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Would You Put This Picture in MLS?

By
Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway California Realty DRE #01492138

Would You Put This Picture in MLS?

A few weeks ago I was searching the MLS and came across a house that was a perfect for one of my buyers. When I opened up the pictures to view the features I found 5 pictures and this one surprised me beyond belief. The other 4 photos were not quite as bad but pretty much the same.

 Messy Room

Of course, I did not take my buyer to see this house as this photo was enough to say NO WAY; messy, dirty, smelly, maybe infested, no repairs or upgrades and No Pride of Ownershiphere. Perhaps my first impression was incorrect but the photo was enough to turn me off and keep searching for other homes in the area.

I am a firm believer to put the maximum number of photos in MLS to for perspective buyers to view the lovely rooms and features but if this was my listing, I would just put in the front image and work on getting my clients to clean up inside before I added any others.

A seller, who would not clean up their home, is not truly interested in selling. Do they not realize they will not get top dollar if the entire home looks like this? I can understand if a child's room is messy but the rest of the house is neat, clean and free of clutter.

I also believe as their listing agent, it is their duty to educate the seller to declutter to make the home look as large as possible, to highlight the good features, and to make the buyers want to come back for a second look. Also if the house smells nice, this will entice the buyer to remember the home with positive images.

My specialty is listing properties for homeowners. I would never let a picture like this get into the MLS. I feel this is incompetence on the agent's part. Maybe a childs's room is messy but do not put the picture in or "Shoot High" above the clutter.

Can you believe this photo?

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Stephen P. Panczak, Ph.D.
Keller Williams Coastal Partners - Palm Beach, FL
Real Estate Agent & Business Coach, (561) 254-8098

Hi Kristen - I've seen homes like this one before listing, never in MLS photos. It makes you wonder what the listing agent was thinking....or were they even thinking! Great Post!

Aug 09, 2011 05:07 AM
Jennifer Chiongbian
Specializing in all types of Manhattan apts & townhouses - Manhattan, NY
Real Estate Broker - NYC

Ugh, I guess this is where they dumped all the mess from the other room!  No need to advertise that one!  What was that agent thinking?!

Aug 09, 2011 05:12 AM
Juan Bassett
Long & Foster - Germantown, MD
GRI

Hi Kristin, Placing a house on the market for public display is supposed to help sell it... not help condemn it! The picture you chose speaks for itself.  I am also interested in what the listing agent was thinking when they took the pictures... and placed them on the MLS>>>

Aug 09, 2011 05:18 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Stephanie, Yes, it looks like something off that Hoarders Show on TV. Agents need to educate their buyers that this is not acceptable to get home sold efficiently and get top dollar.

Hi Stephen, I don't know what the agent was thinking. I would have skipped the picture in this room.

Hi Jennifer, The other rooms weren't much better and their was not more than 4 pictures total so what we didn't see may be much worse. This might have been the cleanest room!

Aug 09, 2011 05:22 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Juan, You are so right. The agent was not thinking....nor was the agent doing a satisfactory job to their client in my opinion. Homeowners and listing agents must work together to get the house sold.

Aug 09, 2011 05:25 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Let's all hope that the person, or people living in this home right now, get serious help. Maybe that was the goal of the selling agent? Selling the home sure wasn't the idea. ~ Jennifer

Aug 09, 2011 05:43 AM
#9
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Jennifer, I am just not sure what the listing agent was thinking...or were they thinking at all?

Aug 09, 2011 06:01 AM
Dick Greenberg
New Paradigm Partners LLC - Fort Collins, CO
Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate

Hi Kristin - That one is a classic, nicely focused and framed and is definitely worth a thousand words - most of them bad. Hard to understand why there were only 5 photos! I probably would have called the agent just to get the story, but I'd never show this home either.

Aug 09, 2011 06:15 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Dick, I wanted to call them and yell and say I am not showing this house to my client as it looks so bad. I would be embarrassed to show it plus it probably smells. But I did not call as this agent should know better. And good luck with those low ball offers!

Aug 09, 2011 06:21 AM
Stephen Proski
Real Estate Kailua Kona, Hawaii - Kailua-Kona, HI
Real Estate Kailua Kona Hawaii

Kristin, no one ever said that having a real estate license makes you a professional.   Placing photo's on the MLS like this will not sell the house, but actually turn people off.  Maybe you should call the agent and remind them to put their best foot forward.

Aug 09, 2011 06:58 AM
Georgia Perez
Windermere Real Estate / WSI - Seattle, WA
Broker, ABR, CNE, Seattle, WA 206-356-9872

Kristen, there are a lot of agents out there that simply don't seem concerned with or able to give their clients good advice. I suppose it's possible that the agent may have given good council but been ignored. I guess at that point they have to decide if that's the listing they want to represent.

I've also heard agents, who have short sales listed, say that they need the pictures to look bad to help the bank see the home as less valuable when they are negotiating an offer. My view on my short sale listings is I treat them the same as any other listing and have them clean, staged and appropriately photographed. After all, I have nothing to negotiate if the home can't attract a buyer!

Aug 09, 2011 06:59 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Stephen, I thought about calling the agent but figured they would just get defensive so I didn't make the call. They should know better!

Hi Georgia, This was not a short sale nor was it a fixer but a pretty nice home in a lovely neighborhood. Luckily there was a lot of other homes in the area for my buyer to view and select from. This home is still active and it has been weeks since I first saw it on MLs. Wonder why that is???

Aug 09, 2011 07:09 AM
Doug Rogers
RE/MAX Coastal Properties - Destin, FL
Your Real Estate Resource!

Are they selling the home "furnished"??

Aug 09, 2011 07:33 AM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Kristin.  I think I would be grateful to the agent for sharing this gem of a photo so I dont have to waste my time or anybody elses.  The seller and agent need to have a serious prayer meeting about this disaster.

Aug 09, 2011 07:35 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Doug, The buyers might have to get a credit for a trash-out after COE. Probably nothing worth keeping.

Hi John, Your comment is very funny. I was hoping the agent might be an ActiveRain member and see their picture on the web. That might be motivation to clean it up?

Aug 09, 2011 07:42 AM
Gina Tufano
Ask Gina & Company with Pearson Smith Realty - Sterling, VA
Ask Gina & Company, Northern Virginia Real Estate

Wow - that really is saying something...the wrong something!

Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Aug 10, 2011 03:03 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Gina, Yes it is certainly giving off the wrong message here.

Aug 10, 2011 03:07 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Gina, Yes, I think it is definitely sending the wrong picture and it was a nice house on the outside in a nice neighborhood. But this picture says fixer, sell cheap, maybe tenant occupied.

Aug 10, 2011 03:44 PM
Gail Robinson
William Raveis Real Estate - Southport, CT
CRS, GRI, e-PRO Fairfield County, CT

Kristin - This has to be a tenant's belongings.  I can't believe anyone selling their own home would have it in this condition or that the agent would take a picture of it.  I recently did show a home that was like this, but the agent warned me ahead of time and she certainly didn't take photos of the mess.  If you just saw a photo of the outside and the agent talked you through the issues with the mess you might have seen it and your client might have even made an offer.  A messy home is a great opportunity for a buyer to get a steep discount on the price.

Aug 10, 2011 04:47 PM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

It was a fairly nice house on the outside, not a short sale and said the owners lived there but who knows for sure. Perhaps they had cleaned up the room but the Realtor had not re-shot the pics and put in the MLS. We found another house. For the homeowners sake, I hope they sold the house. I meant to keep the address and check this month but cannot find it now. I am trying to have good vibes that the house sold without me having to show it.

Aug 10, 2011 05:03 PM