Home : Blogs : Monika McGillicuddy~REALTOR®~ N.H. Real Estate Broker & Trainer : New Hampshire Real Estate Sales and Training Blog

First Impressions...who cares??

pretty flower It’s May and in New Hampshire my grass is green and my flowers are starting to peek out. Yet last week I got an invite to an open house…the picture of the house had at least a half a foot of snow on the roof.

Yesterday I surfed the MLS and I noticed a listing that had recently expired, the listing photo had a few feet of snow on the ground.

Another new listing has 2 photos repeated 3 times…so 8 photo spots used up in the MLS of the same two shots, another showed dishes and clutter on the counters. Then…god forbid a lovely picture of a bathroom showing nothing but the toilet with the lid up no less! I’m happy the house comes with a toilet but really how about showing more of the bathroom or skipping the hopper shot all together.

Remember how we were all taught about the importance of making a first impression? Today, depending on what survey you believe up to 90% of home buyers search or use the Internet to find a house.

First impressions…each time a listing is viewed on line a decision will be made based on that photo. A decision to make an appointment or to inquire about more information, or the decision to by pass the home completely.

What does your on-line listing photos say about you and your house? What does it say about the professionalism of your agent?

I wonder if the Sellers of the listings I looked at yesterday know what their online first impression is?

I wonder if they care?

Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training

NewHampshireRealEstateBlog.com

Prudential Verani Realty

Hampstead NH Real Estate

Posted by Monika McGillicuddy~REALTOR®~ N.H. Real Estate Broker & Trainer on 05/08/2008 02:13 PM

Comments (20)

hampstead nh real estate, new hampshire real estate

This post has been included in New Hampshire Information
Post is included in group: Live Free or Die
Post is included in group: Posts to Localism
Post is included in group: New Hampshire - Real Estate and Life in The Granite State!

20 Comments on First Impressions...who cares??

MAY

2008

Hi Monika,

Nice post, it is so true about first impressions. Have a great day. Michael A. Caruso

Very true Monika. Not only do we see this in the MLS, but also in the Homes & Land magazine. People are actually paying for these ads with out-dated pictures. I sure hope that anyone who is cheating and being lazy about keeping their photos updated is caught by their sellers.

True, true, true, Monika! My sellers always laugh at me about the bathroom since I am fanatical about the toilet lid being down. I always send my sellers links to the posts and MLS listing of their home - that way they know exactly what the buyers are seeing - I guess the agents with no photos or one outdated photo are on a different page than the rest of us :)

Monika - My pet peeve! Yuck! The least anyone can do for their client is to use current pictures!

p.s. We're having a blast on our trip!

No excuse. Absolutely no excuse. That is simply a sign of a VERY LAZY AGENT.

If I were a seller, I'd fire their butt.

I totally agree...I see all of the photos of listings from when the trees were bare and now with this glorious spring everything has come alive. How sad to have old photos!

Hi Monika - when I see pics at this time of year with snow in them, and listings with just one picture, I often wonder if those sellers know how their property is being represented, or not, but the agent they chose. I was going through some listings just yesterday and found snow, crappy pictures, no pictures, etc. And some of these were very high-end homes, too. You do wonder what they think......

I'm with Lenn - I'd fire their butts! ;-)

Ann

Hi Monika,

You are right, those photos should be updated for the spring. I suspect these sellers may not be aware of whats going on, hopefully they will read this. :)

Thanks for the reminder. First impressions are definitely very important. Good post. :)

Monika - First impression is key. The sellers I know check out the on-line presence, therefore it is important to have pictures updated for both buyers and sellers.

Monika- your points are so true, call it lazy, incompetent or whatever any Agent who doesn't review their listings and or update them should be ashamed of themselves and if their Sellers are not looking on line to see what their listing looks like, then the two deserve each other.

Monika the picture of the bathroom with the toilet seat up must have been taken buy a guy, we like to be ready at all time ............. LOL

George...LOL oh you are soooo bad!!!

Christopher...It amazes me that the sellers don't bother to look for their listings on line or if they do I guess snow in May must be okay!

Jennifer...I don't really think many sellers bother to check. It just blows my mind.

Debi...Thanks so much!

Suzanne...I don't know how they can not be aware! Pretty sad!

Ann...LOL I'm with Lenn too! "If I were a seller, I'd fire their butt."

Diane...Everything looks so much better now ...it's a true shame when the photos are not updated.

Lenn... I love your "If I were a seller, I'd fire their butt." remark. It really says it all!

Linda...Thanks so much for commenting especially when you're on vacation!

Lisa...I hate seeing toilets in MLS photos...even with the lid down! I guess I have a vivid imagination.

Katherine...Don't ya just wish you could send them a copy of it?????

Thank you Michael...I hope you have a great day too!

I always have time for my friends!

Great points Monika

MAY

2008

You are a sweety Linda!

Thank you Joan.

Hi Monika! Great post!

Nothing screams "this house has been sitting on the market awhile" more than snow in the photos on the MLS when the grass is green when you walk outside.

It may be time for this particular agent to go get a few new photos. A bright, sunny day would be ideal! And, for the love of all good things, do the dishes and put the lid down on the toilet!

You are so RIGHT ON with this post. I am totally frustrated with this aspect of some agents. Not only getting updated photos but even simply taking care of the "beat to crap yard sign" that the plows crushed this winter. It is even worse where we are because of the large number of vacant second homes so the seller isn't around to keep the agent accountable.

Yep, if I was the broker/owner of these agents I would offer one warning and then send them packing. "The way you do anything is the way you do everything" as they say...

GREAT post Miss Monika-- and now I am all fired up to double check OUR listings and make sure we are updated too. ;)

Hey, Monika - Most sellers are probably not aware how their homes appear online but you can bet they would care and have issues with such 'lazy' marketing.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?