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Avoid Bad / Lousy Photos in the MLS!!

By
Real Estate Agent with Realty Executives Platinum

I had a phone call today from a potential client that has partial ownership of some vacant land in Palmdale. He has the opportunity to buy out one of his partners and wanted to see what I though the value of the land was. When he told me where the lot was I knew immediately that it was listed by another agent as it is a commercial lot that is near my home and I drive past it every day.

I searched the MLS and was not able to pull up the property so I pulled the listing up by the agents name. To my surprise the this lot has been listed since Oct. 2005 and there is not 1 photo in the MLS!  To make add insult to injury this property is listed for over $2 million !!  Now how lazy is that agent? If you were the seller would you think that agent earned his commission?

John Occhi of Hemet recently wrote about the importance of Real Estate Photos in the MLS (http://activerain.com/blogsview/152683/The-Importance-of-Pictures). I came across this site and thought I would do a follow up and give some examples of what not to put in the MLS - but please get your photos into the MLS.

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer/viewer.asp?t=830679&sk=46&dm=teamfisher.com

 

 

Comments (15)

Becky Troutt
No longer practicing real estate as of 2008. - Bradenton, FL
LAZY LAZY LAZY.  That agent wasn't able to even so much as take ONE photo?  Heck for $2million, I'm sure you could find several good pictures to take of it.  Some people just don't get it.
Jul 26, 2007 10:26 PM
Jerry Barrows
Homeland Realty Corporation - Fishers, IN
Even a bad photo is better than no photo. Fire that agent!
Jul 26, 2007 10:35 PM
Linda Reynolds
Bradenton Real Estate - Linda Reynolds - Bradenton, FL
Bradenton Real Estate
How hard is it to take a photo of vacant land??  That is just plain lazy.
Jul 26, 2007 10:38 PM
a b
c - Milford, PA
I have seen this myself even with homes! There will be a bad picture of the outside and nothing of the backyard or even the interior of the home. If they won't take a photo of the outside they can still crop a picture of the taxmap and I don't think it would take more than five minutes. It's amazing. Find out when the listing is expiring and do it yourself :)
Jul 26, 2007 11:35 PM
Carol Williams
Although I'm retired, I love sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA
Retired Agent / Broker / Prop. Mgr, Wenatchee, WA
Photos are critical... the more the better.  Are these agents lazy or just so behind the times they don't know how to post photos?
Jul 26, 2007 11:43 PM
Anne Hensel
South Beaches Real Estate Professionals - Saint Petersburg, FL
Realtor - Broker - St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island
How stupid is the seller to put up with something like this?
Jul 27, 2007 12:33 AM
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator - Fort Myers, FL

Donna:

Photoshop? Hmm..........

 

Jul 27, 2007 12:47 AM
Tara Boettger
HOMEGIRL Home Staging - Poughkeepsie, NY
In one of my local MLS's the agent will get fined if there is not at least one photo of their listing after (I think)7 days. I think all MLS's should adopt this rule, it would make life just a little simpler.
Jul 27, 2007 02:05 AM
Brett Reichel
Homebridge Financial Services - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
MLO 210215
As a potential consumer - I can't believe how lazy some agents are about photo's.  The local mls here allows for 8 photo's - many agents don't have 1!  If I were a seller, I would insist that the agent find SOMETHING to take a picture of!
Jul 27, 2007 04:10 AM
David Fox
The Real Estate Tech Desk - Crofton, MD
Real Estate Technology Specialist

geez, if he didnt want to take the time to take a photo, he could of at least gone and posted a satellite image from google maps or something!  I dont think a single client of mine posts less than 6 photos of a property...some get upset at the fact that there is a 20 photo limit on MRIS.

photos are very important, not saying that just because I am in the industry, but because I recently went through the home buying process.  I was in MD, and was searching for a home in the Raleigh/Durham area...I wouldnt even think twice about clicking on a listing with no photo....and the house I ended up purchasing I passed over once before online because the photos were not so great...the listing agent (now also a client of mine) later posted a virtual tour of the listing--that is what sold me, and had me driving to NC to look at it, and write a contract! 

so not only should you POST photos--but make sure they are good ones too!   We dont need to see pictures of half baths where you can only see part of a tub and the top of a toilet!  What good does that really do for the listing?

Jul 27, 2007 04:21 AM
Penny Florence
Midvale, UT
Hi Donna, I can't agree with you more!  How much effort does it take to take out your camera a shoot a picture?  Or better yet get on the phone and schedule with a company to have it professionally done!  What is the problem that so many agents don't care-this is part of their fiduciary duties!  What I can't stand also is the pictures are distorted.  I took a client out to see a home and from the picture it looked liked a nice size home-it was about half the size I was expecting when we got there.  It was embarrassing!  Thanks for the blog!
Jul 27, 2007 04:29 AM
Jon Mitchell
Classic Property Management - Santa Clarita, CA
Wow!  On a strictly financial note, why would he slack off on a potentially huge commision???  Just the fact that he didn't seem to WANT the money makes me think that he does not deserve it...
Jul 28, 2007 08:52 AM
Donna Oehler
Realty Executives Platinum - Palmdale, CA
A.V. Foreclosure Specialist

The most ridiculous thing is that when we enter our listings into the MLS we have a drop down bar that says photo provided by:  agent or board.  Our board would have even gone and taken the photo for him - and I believe they do it for FREE!!

The land is in Lancaster California and I believe the sellers are in Florida, so I doubt they even know that they did not have any photos in the MLS, which means there is also no photo at www.Realtor.com.

And to top things off rather then using a nice standard professional real estate sign he went out and painted a 4 x 8 piece of plywood and used stencils to paint his name on it! I would post a photo of the sign except I know that a lot of agents in the Antelope Valley use activerain and I would hate to make another agent mad that I might do a deal with one day! 

Jul 28, 2007 11:04 AM
Blatt + Cutino
Coldwell Banker Realty - Monterey, CA
Broker-Associate 831/206-8070*Call today*

No photos is so frustrating and so hard to imagine that in this day and age an agent would not take the time to include photos.  Sometimes I don't know what to say to clients when they ask me why some properties do not have photos on the mls or other websites.  The bar needs to be raised for this industry and at the minimum every listing needs as many photos as possible!

Jul 31, 2007 03:18 PM
Andrew King
Avalon Real Estate Agency - Avalon, NJ

I think a point no one ever mentions about this type of behavior is simply, they don't know any better / don't care.  I think everyone forgets that if you read active rain, or any other site like this, then well you give a s*&t about your career, agency, clients etc.

There is an agent in NY that offers 12.00 a photo for someone to go and shoot his exteriors with a cellphone I guess whatever they have available. I guess he feels that is what his clients business and property is worth. I've contacted him and he never responds.

Its just simply a case of not caring. These types probably live the same way or it would bother them to show a dirty, trash strewn kitchen or bathroom, or a bedroom with clothes all over the place. 

 

Drew King

Real Estate Photographer 

My blog hits on these types of issues 

Sep 01, 2007 12:53 PM