I was thinking about what to blog about today and it did not take too long to think about what I would write about.
I was searching the MLS today during floor time and I saw one of my pet peeves.
When photographing your listing for photos to use in the MLS. Do not photograph the toilet! Do not photograph the toilet with the seat up!
Having been a stager before becoming a Realtor, I had to take good photos to promote my business. Please do not take photographs that look like a person with clinical depression to them.
- Open all window blinds, shutters and let the light in.
- Make sure your photos have a horizon. That is, please focus on the middle of a wall and not the baseboard of the wall.
- Don't focus your photographs on the staged furniture. Take a couple of steps backward and tilt the camera up and photograph the room. You're selling the home, correct?
- Imagine that you would be getting your first impression of this house through your photographs. Do some cleaning before photographing if necessarily. Please do not photograph the dirty dishes in the sink. Pick-up the children's toys.
If your client has the house in a bad condition on the day of the photographs, have them clean up and come back later. It is critical that the photos look great. If your clients have the house in a mess on photo day, I can just imagine what the home will look like anyday during showings. The house must be clean!!!
If need be, hire Molly Maids or Merry Maids to stop by the home once a week. It will be money well spent.
Hire a gardner while the house is on the market to do the gardening. Remember Curb Appeal, If the perspective buyers won't stop their car, they will never buy the property.
Declutter the property and have your listing clients pre-move from the property. Connect them with the people at Portable On Demand Storage P.O.D.S. to get the junk out of the house.
Getting back to the point. Take good photos.
- Please no toilet shots, No open lids.
- Raise the focus point of the camera to mid wall and not baseboard level.
- Turn on the lights and open the window treatments.
- Get the house clean, including the yard. Declutter the property.
You only get one shot at making a first impression.......do it right.
If you're going to have the home staged do it at the begining of your listing not out of desperation later on. You want the home priced right and looking great from the very begining. The home has to appear to be the value in the comps from day #1.
That feels better, no that I got that out. (stepping down of Soap Box)
My San Leandro based home staging company
