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Short Sale Listings Need Photos!!!

By Donna Oehler

Real Estate Agent with Realty Executives Platinum

November 11, 2007 04:26 PM

I know we have all talked about lazy agents not putting photo's in the MLS but come on agents - why bother taking a short sale listing if you are not going to at least put a photo in the MLS?? I was running comps in the MLS for a BPO and it's amazing how many agents who are taking the time to list a short sale home have no photo and the descriptions goes something like this:

"This is a Short Pay Listing,Price is not Guaranteed 4bed 3 bath home in great neighdorhood near schools, shopping centers and also close to new shopping center being constructed around the corner , Property is sold as is"

The above was copied from an MLS entry that was entered in July 2007 and as of today they have no photo so the photo looks like this:

They do not even have neighborhood spelled correctly. So seriously, why bother wasting space in the MLS for this?? Who is going to show this home? Why keep adding homes to the MLS count and wasting our time? If you can not upload a photo why would I show this house and think you would actually take the time to do a short sale package correctly??

So please- if you are going to take the listing - try to work it correctly or pass it onto an agent that will. When you do half A** work it does a disservice to all of us hard working short short sale agents out there trying to build the confidence in the real estate community that we can get the job done and close the deal, and the sellers who's lives are destroyed in many cases because of the foreclosure.

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Nancy Brenner

Referral Associates of Georgia, Inc. - Roswell, GA

Roswell Georgia Real Estate Agent

Listing 101: Put photos in you MLS - ALWAYS!!!!
Being a savvy photographer is not a requirement.
My opinion is that a bad photo better than NO photo!

Nov 11, 2007 04:37 PM

Aaron & Mindy Mills

Prudential CA Realty - Brea, CA

Here here Sister! Makes doing an accurate BPO next to impossible. Nothing like trying to explain to the bank you are working for why you have an incomplete BPO since your fellow Realtors suck at doing their job. Good luck with that. Be sure to report them to CLAW or whoever you are using up in LA.

Aaron

www.AaronAndMindyMills.com

Nov 11, 2007 04:57 PM

Steve Shatsky

Dallas, TX

Agreed... and if your MLS gives you 8 or 10 free pictures per listing please use them! And one exterior shot from the curb is not enough! What if the interior has been trashed or if it's a 40+ year old house that has never seen an update? Buyers and agents both want to see interior pictures. You can buy a good digital camera these days for less than $150 and someone is going over to the home to list it and take room measurements for MLS, so shoot a dozen digital pictures while you measure rooms and put the ones in there that best reflect the property. Don't forget to include a pic of the backyard too!

Any agent who has ever worked expireds will tell you that it makes for a winning phone conversation to be able to tell someone whose house has been on the market for 6 months and had few showings that the fact that their former agent did not put any pictures in the listing could be a factor in why their home did not sell and that if they choose to list it with you that you will put in 10 of them that will appear not only in MLS but on national real estate search websites like Realtor.com!

Nov 11, 2007 05:30 PM

Amanda Evans

DFW Living - Fort Worth, TX

Real Estate Broker - Fort Worth Texas

I see this all the time on short sales. I took this months foreclosure list for my market and compared it to MLS. I was shocked at the number of homes headed to foreclosure that didn't have even the basics of marketing behind them. Poor sellers is all I CAN say because my thoughts aren't appropriate for this forum. I wonder how many of the LA's are waiting for the last minute so that they can buy the property themselves? It's the last thing you want to think is really happening but based on the way some of them are marketed, you can't help but wonder.

Nov 12, 2007 12:10 AM

The All Pro Team

EXIT Realty Leaders - Crystal River, FL

Donna, Why take a listing at all if you are not going to put a picture in MLS? That is probably one of my biggest pet peeves!

Nov 12, 2007 03:33 AM

Donna Oehler

Realty Executives Platinum - Palmdale, CA

A.V. Foreclosure Specialist

I try to give agents a break and if it is a new listing give thema day or two to get it up. I have had problems in the past with uploading or computer issues - so I understand these things happen. But our board will actually take the photos for us!

If you are an agent today you MUST own a digital camera. Most boards offer classes in how to upload photos. Photos are important because everyone listing their home hopes to sell it - but in the case of a foreclosure these people are very desperate and need all the help they can get.

Nov 12, 2007 04:44 AM

Lynn Pineda

eXp Realty - Boca Raton, FL

Real Estate Promises delivered in SE Florida

Donna, what's even worse is that these listing agents are demanding 6%! I don't know how they sleep at night. This is truly what gives Realtors a bad name. How lazy can they be - I'm with everyone else as I had posted on the same subject not too long ago and it just drives me crazy.

Nov 13, 2007 06:38 AM

Vicente A. Martinez

Prudential Douglas Elliman Licensed Real Estate Salesperson - Woodhaven, NY

Realtor, Brooklyn - Long Island - Queens Homes

Donna I agree with you 100%. Short sales deserve the same attention and marketing as any other listing. They should have interior / exterior shots, a list of benefits / features, and even property dimensions. This will help with the BPO, and appraisals.

Nov 13, 2007 08:18 AM

Short Sale Listings Need Photos!!!

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Donna Oehler

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