RYAN CHARLICK, Realtor | FRANKLIN, TN.
Fist off, if you would like me to list your home for sale, I would be grateful for the opportunity! I love working with families to get their homes sold for the best price possible.
To make this happen, one of the most important factors is, you guessed it, Pictures! They really do speak a thousand words. Or they can say nothing at all. Or even worse, make your house look pretty undesirable. And we all know undesirable equals hard to sell.
Let's be honest. No one wants to get into their car and drive across town to see a newly listed house if they cannot even get an idea of what they will be looking at in the first place.
So, read on about my tips and then call me and we can schedule the real estate photographer.
We’ve all heard about First Impressions...and their importance.
When listing a house, the pictures in the listing are important. I’m gong to say right behind price they are the MOST important.
It is what the buyers look at first. I’ll admit I scroll through the pictures before I read the description and read the details. I’m sure you all do too.
Social media has programmed us to look and see before we read. Not to mention that it is easier to process visuals more quickly than text. Do you see where I am going with this and why photography should be a number one priority when it comes to listing your house.
If you are currently looking for a home, you may have seen some of the things I am going to mention. Some are funny and some are frustrating, some are just lazy.
Dont’s:
- Blurry, upside down or sideways pictures. That’s just lazy.
- Pictures in random order. Laundry room then outside then bedroom and then to kitchen is confusing and not the way a buyer looks at a house.
- Messy pictures. The place doesn’t have to be spotless, but maybe, move the toilet paper roll off of the counter.
- Finger or car door in the picture.
- Taking a picture of the computer of the picture of the home.
- No description for each picture. Yes, sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes it isn’t.
- Bad descriptions. I am all for salesmanship, but let’s not overuse words like gorgeous and renovated.
- Please make sure your agent removes any dead rodent picture from your listing. Dead rodents for sure are not a selling feature to be highlighted. (Yes, this really happened...see below)
Do’s:
- Have your agent hire a professional photographer. This eliminates blurry, upside down and fingers and car doors.
- Organize the pictures, as you would tour the house. Outside pictures might be first if there is a large amount of land involved.
- Clean pictures. Again, not spotless, just move the TP.
- Good, non-exaggerated descriptions.
- Have your agent hire a professional photographer….yep, I said it again. It makes a huge difference.
Here are some examples of great real estate photography!
Selling a home is a big task, why make it more difficult?
I will let you in on a little secret. Real Estate Photographers really are not as expensive as you may think. They have all kinds of special wide-angle lenses that can capture the elements of your house perfectly and showcase all of the selling features that are unique to your home.
They work quickly, do professional editing and often have the photos ready to go within a few days. In my opinion they are worth their weight in gold.
Agents are hired to SELL the home. A definition of the word sell is: Persuade someone of the merits of.
Buying a home is not only a financial investment, but also an emotional investment for the buyer. Good pictures can help sell the emotion to the buyer.
The moral of the story is: Get Professional Pictures Taken.
And if you are working with a real estate agent that starts taking listing pictures with their phone, run the other way. Either that or make sure all the dead rats and toilet paper rolls are tucked away.
A picture can be worth a thousand words….it can also be worth a couple hundred laughs.
If you are looking to move to Nashville or Franklin TN and want to find the perfect home for your family, give me a call to get started. If you would like to list your home, I would also be glad to help. I can promise you great photos and lots of laughs as well.
