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Would Your Buyers Be Impressed?

By Kate Elim

Real Estate Agent with Dockside Realty VA 0225142975

June 16, 2008 08:38 AM

Would you rush your clients to see this home? What exactly is this agent trying to convey? That the room has a window? Drapes? A fan? Some type of cable? Carpeting?

It certainly does not give you any idea of the size or shape of the room. Looking at this picture one would think that this is a very small room.

Certainly having a concrete driveway is a plus. However, there is another photo that shows the garage and the driveway. This does not really add much except that there's alot of concrete. Less than exciting.

Bad listing photo

One amenity that appeals to many home buyers is a separate front entrance.

When a home has a foyer it conveys a nice welcoming without everyone stepping right into your living space.

Fortunately this home has a foyer. However, the photo looks as though it is just big enough to get your feet in the door. Hopefully there is more to this space than just a couple of feet. Guess we will have to use our imagination. Foyer

The purpose of taking so many photos is to give buyers as acccurate impression of what a property looks like. It is impossible to convey the total feel of a home but we should be doing the best we can.

When you see a photo of this foyer the immediate thought comes to mind...What a difference a wide angle lens would make.

Do we not owe this to our sellers to invest in the type of equipment that will do what needs to be done?

Spending a fortune is not necessary. We simply need to do some research and find something affordable that will enable us to take pictures that show properties to their best advantage.

Granted there were other photos (not of the foyer or of this particular bedroom) to perhaps attract a buyer. However, bad shots can be distracting. They may well take away from any positive impression a buyer or agent may be forming.

MRIS, our mulitple listing system, enables us to add up to 30 photos to a listing. This listing has the max. Should it? Does that mean we must always add the full 30? If some are unflattering in that they may convey the wrong impression perhaps we are being more accurate if we do not include them.

It certainly is something to think about. What are your thoughts? Would you include or leave out photos like this?

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling property at or near Lake Anna, please contact Kathleen "Kate " Elim. Kate lives at Lake Anna, knows Lake Anna, loves Lake Anna, and specializes in Lake Anna area real estate.

Call Kate at 540-226-1964 or by e-mail at lakeanna.kate@gmail.com. Be sure to check Kate's Web sites and blog at http://lakeannaandbeyond.com/ or http://lakeannacountry.com/

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Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Kathleen, these are definitely STRANGE photos. On the foyer, wouldn't you take it from the entry, not turned around like this? Taking a picture of the cement? I think this photographer has everything turned around. The drapes with the fan and the window do NOTHING for me. Maybe this person just doesn't know how to take good pictures.

Jun 16, 2008 09:15 AM

Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Gary...That's right. I can not imagine how anyone would become interested in seeing a house looking at these. Now, it does let you know there is a foyer, which is good, but it does the foyer an injustice.

If this is a new agent hopefully they will learn to do better. If it is an agent that has been around for some time they owe their seller more. We all get to see photos other agents put on the mls and we see the brochures produced and so we can learn and improve. Hopefully this agent will also.

Thanks for commenting.

Take care,

Kathleen

Jun 16, 2008 09:55 AM

COMPASS PALM SPRINGS | Stewart Penn

COMPASS - Palm Springs, CA

COMPASS Palm Springs - Broker Associate

Kathleen - I'm a big believer in "You don't get a second chance at making a good first impression" - and those pics hardly create any excitement to view the property.

I wonder what the Seller thought of those pics.

Jun 16, 2008 10:00 AM

Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Stewart...After I posted this I thought the same thing.

Would the seller be impressed with these photos? I cannot imagine they would be and even if they did not realize that they should be better, we as professionals know they should and can be.

Thanks for commenting.

Kathleen

Jun 16, 2008 10:07 AM

Toronto's 2 Hounds Design: Decorating + Staging

2 Hounds Design + Home Staging - Toronto, ON

Kathleen,

Great post. I did a staging on an amazing property. The client dropped a small fortune to update the property and have it staged by myself...the L.A. brought in a 'professional' photographer (his portfolio has the L.A.'s sisters house in it and one other property of someone from his family) but the photos where terrible. Completly out of focus, distorted as if taken through a carni fun mirror or shots like above. That was 5 weeks ago...the L.A. refused to get anyone else in to reshoot. I went in today and took 85 shots with my Kodak v705 and 6' tripod and sent my client 24 of the best. I could have sent many more!

Professional Photographer:

My photo today:

Photographer's photo of master bedroom:

My photos of the master bedroom and ensuite:

I'm still blown away that the L.A. told the client 'some properties just don't photograph well'.

HUH?! I can't believe it...un-photogenic houses? Not with a great photographer or in my case a 'photographer' who took some classes in photography for Real Estate.

Jun 16, 2008 01:54 PM

Mindy & Jay Robbins

Robbins Real Estate - Dallas, TX

Expect Excellence from Robbins Real Estate

Wow...I guess the LA on the pictures above was at a loss when they photographed the property.

Jun 16, 2008 02:05 PM

Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Dane...You did a much better job than the "professional."

How did you manage the one in the master bathroom? You were that fly on the wall that everyone always wants to be?

I wish I knew where to take some real estate photography classes. I'm not even sure where to look.

Thanks for sharing your photos. The listing agent and the seller are lucky they have you working with them.

Kathleen

Jun 16, 2008 05:57 PM

Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Dane...You did a much better job than the "professional."

How did you manage the one in the master bathroom? You were that fly on the wall that everyone always wants to be?

I wish I knew where to take some real estate photography classes. I'm not even sure where to look.

Thanks for sharing your photos. The listing agent and the seller are lucky they have you working with them.

Kathleen

Jun 16, 2008 05:57 PM

Kate Elim

Dockside Realty - Spotsylvania, VA

Realtor 540-226-1964, Selling Homes & Land a

Hi Mindy & Jay...I'm not sure who took the photos but the listing agent is certainly responsibile for them being on his listing. He had plenty of other photos and probably would be better off just not using all of them.

Thanks for commenting.

Kathleen

Jun 16, 2008 05:59 PM

Charlottesville Solutions

Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

Then you get the pictures of a chair or a table. These really amaze me. Of the frig that is not included in the listing!!! lol!!!

Jun 17, 2008 01:49 AM

Sondra Meyer:

EXP Realty, LLC - Corpus Christi, TX

See It. Experience It. Live It.

Hi Katheleen,

I agree with you that pictures are soooo important. Wow, 30 pictures on the MLS site...that is a lot. As you said, an should not feel compelled to use all 30 slots just because they are available.

Dane's pictures make me want to run out a buy a better camera right now. I'm at a point that I've outgrown the camera that I've been using to take pictures. The one that I use doesn't have a wide angle lense, but I've never felt compelled to post pictures of cement. lol To me, I think those pictures show someone that didn't take the time to get some really good views/angles.

Jun 17, 2008 03:07 AM

Toronto's 2 Hounds Design: Decorating + Staging

2 Hounds Design + Home Staging - Toronto, ON

LOL, yes I was the fly on the wall!

The best place to find photography classes for RE is right here on AR!

Jun 17, 2008 06:28 AM

Patty Carroll

Vancouver, WA

This is a great post Kathleen. When we see pictures that re not very good it makes us wonder what the seller thinks when they see the pictures their agent has taken or not taken.

Jun 18, 2008 05:41 PM

AJ Heidmann ~ CRS

McEnearney Associates, Inc. - Alexandria, VA

YOUR Alexandria & Arlington, VA Real Estate Expert

I can't agree more about the importance of high quality, well structured photos to assist in making the home stand out in a crowded field. Great shots.

Jun 19, 2008 11:38 AM