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Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Yes, I prefer to know what's nearby. Stating a park 3 miles away would matter to me. I'm not buying a house so much as a lifestyle. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to pictures of houses anyway, although no pictures is a huge red flag to me. Mostly, I use pictures to narrow down my search. in other words, if a house is in my targeted location, I look at pictures for a reason to not visit. A nearby park wouldn't be that reason.
Locally, everyone here states what's nearby and some listings do have pictures of nearby shopping. Traffic in my area is awful. My neighborhood happens to be an incredibly easy drive to a very popular shopping/movie/medical complex. That's always highlighted in listings for my current neighborhood.
Hoa homes always include pictures of the amenities.
I was wondering what's allowed in real estate listings, if properly disclosed.
Can I include pictures of a park that's 3 miles away? What about cool businesses/restaurants (or if I could, do I need their permission?)
Just want to highlight hidden gems that others may not know about.
Our MLS does it all the time. I don't agree with the practice. It makes it look like the house can't stand on its own merit. I have noticed it is done mostly for homes that have one or two pictures of the exterior and none of the interior Usually these homes are in foreclosure.
as someone who is looking for a house i think this is not needed.
for every house that is something i might be interested in i google map the location and check out everything that is aroudn the area. you are just wasting photo slots and space you could spend talking about the place you are selling
if its an hoa community with a park i think that is ok though since it is a part of what you are paying for.
Photos of local amenities are very common where I live. It might be because so many buyers come from out of state, are buying in a relative hurry, and don't always know what sets different communities apart.
One solution I've seen is to create collage photos. This way you can show many local sites without all one slide. Usually the listings have two of these, one for HOA amenities and one for local parks, etc. They usually have 2-3 photos in the collage along with comments ("HOA includes Olympic pool, gym, playgrounds, walking trails") Regarding local parks, I would only include things a mile or two away--3 miles is pushing it.
Absolutely include photos of every bedroom and bathroom. If you don't show a room, many people will assume something's wrong with that room. And people from out of town want to see as much of a house as possible, because they will have to make an expensive trip to look at homes so they want to know as much as they can before they make travel plans. If people find it boring they can always stop looking at the photos.
I also appreciate people who take photos of "minor areas" such as stairs, hallways, etc. Those things can be deal breakers for some buyers (those with disabilities, for example). These can also be put in a photo collage if you are close to the limit on photos. I appreciate 2 shots of the backyard (one showing the back of the house, please) and a shot of the garage showing how much storage is available. Take a shot of a bathroom using the mirror, and buyers can see the whole bathroom. By all means post as many photos as your MLS allows. (If no limits, 30 is a good number).
Don't waste space on artsy shots, or shots of things that don't convey (furniture, your pets, toys, street sign, etc. The photo may be adorable but if it doesn't convey I don't care). I'm not a fan of close-ups (I can see there is mosaic tile in the shower from the wide shot, you don;t need to show me the close up).
Photos of local amenities are very common where I live. It might be because so many buyers come from out of state, are buying in a relative hurry, and don't always know what sets different communities apart.
One solution I've seen is to create collage photos.
Great ideas, thanks!
There's a lot about my existing location that I don't know about that I thought would be cool to share to potential buyers. When you're buying a house, you're not just buying a building, but also into its surrounding neighborhood. For smaller cities especially, they may have neat parks, but a lot of people may not know about them.
I would take as many pictures of your home (inside and out as possible). What I don't care about as a buyer is a picture of the stove unless it's extremely high end or pics of the hot water heater. If they are new, mention it but don't show it. You also need to make sure your home is clean when you take the pics. Nothing on the counters-nothing! Nothing on the floors such as toys. Nothing on the dressers or on the counters in the bathroom. Nothing urks me more that when people leave crap all over the counters, etc. It makes me feel like they really don't care to sell. #1 thing is to make sure the pictures are GOOD! Hate when a realtor posts pictures are too dark to see or blurry! If the realtor doesn't know how to take good pics then make them have someone else take them!!
As far as pictures of the town. I might ass one pic of a park if it's within a half mile and REALLY nice. Pics of a community pool or clubhouse if you have one, otherwise forget it! You could mention in the listing nearby stores if you would like but no pics!
I would take as many pictures of your home (inside and out as possible). What I don't care about as a buyer is a picture of the stove unless it's extremely high end or pics of the hot water heater. If they are new, mention it but don't show it. You also need to make sure your home is clean when you take the pics. Nothing on the counters-nothing! Nothing on the floors such as toys. Nothing on the dressers or on the counters in the bathroom. Nothing urks me more that when people leave crap all over the counters, etc. It makes me feel like they really don't care to sell. #1 thing is to make sure the pictures are GOOD! Hate when a realtor posts pictures are too dark to see or blurry! If the realtor doesn't know how to take good pics then make them have someone else take them!!
Or the furnace, air conditioner, ect... I do not care, lol!! A picture won't show me the things I care about- function and age.
Things need to be decluttered, but a coffee maker on the kitchen counter isn't going to drive me crazy. I'm sure it'd be super annoying to store it every day. I can look past that. But stuff lined up down to whole counter? Nope. Get rid of it.
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