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What Are You Selling?

By
Real Estate Agent with Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com 0480809

Do you think about what you're trying to sell when you take pictures of the house you have listed?  I always think, "Does this picture convey what a buyer is interested in?"

What is this agent or seller trying to sell?  Are you selling this treadmill?  Does it work?  How old it is?  Did you try to sell it on Craigslist and it didn't sell so you thought you would include it in the sale of the home? 

Oh, I know, you're trying to sell that lamp.  It looks like it should be in an antique shop.  How old is that thing?  Does it have a switch to allow three light levels?

Maybe you're trying to sell the beam holding the ceiling up.  That's a mighty strong beam, and it looks to be freshly painted.  But it's hard to tell because the picture is AWFUL!  It's not clear, it's not in focus, it's not showing anything that a buyer would be interested in.

Here are some other examples:

 

Does the mirror come with the wallpaper?

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure my daughter would like this bedspread if it's coming with the house.  It looks a bit scary... I assume the agent isn't trying to sell room size as it looks to be the size of a closet.

 

 

 

Let's see, on this one, I bet the agent is trying to sell the house with the dog.  No?  The dog looks friendly enough.  It's even greeting someone at the front door.  I think that's the front door.  Maybe it's the back door and the dog is trying to get out to go to the bathroom.  I hope that agent had his pooper-scooper with him.

 

 

These are just some examples I found while going through the MLS yesterday. I take pride in the pictures I provide for my sellers as I know the first impression is the biggest impression.  Do any of these pictures make someone want to jump in their car and go see the house the first day on the market before any other buyers?  I should have noted the number of days on market for each of these listings,  but I didn't.

Sellers, did you approve these pictures for your listing?  I really hope not.  Please ask your agent to take new pictures.

Please, if you have pictures like these for your listings, please please remove them!  I rather see 10 pictures of the exterior from different angles than picture of the interior that make the house look horrible.

Lori Mode
The Mode Real Estate Group - Elk Grove, CA
Real Estate Made Simple

Donna - great post...isn't it amazing what agents focus on in their pictures of their listings?  I always love the ones that show all the clutter in a room; do they not realize what that buyers actually look at the photos?

Aug 22, 2008 05:05 PM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Really Great Post!  I will be using this-thanks!!    

Aug 22, 2008 05:12 PM
Denise Willer
Elite Realty - Las Vegas, NV
"Where Therenulls a Willer Therenulls a Way" Las Vegas

Donna,

Good Realtors love houses.  Not all of them are great with cameras.  I'd love to think that the ones who aren't hire a professional

When I was just an assistant to a listing agent, I would set out with the office's lend-out camera - I think it was an ELF with the floppy disks you had to insert to save on - gosh, that was only 2004! 

The idealist in me wants to say that any agent would take extreme pride in the photos, as they are a reflection of his interest in selling the property and his level of professionalism as well as his concern for the business that is his bread and butter!

There is a term used in many art mediums - it is called COMPOSITION.  I think point and shoot cameras sometimes take away from the concept of only seeing what is revealed through the lens.  A local colleague, Jack LeVine, created his top ten worst MLS photos this year and I was amazed at the results!

Thanks for the great post!

Aug 22, 2008 06:26 PM
Robert Vegas Bob Swetz
Las Vegas, NV

Donna - I have seen some of the most terrible photos on MLS listings and I will agree with you 100% on this post. Thank you for the reminder.

Aug 22, 2008 09:54 PM
Greg Nino
RE/MAX Compass - Houston, TX
Houston, Texas

On a positive note.... reject agents like this make us shine that much brighter!

shine

Aug 23, 2008 05:34 AM
Mike Hughes
Hughes Residential - Newton, MA
Services Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Waltham & W

Thank you!  I agree 100% ... I strongly urge any serious agent to invest in a wide angle camera and a tripod.  Then, ask the camera store employee how to take a nice picture of a room -- they're always happy to help.

Personally, I have fun showing sellers "other agents" photos and the importance of my property preparation plan.


Best regards,

Mike

Aug 23, 2008 05:44 AM
Deb Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Donna, whew. I have a house such as this one too. You simply can't see the walls for all the junk. I don't necessarily like trying to sell empty homes either but at least you can see beyond the "stuff". Thanks for this and I wanted to let you know I missed you at the Austin get together. Another time!

Later in the rain~Deb

Aug 23, 2008 08:51 AM
Deb Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties Wichita Falls Texas - Wichita Falls, TX

Donna, whew. I have a house such as this one too. You simply can't see the walls for all the junk. I don't necessarily like trying to sell empty homes either but at least you can see beyond the "stuff". Thanks for this and I wanted to let you know I missed you at the Austin get together. Another time!

Later in the rain~Deb

Aug 23, 2008 08:51 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

Emily, Thanks.

Susan, I can't believe agents aren't showing their sellers.  I do it not just to have their approval on the description and such, but as my way of saying, here's your listing, you're listed.

Michael, Yes, but even ugly deserves some type of representation.

Steve, Make an offer!

Lori, Some just thinks it makes it look like the room can hold a hold and that should be good, but it's not.

Cathy, Thank you.

Aug 23, 2008 02:04 PM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

Denise, Yeah, I used to use a camera that we could sign out for at the front desk... that was 2001-2002... then I started dated my now husband and he gave me his old one when he bought a new one.  Man, it weighed like 10 pounds!  I'm due for a new one at the moment, and I've been trying to figure out which one to get...

Robert, Thank you.  I always love it when someone agrees 100%!

Greg, True, very true.

Mike, Showing sellers other pictures on appts is a grand idea, thanks!  I show my staging photos, but hadn't thought about showing other people's horrible photos compared to mine.

Deb, I'll be in Austin soon enough (tomorrow actually) and I hope I don't miss the next one.

 

Aug 23, 2008 02:09 PM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

Oh, we all see the lovely photos. I love the ones with the agent in the mirror, those are my favorites.

Todd Clark, Helping Families Home - www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

Aug 23, 2008 06:03 PM
Claudia Wicks
Real Estate Base Camp - Bellevue, WA

Great reminder to take photos that well represent the home.  This is especially valuable when homes are sitting on the market and need all of the best marketing efforts.

Aug 24, 2008 11:14 AM
Cindy Lin
Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA
Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

Exactly, I can't say it often enough how important photos are!

Cheers,

Cindy

Aug 24, 2008 02:52 PM
Connie Betz
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate - Omaha, NE
Top Omaha Realtor - Omaha Homes for Sale

Donna, are those real examples from your MLS?  LOL  It's really not that hard for agents to crop and color adust.  I saw a virtual tour this week of a $400K home.  I think it was beautiful, the pictures were so dark you couldn't appreciate the home.

Aug 28, 2008 10:31 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

Connie, Yes, those are real pictures, each from a different listing, so they're not all from the same house.

Cindy, Thank you.

Claudia, Exactly, thank you!

Todd, I almost put one of those in, but I'm saving it for another blog.

Aug 28, 2008 11:47 PM
Jennifer Fivelsdal
JFIVE Home Realty LLC | 845-758-6842|162 Deer Run Rd Red Hook NY 12571 - Rhinebeck, NY
Mid Hudson Valley real estate connection

Donna- Yes we should take care in our presentation, asking the question what am a selling?  when looking a the photos will help in our decision as to what shots to use.

Aug 30, 2008 01:56 PM
Sonja Adams
Keller Williams Realty - Purcellville, VA

I think people don't realize the value of good photos...they are what bring the buyers in...lighting is very important as is the clarity of the photo...who wants to see a dark fuzzy room?  But how often do we see that?  I realize its not a skill we are good at, but its one we need to have if we are taking our own photos...

Sep 04, 2008 05:10 AM
Rancho Bernardo
Coldwell Banker Real Estate DRE#01410072 - Rancho Bernardo, CA
Gina@GinaYoungren.com (ABR,e-PRO,SRES) 92127,92128

Too funny but oh so real!

I have a wonderful professional photographer I use for my clients . He is willing to wait for "just a minute" as I gather up all the 'stuff' on the kitchen counters and move a floral arrangement to the table etc etc...I make him let me SEE the digital photos BEFORE we leeve the house so I am sure he saw the rooms MY WAY! He's the photographer but I am the Realtor. I LOVE the photo of the dog you posted! Just had a parrot that ruled the roost at my last listing so was hard to "capture it and the room's essence...You have reminded us that we need to be thinking how this will look if blown up the size of a big screen tv! If a Buyer actually is able to purchase a home oyu can guarantee they will be showing the world their new home bigger than life. A bit scary huh?

Sep 09, 2008 07:44 AM
Richard Stabile
Re/Max Real Estate Limited - Oradell, NJ
Bergen County New Homes Builder Realtor

The first problem with most pictures I see they are taken with the wrong lens and lighting.

A wide angle lens works the best with house pictures. Most agents are not that sophisticated.

Richard

Sep 10, 2008 11:55 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

http://activerain.com/blogsview/693596/What-Are-You-Selling

Here's another one you might enjoy...

Sep 16, 2008 05:42 AM