My daughter was sitting with me at the computer last night, looking at homes on the MLS. She and her husband are thinking about buying a new home, maybe getting something a little bigger.
When we came to a home with no pictures, I would stop to read the info - does it have a basement, square foot, bedrooms, etc. She said, "forget it, why don't people post pictures with these homes"? Her question was valid!
I had to tell her I honestly have no idea.
She knows I tote my camera everywhere and am perplexed at the absence of pictures in the MLS. Now I know there may be a few homes on the market, where, there is no way around it, you just can't get a good interior shot. I think at least one good shot of the front, some idea about the home should be given.
I'm not even sure they have to be the best photos and you don't have to be a professional photographer (I'm not). But good photos with a digital camera are fairly easy. Gone are the days of waiting for your pictures. I can easily take a 100 photos and delete those which did not turn out.
Experience tells me the consumer just passes by the homes with no photos. Having photos definately increases the odds a buyer will stop to look at the home. If you can get them to stop for a minute, they may take time to read the info. Hey, they may even decide a personal tour is in order so they can see more.
I am a firm believer in marketing with multiple photos, Real Estate Shows and on multiple websites. You never know where the buyer may be searching when they find my clients home. One thing for sure, they will find photos, as many as I can post!
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Paula Henry is an Indianapolis Realtor with Red Door Real Estate, serving the needs of homeowners in Indianapolis, Speedway, Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, Zionsville, Carmel and Eagle Creek. When you're ready to buy or sell your home, you want an agent with a plan for helping you attain your dreams and goals. Contact Paula for your Indianapolis real estate needs.
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Indianapolis Realtors
317-605-4174
I believe that there is some idea that with no photo the buyers will visit to see a model home. Same reason a lot of Open House ads don't have price. Want to know?? Come and visit.
With new homes, there is often no model and the rendering would have to be scanned. What? Do you mean a listing agent is supposed to have a scanner too.
Geez. What's this business coming to?
I look at homes in Nashville ALL the time, skip right over the ones w/o pictures. Ridiculous
Lenn: I believe you are right....I have actually heard agents say they don't put additional pictures so they don't give away the whole package up front. Counter productive if the consumer doesn't stop long enough to take down the address.
You mean we are supposed to have scanners? :) I have two. One for pictures.
The other is a ScanSnap. I might have to write about that little machine.
Thanks for commenting!
Marchel - Do agents there at least put up good pictures? We can include up to 10; one my dughter looked at last night had 5 pictures of the kitchen and it wasn't a really great kitchen. Maybe I am just a fanatic or something....
ScanSnap is an awesome little machine by Fujitsu. Small, sits on my desk and allows me to scan documents, (up to 40 pages) into a .pdf, either for storage on my computer or to instantly e-mail. It's not cheap, but I have had mine for two-and-a-half years and have had not one problem.
Paula: Some of the pictures are pretty mediocre but we do have pictures. That's where we can stand out with great pictures though.
I wish I had known about ScanSnap a few months ago. I bought an all in one and it has been a nightmare getting everything to work.
Marchel - I agree! We can differentiate our listings from all the others!
I also have an all-in-one and use it for scanning pictures and for back-up.
Some agents would be better off not having any pics then to have the blurry out of focus crud they call pictures. Why agents won't take a day to get a good camera, learn the features on it and learn how to take a picture. Then go to a clients house and exceed their expectations (and the potential buyer).
David N. Slavin, ABR www.SellMyHouseDave.com
Paula,
Quit blogging and go sell some real estate!
Your Broker,
Bruce :))
Paula,
I think agents who don't even post one picture are doing their client a huge dis-service.
Paula,
This is definitely one of my pet peeves. My camera died a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't wait to get it replaced. Good pictures are essential in the internet age.