Poor Realtor Photos

Poor Realtor Photos-My Biggest Gripe

This article came about from showing my youngest son some rentals. He looked at the list I gave him and said the photos and descriptions of a few of the homes were so bad he couldn’t tell anything about them, and thus he scratched them off the list of possibilities. His thought (and mine) was that if the Realtor won’t take the time to present the property in a professional manner, why should we waste our time looking at it?!

This could easily be part of an article I wrote about Why Didn’t My House Sell?! Also see my series of articles on Selling Your Home.
To a small minority of Realtors (You know who you are) take heed of the following to help sell your client’s property:

1. You have a crappy photo? Re-shoot it! Drive back out again and take it at a better time. The house faces East? Duhh…don’t shoot the exterior late in day so the front is in shadows. Come back in the morning.

Why Didn't My House Sell? A Better Photo Would Have Helped.

Dark, Moody Shots are Good in Movies, but not on HAR.com.

2. Don’t take a shot where 90% of the photo is street and sky, and the house is a dot in the background. Buyers want to see the house…not the street!
3. Don’t take a vertical shot and post in on HAR as the primary photo. The HAR website squeezes them down to a horizontal format. That’s why you see the bath photos with the extra wide toilets. Wake up guys; think about how the finished shot will look!
4. The photo with the garbage can on the porch?! I know; your heals make get scuffed on the gravel if you have to move it yourself. Do it! You are getting paid well…or not at all if it doesn’t sell.

Why didn't my house sell? Ugly Photo 1

Why Didn’t My House Sell? This ugly “Primary ” Photo Didn’t Help! This is the First Photo People Saw!

5. The very first photo on HAR is the hall? People aren’t buying the hall. Show the exterior first! Take the time to arrange the photos in a logical order…just like you were walking through the house. 6. A blurry photo? Throw that camera away or learn to use it. Hold it against something to steady it if you need to. Sheesh…this isn’t rocket science people.
7. Not enough photos. Sometimes it can’t be helped. If the rooms are being used for storage and stacked to the ceiling, you can’t take the photo. But that’s the only reason! The more photos the better!
8. Dark, overcast day and features can’t be seen. Come back again!
9. Photos taken from far away, and you can’t tell which one of the several homes is for sale! There must be a pit bull in one yard and you are afraid to come any closer.

Why Didn't My House Sell? Ugly Photos Don't Help.

I’m Sure There was a Better Way to Shoot this.

10. My number one favorite of all stupid realtor photos is…….the one that shows the inside of the car; the door frame or rear view mirror of car. The Realtor didn’t even get out of the car to take photo. Aaahhh! At least slow down if you are going to do this. You can also crop the photo.
Well…. I feel better now. If the photos of your house look like these, tell your agent you aren’t happy with them; that they aren’t presenting your house positively. Give him/her another chance. Maybe he was already planning to come back out. If he still doesn’t do a good job? Someone else will.
And now, I have to go back to HAR.com and update some photos I just re-shot. I do try to follow my own advice.

Check this previous post on Preparing Your House for Sale.

If you are currently struggling with selling your home and want a second opinion please call Houston Heights Realtor Rich Martin today. I specialize in Houston Heights homes and the surrounding inner-loop areas, and am always happy to give advice. Call and let’s chat: 713 868-9008