What Are You Selling?

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.