How Can a REALTOR Take Photos That are so Bad?

This from an experienced buyer I know who was looking at houses in the Carlsbad area on-line.

“They ought to be shot.” (the REALTOR, that is).

In this age of inexpensive digital photography, one does have to wonder. We complain about it all the time but the reality remains that many agents either do not know how to take a decent photo, or they simply don’t care, perhaps because they don’t feel it makes a difference.

Perhaps with REOs and short sales, or price points where there is high demand, it really doesn’t matter all that much since there are people who are interested and are going to want to see those homes, no matter what. And with many of the lower priced units (under $300K in our area), even those with just 1 lousy photo, there are multiple offers almost right away.

On tour the other day with one of my first time buyers, she commented on one unit that we were in, and out of pretty quickly, that “wow, those MLS photos can really distort how some homes look!” This in a short sale condo that was, well, in pretty bad shape. You never would have guessed from the photo.

I’ve heard plenty of comments about the lack of photos, or crummy ones, from buyers, and there have been a myriad of articles about this issue (this being yet another). We know that buyers want to see them, the more the better, and that they do make decisions to pursue homes or not on the basis of what they see.

THE FIRST OPEN HOUSE IS ON-LINE, remember?

Taking decent, or even quite good, real estate photos is not that hard, and many of us here, who are not photographers by any stretch of the imagination, do so all the time. And it costs you nothing but a bit of time once you buy that camera, which today will cost you less than a month of Starbucks mocha lattes.

It takes only a few minutes to grab a bunch of photos to make sure you can cull out the ones that suck, leaving you a quality product. Take lots of each “scene” to be sure. Or hire someone if you are so incredibly busy that you can’t perform one of the duties you should to market your client’s property. Here are “My 10 Photo Commandments.” I include this is my pre-listing kit now.

And you need to look at what you took on-line before you put them out there for the world to see. I often find what looks good on my camera is actually pretty bad on the computer screen. And sellers are usually more than happy to look at photos and help decide what showcases the home the best. Better that than to have them see your listing plastered all over the Internet and call you to complain that the photos are not very good, or worse.

Below you will find some suggestions for improving your photography from a professional, taken from an educational session SCOTT BASILE conducted for some CRSs here in San Diego that I arranged. These are some great tips and easy to implement. Feel free to print out or download to your computer.

OMG They’re Taking the Toilet Seat!!

MLS listings sometimes list items sellers are not leaving with the home at closing.

This is useful, and essential, particularly if the non-conveying items might be important to the buyers, or when normally they would be items left behind as standard practice (e.g., fixtures).

Better to know up front what things are not going to remain.

The issue of what conveys and what does not can often result in disagreements between the parties if not clarified, in writing, in the contract.

I expect this is true to some extent in other state contracts, but paragraph 8 of the CA Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) addresses specifically the issue of “items included in or excluded from the purchase price.”

Whether washers, dryers, refrigerators and other appliances stay or not can often result in a dispute, but it’s not uncommon for chandeliers, hardware, wall sconces, hot tubs, and other things to be listed as non-conveying items.

I’ve seen, on rarer occasions, specific plants, for example, noted as being exclusions.

I had to laugh when reading a recent $700,000 listing this morning while searching for a view home for some Carlsbad buyers. The confidential remarks noted, among several other things, that the TOTO washlet toilet seat was, sadly, going with the sellers. Guess it’s good to be put on notice. [In case you’re really interested, the link will let you read more about this invention. What will they think of next?]

While the non-conveying toilet seat struck me as funny, the issue IS an important one - if you want to keep it, better to have it in writing so there is no question from the buyers.

Despite being in the MLS it also pays to have iexclusions in writing in the actuial contract in case there are discepancies.

Anyhow, I thought this might prove to be a humorous way to generate some discussion about the issue of items that convey or not, issues that arise about what conveys and what does not, funny or maybe not-so-funny stories, and your own thoughts.

I wonder what kind of seat the sellers will leave in Toto’s place? Uh, let's hope they leave one!

The 10 Photo Commandments

Real estate photos for marketing a listing effectively are a huge deal – we all know that, as does the buying public. Sadly, many in our profession appear to be clueless on this issue, or don’t care. There is simply no excuse in my opinion in this age of digital photography for crappy photos, or lack thereof. None!

Here is my 10 Photo Commandments List for sellers that I just created and have now added to my pre-listing package, and plan to include in my listing presentation.

Making sellers aware that bad or very limited photos are commonplace, but worse, are inconsistent with what I, and many others, believe is responsible seller representation, is my goal.

Sellers WILL have a commitment from me, in writing, that my photos will be the best they can possibly be.

Of course part of that discussion is also to coach sellers on how they can enable me to achieve this goal on their behalf.

So here they are. Whadya think?

My 10 Photo Commandments

Thou shalt include multiple photos - the maximum allowed on listing sites and the MLS

Thou shalt take photos of the interior and the exterior

Thou shalt not include photos of an open toilet, EVER!

Thou shalt take multiple photos of each room from different angles to enable the best pictures to be selected

Thou shalt not take photos of blank walls, corners of an empty room or the ceiling

Thou shalt not include photos of driveways with cars and trucks, especially those up on blocks

Thou shalt not take exterior photos of the home on trash collection day

Thou shalt not include photos of dirty dishes in the sink or on the counters

Thou shalt take no photos of dirty laundry on the floor (or anywhere) and unmade beds

Thou shalt not include photos which are crooked, upside-down, out-of-focus, or dark

Jeff Dowler

Your Listing Agent

Carlsbad Sellers – Are You Committed to SELLING or to LISTING?

There’s an important distinction here, with potentially profound consequences, depending on how you answer the question.

It’s important for me to know, as a listing agent, if my prospective client is committed to selling.

Or to listing.

And there are ways to tell whether a homeowner really is making a commitment to selling their home, or they are only making a commitment to listing the home.

You have a choice, of course, but what you decide will impact the results you achieve.

“We don’t really need to sell” and “If we can get the price we want we’ll move”, or variations, are pretty good indicators the commitment is to listing the home, but not selling. Especially in a market favoring the buyers.

Another suggestion the commitment is just to listing is when the sellers don’t have specific plans or timeframes for where they are moving to and when.

A job relocation, changes in family circumstances, and such usually mean definite plans to move need to be made, and thus the commitment IS to selling the home. Those without plans are probably only committing to listing, since they really DON’T need to be anywhere, and either the pain (getting out of the current home) or pleasure (achieving the goal – a relocation, moving closer to family) are not significant enough.

Setting the asking price is another key indicator. Ignoring comparables that have sold or the competition, and starting high with the intent of dropping the price later are likely to lead to failure. And, I dare say, symptoms of only a commitment to listing. The seller who is committed to selling WILL set the price with the current market in mind, and one where the home will clearly be seen as the best value among the competition.

Taking care of defects, deferred maintenance, and repairs, de-cluttering and de-personalizing, and getting the home truly in showing condition suggest a commitment to selling, not just listing.

So is making the home readily available to show and having signage (unless not permitted in the community).

Those committed to listing won’t likely take these issues seriously.

And that also suggests a lack of understanding of buyer behavior and what really is happening in the market.

You’ve no doubt heard “it’s a price war and a beauty contest.” It certainly applies in many markets and price ranges these days.

So is your commitment to selling your home, or just listing it?

You need to know your commitment, whichever it may be, will be communicated to the buying public and to the agents pretty clearly.

Think about it!

The Responsibilities of the Carlsbad Seller – Do You Know What They Are?

As agents we have a ton of responsibilities with any transaction, even before a listing has gotten an offer and we are on the way through the due diligence period. Many of those responsibilities are behind the scenes and are not visible to our clients, unless we tell them.

There are certainly plenty of responsibilities for Carlsbad sellers as well. Let’s talk about a few:

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO COMMIT TO THE PROCESS

Commitment covers a lot of territory, to name just a few

• commitment to selling the home, not just testing the market
• commitment to doing what will help sell the home and not standing in the way, such as making showings difficult and having a mess in your home

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE DECISIVE

There are lots of decisions to be made, from deciding you are going to sell to what your next steps will be – rent or purchase another home? You must:

• Decide on the right REALTOR to help you (WHO is the best qualified person to help and NOT who gives you a certain price)
• Make decisions about showings, signage, lockboxes, and other listing details like “will certain appliances stay or go?”
• Be decisive when an offer comes in and during the escrow process.

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE HONEST

This is not to imply you aren’t, but you need to be honest with everyone involved in the transaction, as well as honest with yourself about the goals you are trying to achieve. You must be honest in your disclosures and other information provide to your REALTOR, the buyers, escrow and title.

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO COMMUNICATE

This occurs before the home is even listed, but becomes more essential once you are into the process. Just as agents must communicate with their clients, you have a responsibility to communicate when needed, and there are multiple ways to do so, e.g., text messages, emails, phone calls, face-to-face meetings.

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ASK QUESTIONS

You need to ask questions about marketing, showings, negotiating offers and much more to understand the process of listing and selling your home. And other questions will arise during the transaction.

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DISCLOSE

Disclosures are a very important aspect of selling a home and are both federally and state mandated. Not disclosing known defects and other issues about the house can get you in trouble. Your disclosures, however, do not relieve buyers from performing their own due diligence.

You, as the seller, have a significant vested interest in helping the home to sell, from listing at the right price to having the home look its best.

If you don't take responsibility, no one else will, and you won’t get what you want – your home sold quickly and for market value.

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Showing Offenses? Or Offensive Showings?!

In keeping with a recent post on showing instructions, and inspired by some notable comments, my thoughts turned to showing offenses we see in our business.

Some may be purely accidental.

Others are clearly carelessness, and lack of caring about the role agents should be playing when showing property.

Most agents bring their clients through homes and leave with no evidence of having visited, save for a business card perhaps. That’s the way it ought to be.

Others, however, leave noticeable proof they were there, or their clients do. Damage, security risks, and just plain rudeness contribute to offensive showings on occasion. Sometimes you have to wonder…

I set off an alarm once. It wasn’t entirely my fault. The agent said it was off. But the second I opened the door I heard the tell tale sign of an alarm system getting ready to go off. Oh my, did it, one of those loud sirens. I kept waiting for the police to show. I’m sure the neighbors were all watching out their windows. Thankfully I was just previewing a home.

I got a key stuck in a front door one time, too. No matter what I did I could not get it out. Fortunately I was able to reach the agent for this vacant home. At least it happened on the way out. LOL

As a listing agent, things like lights left on aren’t a major issue although they are an annoyance; my feeling is you should leave the home the way you found it. I suspect many sellers feel that way. Technically you are a guest, remember?

Big offenses include security risks with unlocked front or rear doors (on multiple occasions), open windows, toilets that have obviously been used (I’m leavin’ the rest to your imagination), and so on. I’ve found, or been told by my sellers of, broken items, mud and leaves on the carpets, spilled water, and trash left behind on the counters.

A colleague friend of mine had a seller client who lost his vial of viagra. Ooops. Someone sure was disappointed. Someone else wasn't.

Other showing offenses, or rudeness, includes those who show up very late without a call, agents who show up unannounced, and those who make appointments, causing the sellers to vacate, and then don’t show at all.

Letting pets out, or in, is kinda rude, although sometimes it can be pretty hard to avoid. My feeling is owners need to do a good job of securing their furry ones and not count on buyer agents and their clients to have to worry about Fido or Fluffy getting in or out. I ran into  lsiting agent who HAD to be present for showings. The reason? A vendor who did some work at the house let the dog out who got hit by a car - he turned out OK, but the seller was pretty anxious. But that's a good example of NOT taking appropriate precautions as a seller.

While it ought to be common courtesy, respectful behavior at showings apparently is not always so common. Agents should be watchful and make sure things are left the way they were found, and if there is a problem it ought to be reported. I’ve called agents to let them know about broken windows and locks in vacant homes.

And parents need to keep track of their kids and prevent them from wreaking havoc. Just because kids do that at home does not mean they get to do that at a showing at someone else’s home.

So what are YOUR showing offenses…yours or from buyers and agents?

Are We Clear on the Showing Instructions?

Showings are the mainstay of getting a property sold. There aren’t too many buyers who will buy a home sight unseen, although with the Internet that seems to be becoming more common.

We often see buyers, in their zeal to get a home, making offers on REOs and short sales without seeing homes, at least initially, to beat out the competition. We even see some instructions in MLS listings that a form must be signed by the buyers and submitted with the offer verifying that they viewed the property before submitting an offer, perhaps because of too many buyers backing out after they finally see the property.

Showing instructions are key, and it’s an essential discussion with sellers, at least those occupying a home, so it’s clear to all what those directives are.

And they must be spelled out clearly in the MLS for buyer agents and their clients.

Showing instructions can encourage activity, or impede it. It certainly does not do the seller any good to have showing instructions that are too limited as to date and time, or other requirements (48 hours notice, agent must accompany) but we see it fairly often.

Here are some thoughts:

THE LISTING AGENT SHOULD HAVE A FRANK DISCUSSION ABOUT AVAILABILITY with the sellers and help them lay out instructions that are clear, reasonable, and maximize the opportunity to show the house.

THE WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS SHOULD PRECISELY REFLECT THE SELLERS’ WISHES regarding notice, days and times, use of a lockbox, and other matters. I’ve run into situations where what is stated in the MLS is NOT what the sellers say they told their agent. Now that’s embarrassing when you show up at the door.

INSTRUCTIONS SHOULD ALLOW FOR MAXIMUM EXPOSURE to buyers and their agents. 2 hours a day 2 days a week doesn’t cut it. Do you want to sell it or not?!

SELLERS AND THEIR LISTING AGENT SHOULD FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. If it says the home is available during certain hours, or the agent will schedule appointments, then that needs to happen. If the MLS states there is a lockbox then there had better be one, with a key in it that actually works. If it’s a combo box then state so, and either put the code in the confidential remarks or provide some easy means for the buyer agents to obtain the code.

BE CLEAR ABOUT SHOWING INSTRUCTIONS WHEN THERE ARE TENANTS. There can be complications when showing properties with tenants if they are not cooperative, or if the seller has stated showing instructions that are not cleared with the tenants, or contradict what the tenant was told would happen. I had a recent showing where it clearly stated in the MLS there were tenants but you could go at any time during certain hours. Not so. The tenant was furious because that was not what was agreed on. And somehow the agent neglected to mention the dog running loose in the house.

All that said, Buyer Agents need to read the instructions and follow them, too. If it says call in advance by X hours, then do so. Showing up unannounced is rude. So is not keeping an appointment you have set up, or showing up late and not using that cell phone to call and leave a message. You made the appointment, either keep it or change it.

Any other ideas you’d like to share to make showings easier and more pleasant for all?

Or some great stories?

Sellers – Is YOUR Agent a Liability?

No doubt you have spent a lot of time getting your home ready for sale.

• You interviewed several agents that have the qualifications and experience to sell your home, and made a decision
• You agreed on a price, showing instructions, signage and a lockbox, and signed a listing contract
• You depersonalized, spruced up the front yard and entrance
• You thought everything was ready to move ahead and get your home sold quickly

Time Out. Big problem.

Your agent could be a liability, and you may not even know it. Watch for these hints of sabotage to your sale. The problem is, you may not even be aware of some of these issues.

Consider that...

You did not receive a written marketing plan for YOUR home. Do you even know WHAT your agent, who is presumably looking out for your best interests, is planning to do to get your home sold?

Your agent does not return calls or emails promptly – how will you even know? If agents can’t get questions answered for their buyers, or can’t gain access through your agent, you have a big problem.

Your MLS listing is fraught with errors, typos, missing information, and limited or lousy photos – have you even seen the MLS listing that your agent created? You must! Buyers these days look on-line first and they want photos, lots of them. Buyers will often ignore listings with no photos, or those that do not show the home well.

There is limited on-line exposure. Given the number of buyers looking on-line, your home MUST be out there on multiple sites. You never know where a buyer may come from – do you want to risk missing the right buyer? Where IS your agent marketing your home and how does it look?

There is limited, or no, communication from your agent regarding responses to the listing and on-line marketing. Maybe there is not much happening, or maybe there is. Do you know?

The brochure box is often empty – OK a brochure box is not necessarily going to sell your home, but an empty box is inexcusable and sad looking. There are people who may drive by and want to grab a brochure. I would ask your agent for a supply so you can keep it filled in case s/he is not on the job. If you can’t keep it filled, don’t put one out there.

No doubt there are lots of great agents out there who will do a fabulous job and you won’t have to worry. Just make sure YOUR agent is not a liability. You have a lot riding on the sale of your home, and things that stand in the way of getting it sold need to be dealt with.

My advice?

1. Ask for a written marketing report so you know what your agent will be doing

2. Ask to see a copy of the MLS listing (not just a hard copy but a link from the Internet so you can see what other buyers will experience including photos)

3. Do a Google search once your listing is live to see what it shows up on the Internet

4. Ask lots of questions and expect specific answers

5. Agree on a follow-up and communication schedule - once a week? By email or phone?

 Do You Have A Carbon Monoxide Detector in Your House?

Mr. and/or Ms. Seller – if we are going to work together this is an important question I will ask you. 

While that may seem odd, and not related to taking your listing, it is a critical question. It's not simply a curiousity question.

It is now a legal matter in California.

Newly passed legislation, California Senate Bill 183, that is now in effect as of July 1, 2011 requires that any home sold after July 1, 2011 be equipped with a carbon monoxide detector for homes with a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage. This includes units that are leased. 

More specifically the required Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) you will sign as a seller must now note the presence, or not, of carbon monoxide detectors in the home similar to what is required for smoke detectors.

Here’s a link to all the details of this important law that affects not just homeowners who are selling, but also landlords and homeowners in general 

California Senate Bill 183 

The other important piece of this legislation is that it enacts the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010, requiring all homes (including multi-family dwellings) be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. The date for compliance for single-family residential dwellings is July 1, 2011 (oops, bet a bunch of folks didn’t even know); the date for all other dwellings is on or before January 1, 2013

ANOTHER SALE IN OCEANSIDE

3555 Turquoise Lane, Oceanside, CA  92056

This popular 1503 SF model SOLD for $275,000 in just 4 days at 98% of the asking price

This attractive 2/2 single story home in the gated 55+ community of Emerald Lake Village in Oceanside has sold. The community offers resort-like living with lots of greenspace and a beautiful residents' club house that just underwent extensive remodeling. Amenities include a large pool and spa, gourmet kitchen, large meeting rrom, library and billiard room and a multitude of social activities. RV parking is available in a special lot for $25/month on a first come first serve basis.

www.3555TurquoiseLane.com