How to Take Photos for Your Property
Jacki Ferko • August 16, 2021
How to Take Photos for Your Property
You’ve decided to sell your home and you want to cut costs by taking your own photos. Saving a few bucks on the front end may seem like a good idea. Here are some tips to get the most out of your photos:
- Don’t take pictures of your messy stuff! C’mon you want to sell it don’t you? No one likes messy stuff and if they do they only like their own. You know it’s messy so they know right where it is.
- Check for the not so “photogenic” items…the open toilet, the bra and underwear on the door knob, yucky tissues and cold meds on bed stand, the ring and soap blobs in the bathtub, dirty towels and cloths, wipes, hygiene items, or toothpaste in sink, bird poop on widows…well you get it… check before taking photos. What would you like to see if you were looking for a new property to move your family into?
- Your personal is not someone else’s personal…personal papers on your “counter parking place”, a million photos of your family covering the walls, and big old tapestry and moose heads, your dog or cat laying on the couch or window sill, nic nacs everywhere, very strong smelling “perfumy” candles, incense or oils. In fact the smell of fresh air or ocean or even baked cookies is quite inviting.
- Don’t stand directly in the room to get your photos, A) you can’t get the full perspective or everything in, and B) have you ever looked around to see yourself in a mirror in the room you are photographing? DUH! Go ahead, if you aren’t an expert try and Photoshop yourself out, my experience says, “an ounce of prevention...” Watch taking photos of floors, unless you just had a Pedi…lol, seriously keep your toes out of the photo…fingers too.
- Oh, I have one for you, I showed a house where the owner made the bed with the pillows under the comforter that was just pulled up all goofy on the pillows…it looked like a deceased person was under there. The client and I could only look at each other with that “YIKES” look. Strange way to make a bed so it might be nice to appease a prospect by just very neatly making your bed.
- Before you post your photos of the interior, look at them, see if there is anything “wonky”. Are they level? Is the lighting right so you can clearly see the best features of the room but also notice the natural light? By golly be careful taking photos into reflective things…what a difficult thing to look past…
- Turn lights on where needed and turn them off where needed, sometimes light and sun can wash a room out.
- In general tidy, wipe, sweep, vac, put things away (no necessarily in closets sometimes people do like to see how large at least walk in closets are),
- Post the photos in order from front to back, maybe a caption if possible.
- BIG NUMBER 10…CURB APPEAL IS THE FIRST IMPRESSION!
Take photos on a beautiful day.
Take photos of the entire exterior of the house, don’t cut it off. As a matter of fact don’t cut
Anything off.
Pick up the darn yard! Don’t take photos of toys, beer cans, trash cans, lawn mower, pets etc. If you can move the autos for a photo, do it! People want to see a pic of the entire house front and back, also special features like oversized driveways, beautiful permanent landscaping, ponds, pools, decks, screen porches, sheds, horse stalls, well, you know. Sometimes even a few of the neighborhood don’t hurt.
It is very important to get good photos for the listing. Sometimes professional photos are a bargain in the long run!
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If you are anything like me, when you run into an old friend and the ask you how your kids are doing, you immediatley go into a passionate monologue about the cutest thing your little furbaby did just that morning! Then you excitedly pull out your Smartphone and scroll through the 82 pictures of your sweet, little, couch hippo curled up like a bagel right next to you while you are laying in bed or sitting on the sofa or going to the bathroom... Sound familiar? If you answered yes, then you are MY PEOPLE! To celebrate our unapologetic adoration of our furriest and favorite (don't tell my bio kids) children, I am sharing this amazing website I found of the BEST, local pet-friendly spots to visit with your puppers! The website is appropriately named Bring Fido and is super user-friendly. Just visit the site, search up your address, and VOILA!, you have a list of pet-friendly activities including parks, restaurants, and hotels! If you weren't sure which activity to choose first, each listing shows how high it scored on the prestigious, tried-and-true, 5-bone scale rating. But since you're already here, I'll share a few adventures Winston and Reggie are looking forward to checking out this season!
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Straight Source Real Estate Brokerage is highly invested in the communities it serves. Our broker, Jacki Ferko, has over 30 years in residential and commercial contracting and 15 years residential and commercial sales, leasing and property management. She carries a Short Sale and Foreclosure (SFR) designation, among others, and provides a consultative approach to determining the best outcome for homeowners who may be facing home retention challenges. Are you possibly facing, under distress, a decision to dispose of a home that you may be under water with? Is everyone telling you about “Short Sale”? An inherited estate on probate and facing distributing proceeds to heirs? A partitioning through divorce? Is foreclosure an imminent fear? A vacation home or investment you can no longer afford and the fear of loss will ruin your credit? Please call us first...don’t wait, no judgement, THAT MEANS WE DO NOT JUDGE YOUR SITUATION, WE SCRAMBLE TO ASSIST....your SFR agent is the first person to look to for help. Call Straight Source Real Estate Brokers, LLC 240-882-9270 ...let’s meet IMMEDIATELY! Distressed WITHOUT Equity Are you facing distress? That is, are you going through a divorce or relocating, and you don’t have equity in your home? Don’t stress, you have options! Straight Source Real Estate is a Designated Short Sale and Foreclosure Professional accredited by the National Association of Realtors. Short Sale or Foreclosure might be a good fit if you are upside down or in fear of losing your property. Click here to send us an email . Someone will reach out immediately to provide information on what your options may be. Don’t wait for the last minute. The more time you have for planning, the better your result. Bottom line, you are not in this alone. You have options, you have Straight Source. Straight Source will work with realtors who may not be qualified to do the job...and every party to the transaction is considered. Attention Realtors: Feel free to give Straight Source Real Estate a call before recommending your seller contact their mortgage company. Although it is important to talk with them, Straight Source Real Estate recommends exploring options before entering into any agreement. Some realtors may recommend calling a real estate attorney. Straight Source also associates with qualified home retention attorneys that have the knowledge and experience and to perform the legalities of your situation. Generally at no additional charge to you. Your attorney acts as the legal administrator of your short sale or foreclosure, however, the Real Estate agent or REALTOR such as Straight Source Real Estate Brokers, LLC, will handle the business end of the real estate aspect. Properties with Equity Great news! Your home is paid off, but it may be dated, in disrepair. Or you have inherited it via estate. Did you know Straight Source Real Estate has a HOME PURCHASE PROGRAM that is right for you. Here’s how it works: our team works with investors (buyers who purchase with the intent to repair and resell). We also invest in properties as a company. So, if Straight Source Real Estate has an interest in purchasing and repairing your property, we will be transparent. Be cautious: some home buyer programs will work with a contract offer to you that includes a contingency to resell your property before you even settle on the sale. If the property is not sold by the home buyer company on the retail market by your closing, the home buyer program can sometimes cancel the contract they have to purchase your property. Straight Source Real Estate Purchase Program Our team will do a thorough assessment of your property identifying items in disrepair and denote other aesthetic items to prepare it for sale in the current market. Our promise is communication and transparency. We promise to share with you exactly how we structure our deals with you and thoroughly explain the process and show you why your property may need more than even you understand to prepare it for the current market in your area. Straight Source Real Estate will then provide you with an offer to purchase your property immediately (with an approximately 15 days (or less) closing barring no issues). Jacki Gee-Ferko, the principal of Straight Source Real Estate Brokers LLC, holds a current Maryland Home Improvement LIcense as well as being previously licensed in Lead Based Paint for the Maryland Department of the Environment in testing and abatement supervisory. Add to that 30 plus years of experience in Residential and Commercial improvements and fitout we can confidently identify and estimate the needed improvements and repairs to bring your property to a fair market salable price point. Using our program will save you time, commissions, and closing fees! Further, once we have provided you with our offer, if the offer does not meet your comfort level, we will list and market the property for 60 days at an agreed upon price. During the 60 day timeframe, we reduce the sale price by agreed upon increments to attract a buyer. If the property doesn’t sell within 60 days, our offer to purchase the property under the disclosed conditions remains in place. Straight Source Real Estate Brokerage is educated and designated to provide assistance and advice as to distressed property sales. We have the knowledge as well as resources to offer the options available to either retain the home or work through an alternative with the least amount of impact to you. Again, we recommend you explore all your options. GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE! Click here to email us about your distressed property today .
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