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What is this photo selling?

By
Home Stager with Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging

In my weekly MLS research I came across the photo below as one of many of a beautiful home currently on the market in Venice. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the Realtor/Photographer was trying to sell by posting this photo to the MLS.

Firstly, it's a closeup of a BED. Secondly, it's a closeup of an UNMADE bed that looks the way my bed does when I wake up after a fitul night's sleep! A potential buyer can tell absolutely nothing about the room from this photo, except that the seller probably doesn't care enough about selling his home to at least make his bed before the Realtors takes the photos. You can't see the size of the room or how much furniture will fit in it. The walls are white and the bedding is white, making it even more difficult to tell anything at all about the room.

messy bed

By contrast, below are 2 photos of a bedroom I took on Monday after we had Staged a townhome in Santa Monica (full story coming up in my next post). Notice that in the first photo, you get a view of almost the entire room, showing that it's spacious enough for a queen bed and 2 nightstands, plus a bench (or dresser) along the side wall. You also see that it's got an en suite master bath. In the second photo, you see the French doors that lead out to the balcony right off the patio.

The buyer who sees these photos on the MLS has already answered several of his/her own questions about the size and layout of the master bedroom & bath before he or she even sets foot in the home.

Bedroom Photo 1

Bedroom Photo 2

If you haven't already read my post about photography tips for Realtors, you may not realize that more than 85% of buyers pre-shop for homes on the internet! That means that your photos have to sell the home before a buyer will come to see it in person.

So this is not just about a photo of a Staged bedroom versus an unmade bed. It's about the importance of photography as a marketing tool for all your listings. Would you print a flyer that had the first photo as a way to market and sell this home? I certainly hope not. So if you can't at least make the bed for your client before taking the photo, just don't take it. No photo in this case is better than a bad photo that will turn off any potential buyer. And if you don't have a wide angle lens that will allow you to get more of the room in your photos, hire a professional to photograph the home. And better yet, have it professionally Staged first! Then you can guarantee your photos will have buyers knocking down the door to get in.

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

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Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

Comments (22)

Lori Kim Polk
Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA
Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

Great job Annie! You are right, there are some BAD pics out there. Why in the world would an agent put something like that on the web? They must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed ;)

Dec 10, 2008 01:33 PM
Wendy Timmons
Move Home Realty - Temecula, CA
Temecula Realtor

Hi Annie! Another great post! I can't imagine even taking the first picture! Why bother........ Your photos however, are what staging is about! Great work, always beautiful  :)

Dec 10, 2008 02:50 PM
Kym Hough
www.Staged-to-Sell - Danville, CA
Staged to Sell East Bay - Danville, CA

Annie - you tell em. Oh my if I were the clients of this Realtor I would fire them on the spot. The Realtor's jobs is to be an expert marketer of their product.  This is simply outrageous.  They need you!  Not only do 85 to 87% of the buyers looking for a property go to the internet first, if the Realtor puts 20 photos or more on the web the stats show that DOM are cut in half. Great post. Kym

Dec 10, 2008 03:10 PM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Annie ~ I love how you staged this bedroom!  The color palette is yummy and the beach theme in the wall decor is fun. (I can't for the life of me understand how or why a realtor would take a photo of an unmade bed?  Wow, that is just wrong.)

Dec 10, 2008 03:14 PM
Cathy Lee
CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA
ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Annie your staging work is stunning and I love your choice of rental furniture pieces.  Your post is excellent and I flagged it-it should be featured,  very good points and well written.  I hope you are better from your car accident!!  Whew!!  Scary time for you!!!       

Dec 10, 2008 04:04 PM
Michele Hess
Simply Staged Inc. - Rockford, IL
Home Stager Rockford - Simply Staged Inc

I like your question - Would you use this photo for a brochure.  I think that would be a helpful measure for Realtors & Stagers alike.  Your work looks great Annie!

Dec 10, 2008 08:11 PM
Beth Lester
Beth Lester Designs - Torrance, CA
Home Staging & Interior Decorating

Unbelievable.  I'll bet they had people storming down the door to see that place!

You do such a beautiful job, Annie.  I also love your "see our work" flag at the top of the blog.  I'll have to learn how to do something like that.

Dec 11, 2008 02:59 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Kathy & Lori, thank you! Yes, "what were they thinking" was the first thing that came to my mind as well. :)

Melissa, I don't know the answer on how to educate them, except to keep doing what we do and hope that eventually they see the light.

Wendy, thanks so much for the kind words. Yeah, I don't know why they bothered either. If something looks like that don't show your potential buyers!!

 

Dec 12, 2008 12:50 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Kym, I would fire them too. What an awful job they're doing for their clients! I hadn't heard that stat about if the Realtor puts 20 or more photos on the site, they cut the DOM in half. Do you know the source of that? I'd love to share it with my realtor clients.


Maureen, thanks for the compliments. This was a townhome that was close to the beach so we wanted to include that in our Staging to point out that "feature."

Cathy, thanks so much! I've never had a featured post before. :) I lucked out on that job b/c it was a low budget one but Brook was very low on inventory due to the fires here (lots of families displaced), so they had only the more expensive pieces available! Thanks - I am all better and have replaced my van.

Dec 12, 2008 12:56 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Michelle, thanks so much. I don't know why anyone bothers to take a photo if it can't be used in a brochure to market the home.

Beth, yeah they were beating down the door I'm sure! :) Thanks for the comment. Someone blogged about that "See Our Work" Banner and I followed the directions and it was super easy. Of course I can't remember at all what I did!!

Dec 12, 2008 06:43 AM
Allegra Dioguardi
Styled and Sold Home Staging and Staging Training - Westhampton Beach, NY
Home Staging & Training, Suffolk Co. Long Island

Picture #1- Stunned!

Picturess #2&#3- Stunning!

Dec 12, 2008 10:01 AM
Margaret Oscilia
Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting, Salem Oregon - Salem, OR
Home Stager, Salem Oregon

Yes - from the first picture I would be scared to walk into the house . . . and I would also look and see who the listing agent was and never refer or use their services!  Realtors should realize they are placing their reputations on the line when they post such a visual . . . a negative one like this that remains in peoples minds!

Dec 12, 2008 11:57 PM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Allegra, I love your play on words. Thank you!

Margaret, I agree that the agent ends up looking the worst in all of this for allowing that type of photo to represent their listing.

Dec 13, 2008 02:21 PM
Anita Hoppenstand
A1A Home Staging LLC - Palm Coast, FL
A1A Home Staging LLC

I've seen some bad photos on MLS listings, but I've never seen one like the unmade bed.  I can only think that the realtor has an enemy out there that hacked the site and put in that photo.  If it were me, I would call the agent.

Dec 14, 2008 03:58 AM
Mary Strang
Viroqua, WI

I am hoping this is just a spoof on bad photos in the MLS.  If that was a real MLS photo up loaded by the listing Realtor, than that person should be forced to surrender their license. Send them to Realty prison for unnatural crime against a seller.... really awful.

Dec 14, 2008 05:24 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

That picture doesn't look like it came from the MLS, it looks like a crime scene photo to me. 

Dec 14, 2008 06:25 AM
Erin McGinnis
Picture it SOLD! Home Staging - Novato, CA
Marin Home Stager Staging

Unfortunately, I see lots of bad pictures on the MLS these days, ones comparable to the unmade bed. Many are short sales and I guess the Realtor doesn't care or something. It's so lazy! Plus, it hurts the sale.

Dec 14, 2008 09:09 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Vivian - YES seriously! Can you believe it? I totally agree with everything you said. Completely unprofessional. Thanks!

Anita - pretty awesome, huh? No the agent is the one that took the photo as there are some other photos of the house that were on the same listing. Some ok, some mediocre and another silly one - a close up of the sofa. Again, are you selling the sofa?! Crazy.

Mary - this was NOT a spoof. It was a real photo! Realty prison sounds like a really funny place. Someone could write a blog entry about that!

Dec 15, 2008 07:30 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Sharon - yes it WAS a crime scene. A crime perpetrated by the realtor on his or her poor client.

Erin - Short sale or not, you shouldn't take a listing if you're not willing to represent it properly. It's awful. Thanks for commenting.

Dec 15, 2008 07:32 AM
Virginia Tatseos
Stage-Show-Sell - Bloomfield Township, MI

What an difference.   The unmade beds don't excite me into going into them and buying them.

 

Mar 18, 2009 10:53 AM