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In the below example, the 803K property has direct ocean view and fronts the beach. It looks just like an oceanfront home, but in reality it does not own the beach. So this one only has ocean view.
If it owns a section of the beach, it can command maybe another 300K in value.
I'm currently looking for property with a pond also. The definition varies greatly, and most real estate websites are not clear about any kind of property with water that isn't beachfront. But it's not a photo problem.
Your best bet is to get an agent who knows the area very well, but it doesn't sound like you are choosy about location. That's only going to make your task harder.
Hope to exchange ideas with you on finding this type of properties. Boating and fishing on your own tranquil pond is one of the most enjoyable moments in life. I don't know why the sites don't give this more emphasis. I actually have a list of about 50 ideas that will make the Zillow site more useful to buyers and sellers.
I typically search on my own first because when I ask others to work, I feel a bit obligated, and it can be hard for me to resist sales pitch (perhaps that feeling is not warranted). On top of that I am very picky. So I rather screen for and identify something that I am 70% sure will work for me, then engage an agent to confirm what i cannot check myself and execute.
Besides searching for "pond" what else is there? I do care about location, but my first priority is finding that perfect setting at an affordable price. For that I am willing to look at all places in the country.
Well, that's the point. Their search fields are so limited that agents are left with labeling something that may not be accurate.
Even realtor.com used to have only "waterfront" vs. "water view," although they recently added a "pond" option. Most local MLS sites don't offer a water-related field at all.
There are websites that claim to feature properties with ponds, mostly rural of course, but even those are limited.
So to the point of the thread, photos won't really help that, unless agents make the cover photo one of the pond.
One thing I don't quite understand is not done more often, is a video that walks through the house in the best flow. Start at the front door, walk the viewer throughout the house, to get a better feel of how the layout is set up.
I can look at a ton of nice photos, but have no idea how each room relate to the next. It would be much nicer to have a video that actually walks you through the house from entrance to office to the bedrooms to the kitchen.
Layout is so important to buyers, a video would help a ton.
This right here. I have a lot of relocation buyer clients and have made them myself for some of those that are in California or Afghanistan (deployed) or some such if the listing agent doesn't have one already or if the one they have isn't good enough. Best in that regard in my experience for professional tours is Matterport. You get to see ALL the house (including ceilings, floors, etc.) and get a feel for the flow.
Another vote for a floorplan. I'd rather have fewer pictures and a floorplan. I get tired of flipping through a dozen pictures of random bedrooms and no way to tell where they are in relationship to each other and the bathrooms. I strongly prefer having the master on the other side of the house from the other bedrooms but often you can't tell how a house is configured from the pictures.
This right here. I have a lot of relocation buyer clients and have made them myself for some of those that are in California or Afghanistan (deployed) or some such if the listing agent doesn't have one already or if the one they have isn't good enough. Best in that regard in my experience for professional tours is Matterport. You get to see ALL the house (including ceilings, floors, etc.) and get a feel for the flow.
And, you get to set your pace and direction. Video is too linear, IMO. Love Matterport tours.
Another vote for a floorplan. I'd rather have fewer pictures and a floorplan. I get tired of flipping through a dozen pictures of random bedrooms and no way to tell where they are in relationship to each other and the bathrooms. I strongly prefer having the master on the other side of the house from the other bedrooms but often you can't tell how a house is configured from the pictures.
I have gone so far as to try to draw my own floor plan from the pictures, relying on furniture arrangements and glimpses of other rooms from a picture.
I have gone so far as to try to draw my own floor plan from the pictures, relying on furniture arrangements and glimpses of other rooms from a picture.
Yep, me too. I'm so sick of trying to figure out if that reflection in the mirror is the bedroom or the hall. Giving a floorplan is so easy - it needn't be to scale, just so people can understand what's there, which floor it's on (especially useful about bathrooms) and where it is in the house.
As a photography enthusiast, I feel the property pictures in 99.9% of listings are c-r-a-p. Yes snapping pictures with a point-and-shoot camera is free, does the job of letting buyers roughly see the place, and the pictures will never replace a onsite visit anyway, but I really think better photos can make properties more appealing to buyers and will definitely generate more enquiries.
In this listing, I feel the pictures do not do the beautiful place justice. It's obvious these pictures were taken by an amateur. And there are so many pictures of practically the same shot! For what?! A more serious photographer amateur can easily take pictures that make the place look like the national park.
If I were to take pictures to show case this property, this is what I will do:
There was a lot of repititiveness in the pictures but they aside from that, they did an excellent job of conveying that one was getting 13.5 acres of pasture with a 4/3 cabin style home with a lot of knotty pine and a big pond. And a professional photographer doesn't change the potential for the agent to make a bad selection of great photographs.
At some point, the ROI of a pro isn't there. Either the house itself, or the market, are such that it isn't going to swing the needle enough.
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