What are realtors thinking when they take pictures? (house, refrigerator)

[nfdsouza2001]

I just took a listing. I spent three weeks of supervising clean up, painting and repairs. I agree with you a good seller is a joy to work with.

[jhtread]

Realtors can offer some value but not when compared to their compensation. Percentage based pay that significantly out scales the difficulty of selling higher priced homes is a broken system. One that is seeing a correction due to technology and the free access of information. Look at all these brokers now offering rebates and companies that list your property for flat fees or 1%. Fact is that the vast majority of buyers now find properties themselves on realtor/zillow/etc and then call whoever is on the page or their realtor friend to go see it. Just pay 200$ to get professional photos, pay one of the many services 500$ to list your property on the MLS and all other online websites. Then offer 1-3% buying agent commission. Line up a real estate attorney a head of time to do your paper work and thats it. Spend an hour or two googling and you will save yourself thousands.

[SES]

Originally Posted by namaste214

It's really horrible! We've been house shopping in the Oviedo/Lake Mary area for months now and I just crack up at the photos sometimes, but it's unfortunate because it truly can make all the difference. So many exactly like you said, centering on personal items like what they think is their beautiful furniture, or wall art, decorative items.. I expect that from 'by owner' sales, but from professional realtors it's silly. We live in Denver right now, and it's also interesting how the order of the photos is so different (obviously I've been looking at a LOT of houses to notice this trend). Here, there's an order of front of house, entry, family room, kitchen, and then secondary rooms, backyard. Looking in the Orlando area, it's common for that order to be completely different (which I probably only notice because an updated and large kitchen is critical to our future purchase).

Here is what I have found. The more pictures of the outside initially (including 'cute' shots of plants, animals and birds) before the inside means the house just isn't that nice (for whatever reason). - and obviously the realtor knows that.

I read a listing the other night and I couldn't stop laughing as they stated the commodes came with the house. Really? What house doesn't include the toilets?

[Aqua Teal]

Originally Posted by SES

I am currently looking for a house and look at a lot of pictures. Listen up realtors. I do NOT care about the centerpiece on the table, what their furniture looks like, the odd ball picture of a single plant/flower in the backyard, their cat or a single picture of the toilet with the lid up. I want to see the house and what it looks like. Once in a while you get crisp nice pictures that detail and show off the house but most of the time the pictures are dark (who wants a dark house), fuzzy (were they drunk or couldn't hold a camera?), or just plain nasty.

Another thing, realtors do you want to sell the house? Why not ask your sellers to clean up a bit. Underwear on the floor, a sink piled high with dirty dishes, and kids toys everywhere is a detriment. Yes I have the vision to look further, but my opinion is if the people do not care enough to take care of the inside of their house, they are not taking care of the outside and I am not just talking about the lawn. There is a trend.

Thank you for the vent.

Finally some one said it.

[Aqua Teal]

Originally Posted by SES

I am currently looking for a house and look at a lot of pictures. Listen up realtors. I do NOT care about the centerpiece on the table, what their furniture looks like, the odd ball picture of a single plant/flower in the backyard, their cat or a single picture of the toilet with the lid up. I want to see the house and what it looks like. Once in a while you get crisp nice pictures that detail and show off the house but most of the time the pictures are dark (who wants a dark house), fuzzy (were they drunk or couldn't hold a camera?), or just plain nasty.

Another thing, realtors do you want to sell the house? Why not ask your sellers to clean up a bit. Underwear on the floor, a sink piled high with dirty dishes, and kids toys everywhere is a detriment. Yes I have the vision to look further, but my opinion is if the people do not care enough to take care of the inside of their house, they are not taking care of the outside and I am not just talking about the lawn. There is a trend.

Thank you for the vent.

The worst photographers in the world are realtors. The pictures always look half a**ed like they were too lazy to care or just look straight up kooky. Like they focus on the most tacky and irrelevant things.
They really should start incorporating a photography class into their real estate courses.
As far as trash and laundry goes, if they can't "stage" it themselves they should hire a "stager" to take care of that crap and to make the property look appealing then photograph it.

[Aqua Teal]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

I put realtors slightly above used car salesman in terms of skill and ability. Really that's the next industry ripe for tech disruption

I put them slightly below used cars salemen. Especially since so many have to resort to selling time shares when the economy gets bad. They come off as so desperate.
Many realtors have second jobs and car salesmen are usually just car sales men so that should tell you something.
And people will always be looking to upgrade their cars but people won't always be looking to trade up housing wise. So car salesmen have it way better.

[Aqua Teal]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I disagree with that, the issue is just weeding out the bad ones or finding a good one. The reason why is there is a lot owners can do to get a lot more money for their property. A good realtor can offer this knowledge. Whether it's staging, decor, re-organizing layouts, remodeling, marketing, pricing strategy... there is a huge difference between an average realtor and a good one. Opendoor is sort of like automation and you can lose a lot of money than doing it a traditional route. Just my two cents.

And you have to weed out the bad car sales men to find the good ones with knowledge so you failed to make a point.

[AONE]

Pictures are worth a thousand words. A home seller that takes the time to clean up is important too. Declutter, pick up, less is more so as not to distract from the home. Sometimes the furniture can give perspective to the spaces, especially if they are large and open.

[Charlie&Rose]

My pet peeve is cob webs. The first thing I look at when entering a house that is for sale, is the ceilings. Don`t homeowners ever look up ? I am not talking of the stray cob web, that everyone has, but the dirty black ones that have been there for months. I know right away, if the home is well taken care of, or not.
Sorry, Just realized, this is OT.

[gentlearts]

OP is so right. When I was house hunting I saw so many bad ones. For the love of god, put the toilet lid down, open all the curtains, turn on all the lights, remove the clutter.

I don’t want to see furniture. I want to see how the rooms flow together and how much natural light there is. And do not even try to scam me by leaving out pictures of the kitchen and bathrooms.