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Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
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I'll throw out another perspective -- photos that are too good, ie wide angle lenses make rooms appear larger than they are, grass photoshopped to a beautiful green, etc. If the photos are great but the reality of the home doesn't match the photos, you are just as likely to lose buyers the minute they walk through the front door.
I hate those photos that are outrageously color enhanced to look more saturated to make the house look "better." Some of it is so overdone I can't see things clearly and those filters come off as trying to hide something or trying too hard to make the sale. Just stop with the arty photoshop and give me a clear shot.
Originally Posted by
How do family photos and religious symbols contribute toward having to clean a house?
Such irrational expectations.
I buy a house [I
expecting [/i]to be spending a week -- at the very least! -- cleaning it. Buyers are such spoiled brats these days.
Family photos and other such decor are unnecessary clutter. If the seller takes it all (or most of it down) I can get a better picture of how my family will want to decorate it with the pictures and decor we have. Sometimes another person's initial reaction to your "displays" might give them odd feelings about you and therefore might be willing to move on to the next house.
As far as cleanliness goes - give me a break! The two houses we have sold have been so clean (inside and out) that the people who toured our house often commented on that fact.
Appliances washed inside and out. Cabinets cleaned and polished. Windows washed inside and out. Carpets shampooed. Hardwood polished. Bathrooms gleaming. Yard mowed and gardens weeded. etc. etc.
When the buyers finally walked into their new home, they just had to unpack and then clean up after themselves. (I think a clean and de-cluttered house will bring a higher price for the seller).
There was a house I didn't really have an interest in seeing, based on the horrible pictures. Ghe owners were actually playing cards in one of the pictures, in a cluttered dining room, looking at the camera like it was a beggar come to plead for cookies. In another picture, you saw an incredibly cluttered sink area and dirty towels lying around.
When we went to see the house, it had wonderful potential! It looked cramped and cluttered and just kind of nasty in the pictures, but in real life, it was huge and spacious (and somewhat cluttered, but that would change when they moved out) and really nice. We got it on a short sale, and I have a feeling if the pictures had been better, it would have had more showings (there was a lot of inventory at the time, but this house was really great). Pictures definitely make a difference for me.
I was also shocked at the number of poor photos and poor language and grammar in many of the listings we looked at when buying a house. I was also shocked that the agent who sold our house was at first resistant to using a professional photographer, and then tried to make us pay the $250 for the photographer when we insisted on it. This was on a $600k sale in a super hot market (72hrs on the market). In the day and age of exclusively online real estate searching, isn't getting the MLS listing/photos right THE most important part of an agents job?
How do family photos and religious symbols contribute toward having to clean a house?
Such irrational expectations.
I buy a house expecting to be spending a week -- at the very least! -- cleaning it. Buyers are such spoiled brats these days.
In one listing I saw, the photo that showed a collection of (count them) 27 crucifixes on one wall along with other stuff. Their "stuff" and the collection didn't offend me, but I was counting the holes I was going to need to patch and reconcile to the fact I would have to paint the wall as well.
Hear me straight... I'm not opposed to any religious symbols or family photos because those things are only of value to the seller, but I think less is more when it comes to selling your home. "De-clutter"!!!
I'm pretty sure the photos are outsourced. I recall seeing a job posting for just that kind of photographer. The job paid some small amount for pictures from each house and it was evident that quality was not something they cared much about. So if they have one guy doing that job and has to get pictures for 10 new houses everyday, there's not much time for staging the shot with lighting or even carrying the wide angle lenses.
we used my wife's friend when we sold our house and she used her photographer husband to do the pictures which turned out much nicer than we could have hoped for.
I was also shocked at the number of poor photos and poor language and grammar in many of the listings we looked at when buying a house. I was also shocked that the agent who sold our house was at first resistant to using a professional photographer, and then tried to make us pay the $250 for the photographer when we insisted on it. This was on a $600k sale in a super hot market (72hrs on the market). In the day and age of exclusively online real estate searching, isn't getting the MLS listing/photos right THE most important part of an agents job?
Actually, as long as disclosure requirements are satisfied, the most important part of the agent's job is not to screw up when an offer comes in.
BUYERS' agents job is to convince a buyer not to judge the quality of a house on the basis of the quality of the photos. Too many buyers skip great opportunities because the photos are of poor quality.
SEE THE HOUSE to judge it.
I try to take good snapshots, always. But, when working with buyers, it is a PITA when they disqualify a house because the agent posted crummy photos.
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