I would like to pick your brain for a minute and try to get a better understanding as why some RE Agents include interior pictures of homes they list and others do not. I also wonder why sales concessions are not always listed. Is it personal preference, legal reasons, office policy, how someone you looked up to did it, etc?
Interior photos are how appraisers look inside the comparable sales to gauge their quality and condition. It is much easier to look at interior pictures than it is to interpret the wording in the listing. Personally I think it makes the listing agent stand out from those who don't include pictures. I feel the same way for appraisers. I think those who include interior pictures stand out from those who don't. I know many who don't include any interior pictures in their reports unless requested to do so. I think including pictures makes for a better report as pictures can say things better than people can sometimes.
Sales concessions can play a big role in inflating the value of a property if not disclosed. If a seller gives money back to the buyer to close the deal then that should be deducted from the value of the sales price. I'm not talking about an allowance for new carpet or improvements for the house. I strictly talking about the thousands of dollars paid back to the buyer at closing. If you pay $10 for something and get $5 change back, the sales price is $5, not $10. The whole nation is hurting from all of the fraud and foreclosures that took place over the past couple of years. Now its time to pay the piper. Reporting concessions is something I think that the powers that be will be cracking down on in the near future.
I've discovered many times a sales concession being involved in a transaction after talking with the listing agent over the phone; yet there was no mention of them in the mls sheet. I understand that there is the whole client confidentiality issue but I've been told that can be resolved by having a release signed. As an appraiser I am required to find the most recent and similar sales to the property I am appraising and grid them in my report. I am supposed to adjust for differences in condition, amenities, and sales concessions. I don't mind doing so as its part of the job and I enjoy talking to people and making new contacts.
Now I'm not complaining and I hope I don't sound that way. We all have dealt with pushy people or clients who want instant information and constant updates. We are a society built upon instant gratification. It can NEVER be fast enough whether it be cell phones, cars, the Internet, report turn times, information access, drive-thrus, tax refunds, etc. How many of you with DSL would sacrifice a limb rather than going back to dial up?
Its just that there aren't enough hours in the day to attend all of the open houses to see the condition of the properties, or to call every listing agent for every property we are considering using as a comparable, or to return their call because we were on the other line calling the next agent on our list of 20+ to call that day. RE Agents are extremely busy people too and do not always have the time to return an appraisers phone call right away. Appraisers have a small time window to complete the report in order to keep the client happy and the phone ringing. The lender/client wants the report yesterday and doesn't want to wait for the appraiser to finish playing phone tag to verify all of the info needed.
So getting back to my original questions, Why do some agents not include interior photos in their listings? Why do some agents not include sales concessions in their listings?
;)
Links;)
Archives
Hi Kenneth: I don't have clue why agents do not include interior photos in their MLS listings. It makes no sense to me, unless the interior looks so bad it would deter showings. Perhaps they don't have a good enough camera ? That is the main reason I purchased a Canon Rebel XTi camera... to take quality photos to enhance my listings.