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Disappointing Photos of Houses....

By
Real Estate Agent with KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY "New Orleans"

My clients and I are disappointed when it comes poor photos of houses that are listed.

TIPS for My Fellow Agents...

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT...

  1. Of course you should already know this...but make your clients clean their house.
  2. Take Photos on a Sunny Day!
  3. Use a Wide Angle Camera, or take two photos and stitch them together...ArcSoft Panoramic Maker...this makes rooms look so much bigger.
  4. Remove all artwork from the refrigerator in the photos and have your client remove or greatly reduce it for showings.  (It looks much cleaner this way)
  5. Take 5-6 Photos of Each room at different angles and scrap the bad ones....use the great ones!
  6. Take photos of the Yard (or Pool) ...people really like yards and pools...they are exciting...most agents leave them out.
  7. When giving staging ideas to my clients I sometimes tell them to look at the "Pottery Barn" Catalog...if their house doesn't look similar...I tell them to keep buying things or re-arranging things...buy pillows, etc....does it look good in the pictures?  NO???  Go to the store...=0)...(The Pottery Barn is Neutral enough to fit almost any ones taste)
  8. And Why do agents just put ONE Photo (OR EVEN WORSE NO PHOTO) in the MLS?????  Put the maximum...or at least the maximum "good photos"
  9. It's alright to omit bad photos...but try to include the kitchens and baths at least.
  10. Are you good with computers?  photoshop out utility poles, crop photos etc.

I hope this helps...I am writing this because I showed a great house today...and I had to practically force my client to look at it because the photos were so bad.

AND My clients always complain that there are NO PHOTOS and don't even want to see the house.

I have actually thought of offering my "Photo-taking Skills" to agents...how much would be appropriate to charge?...

Show All Comments Sort:
Rick Harrington
Patch Independent Home Inspections, LLC - Columbus, OH
Specialist--Infrared Residential

I agree.  Pictures are a great way to market the house.  Get them in the door. I provide that service for some wholesalers. This allows them to spend more time in the office than running all over the city and spending time in houses with clients that they would not have spent time in if they had a set of pictures.

Working for everyone.  Just a set of pictures.

 

Good post !!!!

Aug 04, 2008 04:04 PM
George Sanchez
California Housing Realty - Corona, CA

Absolutely!  I skip MLS listing with no photos.  I figure if the Realtor is too lazy to post a picture then imagine what kind of help you will get closing the deal.  There are exceptions to no photos and that is a brand new listing where the realtor has not had a chance to snap that picture....but this should not be more than 24-48 hrs.  Anyway, I agree 100% with all your comments.

Cheers.

Aug 04, 2008 04:15 PM
Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes

Without photos -- it is nearly impossible to get anyone to be interested in homes that have no pictures.

Aug 04, 2008 04:21 PM
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty - Spring, TX
Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro

Angela, we have put some bucks in to our photo equipment and wow what a difference having the right equipment makes.  I'm trying to become more proficient at Photoshop but it's not a very easy program.  I am however determined.

I'm with you about the MLS photos.  I recently wrote a post on the angle of the MLS shot as I showed a house that we didn't even recognize because it was shot at such a weird angle. 

Aug 04, 2008 04:25 PM
LS Rogers Realty
LS Rogers Realty - Richardson, TX

Pictures are always an issue. My clients really do have to be tricked into seeing a home that doesn't have any listed. I will go and preview to add or remove from my list. If it's a pretty decent home, I'll add it to the tour. 

Aug 04, 2008 04:31 PM
Dave Philipp
Lyon Real Estate - Sacramento, CA

I'm always amazed when agents list a house and don't add photos, or just one of the outside.. one of my favorites was of this dump of a place with a rusting car on the lawn and another on blocks in the driveway...hell with the client I didn't even want to see it!

Dave

Aug 04, 2008 04:34 PM
Leslie Stewart
Oregon Licensed Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real Estate Professionals - Stayton, OR
Realtor, ABR, CRS, Oregon Licensed Broker

There is one agent in our area that is know for notoriously poor photos in her listings.  People judge listings by the photos, give you listing a fair chance.  Take a good photo or get someone who can!

Aug 04, 2008 04:43 PM
BethAnn Long
RE/MAX Inland Empire - Spokane, WA
Realtor, CRS, e-PRO, CLHMS Spokane Wa Real Estate

sooooooooooo true.

I like taking pictures of my listings! If the rooms don't look GREAT I have my designer/stager come by for a consult.

Aug 04, 2008 04:44 PM
Mike Jones
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC (BK-0907366, NMLS 145171) - Tucson, AZ
Mike Jones NMLS 223495

Angela,

I just stopped by to say:  Great job on your second Active Rain post!  (The first wasn't too shabby, either!  LOL)  Welcome to the Rain; you'll do well here!

Mike in Tucson

Aug 04, 2008 04:50 PM
Robert Monk
100% Realty, Inc. - Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Florida Real Estate

Welcome to ActiveRain.  It's a fun place to vent, to learn stuff, and to improve your search engine optimization.  Hope to see you around!

Aug 04, 2008 05:43 PM
Chip Jefferson
Gibbs Realty and Auction Company - Columbia, SC

Also tell your buyers that all homes look better in the photos. We looked at 4 homes saturday in a lower price range and none of them showed well.

Aug 05, 2008 12:21 AM
Sasha Miletic - Windsor Real Estate
RE/MAX Preferred Realty Ltd. - Windsor, ON

Hi Angela, Welcome to AR, Be a Blogholic and start writing your own blog soon on AR. All the best for your RE business. This is the right place for customers, friends, realtionships etc.

Best - Sash 

PS: FREE blog traffic strategy video...Hope this will help you... click here

Aug 05, 2008 01:04 AM
Kirk Westervelt
Van West Realty - Greenville, SC Realtor -Short Sale Expert! - Greenville, SC
Kirk Westervelt, Broker In Charge, Van West Realty - CDPE - Short Sale Agent - Home for Sale - Greenville, Simpsonvil...

Hi, welcome to Active Rain! I hope to see more of your blogs in the future. Learn from others, share your knowledge and experiences and enjoy yourself! Take care! ---Kirk.

Aug 05, 2008 01:05 AM
Lisa Heindel
Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Hi Angela!  It's nice to see another NOLA face here :)  I actually sent an email to the board this week asking if they plan to ever make it a rule that at least one photo be loaded before a listing goes live.  No response as of yet...

Aug 05, 2008 03:30 AM
Rick Sergison
EXP Realty of Canada Inc., Brokerage - Pickering, ON
Durham Region Real Estate Blog

I just stopped by to welcome you to Active Rain. I hope that you find it a great benefit to your business and that you see the value that I have also found here. I am from Charlottesville Virginia and using Active Rain has really increased my business!

My main blog on Active Rain is here: Charlottesville Real Estate Blog, not the link at the bottom of this post. 

I hope you will look into the many groups as there are some great group both local and broad based,.... 

enjoy!

Aug 06, 2008 01:02 AM
Nate Blankenship - Spartanburg, SC Realtor
Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Hi,

Welcome to Active Rain! I look forward to seeing more of your blogs. Thanks and have a great day!  Nate

Aug 06, 2008 03:24 AM
Lorena Westervelt
Van West Realty - Greenville, SC
Co-Founder/Co-Owner

Hello, welcome to Active Rain! This seems like a wonderful environment to network as well as learn from others. I hope you enjoy yourself and participate often in the Active Rain environment!

Aug 06, 2008 09:44 AM