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Years ago, the way to attract the attention of a buyer and/or their real estate agent was to take a stunning picture of the front of the house and write a description that made the house sound like it was ready to be featured on a magazine cover. The internet, digital photography, satellite maps, and other new technology has totally changed the way buyers search for houses.
I was once working with buyers who lived in Indiana and were relocating to Northern VA. I would send them a link to listings that I thought would interest them, and they quickly weeded through them by looking at interior photos and satellite imagery. They eliminated one house because it was a corner lot that had a bigger front yard than back yard. They eliminated another house because they did not like the flow of the floor plan on the main level. Their trips to Virginia were incredibly productive because the information they had access to guaranteed the houses were worth the trip.
The flip-side story happened recently when I was out with buyers, and we had a long list of houses that we were trying to see. These buyers had also weeded out numerous houses after looking at interior photos. Now, you might think that they eliminated any house that wasn’t Better Homes and Garden beautiful. Not so! These buyers knew they would need to put some sweat equity into whatever house they bought. They did, however, have a newborn and were hoping to get a dog once they moved into their new home so there were certain characteristics they were looking for.
We walked into one house, and they were immediately dismayed by what they saw. The photos in the listing had been very misleading. My buyers were actually more turned-off by feeling mislead than by the deficiencies in the house that the angle of the photos were designed to hide. Since then, they have become very savvy photo browsers. If a photo seems to be cutting off part of a kitchen or the front of the house, they ask themselves what is NOT being shown. The wife started laughing once when we walked into a kitchen. “So that’s what they didn’t want us to see in the photo,” she said as she pointed to a make-shift kitchen island that was tilted to one side. They have started to eliminate houses that do not have enough photos or have photos that are obviously trying to hide something; they simply don’t have enough time to waste on the unknown.
Buyers are smart. Buyers do their home work. Buyers know what they want and what they don’t want. Buyers are not interested in being “sold” something that isn’t right for them. Buyers want to find a home that meets their needs and feels….well, like home! This is not something a seller or a Listing Agent can create with fancy descriptions or properly angled photos.
As a seller, the very best thing that you can do is to give buyers all the information they need up front. Ask yourself, “If I was searching for houses on the internet, what would I want to see and know about this house?” Post enough photos that buyers can see how the floor plan flows. Even if your kitchen isn’t as updated as the house down the street that is also for sale, that’s OK! Put the photos up! A buyer is more likely to be turned off by the older kitchen they didn’t know about than the older kitchen they did know about before walking in the front door.
Buyers don’t want to waste their precious time or feel mislead. As a seller, you really only want buyers who have a real interest in buying your house to visit it. The more information you can provide, the happier both buyers and sellers will be!
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Thank you for the information! Never knew the difference between a Realtor and agent. Information on selling also gave tips for buying; “old dogs” can learn new and helpful tricks in this information age. Lastly, loved the “mental picture” ride through the area – a lift on a gray day and ideas for outings. No pink pigs thank you, but the laugh was fun.