Sometimes, Your Client's Home Isn't Fit to Be Seen

Bad Photos

The gang at "This Is Why Your House Won't Sell" have a wonderful time collecting truly horrid photos from real estate listings.  It always makes me feel better, knowing that others take much worse photos than I do!

I have often had the experience of seeing entirely different things in the photo, than I saw in the viewfinder.  Some examples:

• a full-body reflection in a glass storm door (I kid you not!)
• an elbow in the mirror of a tiny powder room
• a foot on a lovely ceramic tile floor.

That's why you should always review your digital photos before you leave the photo session:  you may have to reshoot some.  In fact, I usually review the photos, room by room.  That takes less time, overall.

Poor Staging

A much greater problem is houses that are simply not fit to be seen by anyone other than the inhabitants.  It is terribly hard to find usable images, in houses like that.

Obviously, your first line of attack must be to try to convince the Seller to clean up, throw out, and store all of the extra stuff.  A wall of cartons stacked neatly in the basement is preferable to having excess belongings all over the house.  (You might send them to my relevant blog post.)

If that doesn't work, take photos of only those parts of the exterior and interior that are acceptable, and refuse to take additional photos until the various rooms and the yard are improved.  Explain that Internet-savvy buyers believe that a house with few photos, or with just one photo of the outside, are assumed to be in "questionable" condition, and are, therefore, often dismissed as candidates for purchase.

Do you have other ways of encouraging Sellers to improve the condition of their houses?  If so, please share them in the Comments area.  Thanks!