Camera Ready?     

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words and Possibly a Showing

In this market it can be tough sometimes to get people in the door just to look at a home. Most of the time the first exposure any home hitting the market gets is in the MLS and therefore the internet. Photos are a very important part of marketing a home and should not be an afterthought. People like to look at pictures - it is that simple.

Not a day goes by that I don't see a home newly listed in the MLS with either no photos or photos that do more to drive a buyer away than they do to encourage a showing. Some of these are homes listed at one million dollars or more and look as if their pictures were taken with a cell phone. I assure you that if these pictures made it to the internet; neither the seller nor builder in some cases was aware of what was being used to 'help' market the home.

Even before you list your home with a realtor you should ask to see some of his or her marketing materials including previous listings as they appeared in the MLS and online. These listings can be easily emailed to you and there is no excuse not to see them. The photos remain with the listing even if it was sold 2 years ago or taken off the market for other reasons. The pictures of your home after all, are going to be on the WORLD WIDE WEB. That means everyone gets to see them.

Take your realtor's advice about rearranging furniture and getting rid of clutter both for photos and for showings while your house is on the market. Don't take it as personal criticism. They've seen more homes than you and can typically tell you what shows well and what doesn't.

I do not consider myself to be a professional or even an amateur photographer by any stretch, but I've learned over the years that if you take your time, take some chances and put yourself in the shoes of a buyer looking through hundreds of listings online you can take better photos of the house you're trying to sell and perhaps get more people to see your house in person.

Here are a few suggestions:

An Appeal To The Curb

Aside from the major points like price and location, that first front exterior photo is key in determining whether or not a potential buyer looks at your additional photos and the rest of the house or they move on to the next home. Yes a blue sky background is preferred and not hard to do especially here in Florida.

The following should NOT be in the front exterior picture. A flag that supports your university of choice, favorite football team, political or religious beliefs, breed of dog or cat, or any particular holiday. Preferably no flag anytime while your house is on the market, but especially when you or your realtor takes pictures. I think the American flag is OK, but even that may offend somebody. You're trying to sell a house and appeal to as many people as possible, not run for office. No cars, motorcycles, boats, recreation vehichles,jet skis, small aircraft, or livestock in the driveway, front yard or in front of the house. No exceptions. Not even your realtor's convertible sports car because he thinks it adds something to the picture. All that does is tell the world he has issues and shortcomings that need to be compensated for with a convertible sports car. If your neighbor's car is in the way, politely ask them to move it for a minute or wait until they're gone to take the photo. If you have a yard, it should be mowed and edged. Planters full of dead plants need to be thrown out or refilled with live plants. No garbage cans at the end of the driveway. No dead Christmas trees or other weekend project debris waiting for trash day. I have seen all of the aforementioned items prominently displayed at one time or another in the front exterior photo of a house someone was trying to sell.

Clutter for Sale 

The last time I checked you could not walk into Target or Bloomingdales and buy a box of clutter. That's because there's no demand for it. The stuff you buy there becomes clutter, but it is not typically packaged as such. You can buy clutter on Ebay, but that's another story. The same is true when trying to sell your house. Nobody wants clutter so don't take pictures of it. Take the magnets, artwork and photos off the refrigerator. Clear the counters. When you think the counters look 'better', remove even more items. No dishes in the sink. No dish towels hanging from the handles of the refrigerator door. No wires draped across the wall from audio and video components. If the wires have to be there, unplug them and stow them out of sight while you take the picture. No computers in the formal living or dining room. Kid's toys belong in the kid's room when you're taking pictures or at least out of the shot. The same goes for desks and shelves in home offices. They need to be clear of clutter. Coffee tables should also be clear. If there is something decorative on the table it needs to be minimal and not a focal point of the photo.If it does not add anything to the photo, remove it. Perhaps just Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables would be enough. Less is more definitely applies here.

Darkness on the edge of town  

TURN ON THE LIGHTS or OPEN THE CURTAINS!!!
I need to know if I'm looking at a living room or somebody left the lens cap on the camera and decided to upload that picture anyway. Who lives here 'Marilyn Manson'? Also turn off the ceiling fans. That blurry picture of the fan blade we've all seen is annoying to everyone.

Can You Ask a House to Back Up or Move to the Right a Little? 

You can always ask, but it rarely happens. However, you can use the wide angle feature that's available on many of the most basic point and shoot cameras. This should allow you to stand closer to the home and get all of it in the picture. You can also take the photo slightly from the side. It does not always have to be a straight forward shot. Try to 'frame' the house with trees and some of the yard if possible. Try NOT to get the neighbor's house in the shot. This is not always easy to do. You can also crop your neighbor's house out of the picture after downloading it to your computer. Try to get the front door in the picture. Not a deal breaker if you don't, but often the door is the invitation to welcome people into the home and therefore this area should be tidy.

Dolphin Free Pools  

Please remove the following often inflated items from the pool area before taking pictures: Shamu and any other theme park mascots, Corona beer bottles, space shuttles, life preservers from the S.S. Bud Light, footballs, plastic rafts of any type, beach balls etc' Also make sure the pool cleaning equipment is stowed away and not in the shot.

Don't Force It  

In the Orlando area MLS realtors are allowed 10 photos per listing and up to 25 photos per listing on Realtor.com. If the property is not particularly attractive then you don't want 12 photos in there to confirm it. Just use the best shots possible even if there are only one or two. One of the photos must be of the front of the house. Obviously the nicer and larger the home, the more options you will have, but even a modest home if photographed correctly can yield some good shots that should be included with the listing.

Whose Job Is It Anyway 

All of these tasks should be facilitated by your realtor. Unless you're a photographer or have a friend who is and will take the pictures for you, let your realtor do it or your realtor's photographer take the pictures. Often the virtual tour photographers provide still photos with the virtual tour. Again, these are people who do it everyday and typically know what looks best. The camera doesn't lie, but you can give it selected information to help tell the story in your favor.

gregmartinez.com