a bit fuzzy. By purchasing something from a company, consumers can establish a relationship with the company, so even if their number is on the National Do Not Call Registry, the company may call for up to 18 months after the last purchase, delivery or payment made, unless the consumer asks the company not to call again. An established business relationship with a company can also begin if an inquiry or an application is made to the company. This kind of business relationship exists for three months after the inquiry or application. If a specific request is made by the consumer to not call, then the company is not supposed to call.

In addition, President Bush signed the Can Spam Act of 2003 into law on Dec. 16, 2003. The act creates a single national standard designed to control the growing problem of deceptive or fraudulent commercial email. Both the Do Not Call and Can Spam legislation preempt state law in most cases. Although the Can Spam Act does not ban commercial emails, it does outline a series of practices that must be followed when sending commercial emails. At this time, officials are working on a plan and timetable to create a Do Not Email list similar to the Do Not Call Registry.

"I think anti-spam is a much-needed thing right now. What we are all seeing coming through on our daily emails is far more distracting than what it was initially supposed to be used for," said Dale Klippel, a Realtor with Prudential California Realty. "It should be only acceptable for whatever it is that you want to receive and not for all the unwanted garbage and trash that currently comes across to all of us by the hundreds each and every day. Not-wanted messages should also face the penalty of harsh fines, just like the no-call system does for all the telemarketers."

Klippel believes the overall impact has affected the real estate industry as a whole and some Realtors more than others. "I do enjoy working with my clients via phone, but now I have to make sure I have their permission to call back. The other way is via email, and that has always been with the blessing of my clients first and foremost, so that is not a new problem with me. Right now I am not finding that I need to change too much of anything that I have been doing for the last few years," Klippel said.

With the increase in over-aggressive telemarketers during the last several years, Klippel isn't surprised that the practice of making unwanted phone calls has finally come to a screeching halt. "Now the time has come to rid ourselves of all the unwanted spam coming across to us via the Internet email system," he said.

While Chuck Lane of Coldwell Banker used to communicate much more by phone, he said he now prefers staying in touch with his clients via email. This seems to be a growing trend with Realtors and popular with clients as well. In fact, Realtors are incensed by unsolicited calls and email spam along with everybody else.

"I am still getting lots of spam and am trying to report it when I can," said Francine Nelson, broker/owner of Realty World. "Almost all of them are ignoring me completely."

Nelson likes to use a newsletter to communicate with her clients and sends it out as an email so she can put in a lot of information, and the reader can choose which articles are most appealing. She recommends checking out the new anti-spam legislation at www.leginfo.ca.gov or www.ftc.gov/donotcall to find out more details about the Do Not Call Registry.