The Importance Of Good Pictures

You have cleaned the house from top to bottom, you have staged your home and are ready to put your home for sale.  I am sure you’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – your primary goal in selling your home is to make money. Whether this is to make a profit or to pay off your current mortgage, your focus needs to be on making that sale.

The best way to showcase your home and make the sale is through pictures.  Pictures play a considerable role in nailing that sale. If you have professional pictures, you’ll set yourself up above other homeowners battling for the same buyers. Think about it.  The pictures make the difference whether a home buyer wants to visit your home or not.

Just think about this, if you had to purchase a home in a particular city for work purposes and there were only two homes for sale in that city that could fit your needs, which seller would you trust more from the get-go: the one who posts casual pictures that capture dishes in the sink or a sock in the corner, or the one who gives the impression of a pristine lifestyle?

You can show off your pristine lifestyle and build up the buyers’ confidence in the quality of your home by putting in a little extra effort and getting professional pictures of your place.

Isn’t it true that the real winners in every category of life are ones who put out the most effort?

Here are some ideas to help you get the best pictures for your home:

• Pretend that you are shooting for a magazine. It all starts with cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! Get rid of the clutter, move out old and ugly furniture, and hide away all of your personal belongings. You don’t want your family photos, laundry, or the old torn lounge chair online for the world to see.
• Shelter the pets. This is important. Even if you’re the most meticulous pet owner in the world, advertising to potential buyers that you have birds in a cage, a free roaming guinea pig, or a bedroom dedicated to a family of rare Siamese cats is going to scare people away. Whatever you do, don’t put them in your photos!
• Accessorize Appropriately. A few home accessories with colors that pop will go a long way. Do you have any bright sofa pillows? How about a healthy green plant or a vase of colorful flowers strategically placed in each room?
• Light it up. Are your pictures really dark or washed out? Not enough light from the windows? Add some lighting to bring them up a level. Bright LED lamps in the corners or off-camera can add just the touch you need.
• Hire a stager. If you don’t want to go through the effort on your own, you can hire a professional stager who can come in to rearrange the furniture or even bring in some accessories or extra pieces of furniture.

When you’re interviewing different stagers for the job, make sure to check on rates per room. You may decide to only photograph certain rooms in the house, but you’ll win bigger with more pictures.

• Hire a professional photographer. Although you can take great pictures on your own without a very expensive camera, you might consider having a pro do the work. I work with professional photographers to get the best pictures to market the property. I highly recommend this route. This can give you an even greater advantage over other sellers by helping to increase the perceived value of your home.
• Photos of the OutsideIt goes without saying that your potential buyers want to see the outside just as much as the inside of your home. If you are you’re going to show them, show them!

Before taking pictures of the Outside, take these important steps:

• Cut that grass. Whether you do it yourself or support your neighborhood professional, give your lawn a clean, close cut. Get rid of some tension with your weed-whacker by obliterating those stubborn weeds and extra strands of grass along pathways, the house, and around trees.
• Trim the hedges. If there is one thing that helps to look like an abandoned hideout, it’s a runaway row of hedges. You can save the day by a quick trim to make sure that the bushes are nice and even, adding another spark of life to the outside.
• Colorful landscaping. Plant a variety of colorful flowers, and lay some red cedar chips. If you would like to provide a night photo for effect, consider adding some LED path lights.
• Give it a bath. Shine the windows, hose down the house, and clean the gutters. Sweep the pathways and driveway. You don’t want pictures of cobwebs around your doorways or of water-stained windows. Take strategic photos from angles that really show off your home.

Having followed the above tips should make this easier because you won’t be trying to avoid capturing the grass or bushes in the photos.

Consider Drones

In the past, you would have needed to pay an expensive fee to a pilot for the use of a private plane or helicopter.  Now, you can make it all happen more affordably with drones.

Besides being used by some to spy on neighbors, drones have a variety of uses.

The good news is that one of these is to show off the high value of your home to potential buyers.

As regulation continues to shape the future of drones and their legal use by civilians, you can still stay ahead of the crowd by hiring a licensed drone photographer or getting the license to fly one yourself.

Why does drone photography give you an advantage over other sellers?

• Provides a big picture view. You can give potential buyers a complete view of your property by an aerial photograph or video.  This is something that most home owners never see for themselves for as many years as they have been in their homes. The house, the yard, the distance from neighbors – this is a valuable shot.
• Shows the road home. If you choose to have the drone capture video footage, you can take the potential buyers on a ride up the street to your home and even pull up into the driveway and walk them to the front door. Whether doing it yourself or hiring an experienced professional, make sure to draw up a plan.
• Map out the route for the Drone. Plan the time of day, and be prepared to take multiple photographs or video shots to give yourself options. Do you want to benefit from the lighting effects of sunrise or sunset? Do you want to catch the school bus en-route? Do you want to include any wildlife around your property such as deer?

Think ahead. Planning the details will help your drone project move smoothly and provide a valuable finished product.

Video Walk-Through (Virtual Tours)

Virtual tours are not as common as one would think considering most home buyers look online when they start their home search.  If we do a virtual tour we’re now a mile ahead of the rest.  This is every home buyer’s dream.  You could use a drone or use your camera, but either way, taking potential buyers on a walk through their future home could be just the motivation they need to further explore the purchase and sign the contract.  I typically use different professional tools to create the virtual tour for my clients.

How many entrances do you have to your home? Consider starting a separate video from each door and walking through the home to give the viewers multiple perspectives. The more you can give, the more value you will create, the more offers you will receive, and the more quickly you will make the sale.

To take it up another notch, consider making it a guided tour by either having someone walk in front of the camera while explaining each room, or make it a guided tour with a voice-over.

There’s always someone in your circles who has a great phone voice, so if it’s not you, ask this person for a favor. Otherwise, you can hire a voice-over professional through an online agency.

If you could save a few long-distance potential buyers the cost of a plane trip, you’ve already won in their eyes.  It now gives them a sense of urgency to be the first to snatch up your house before it’s gone.

There are multiple options to get your home in the eyes of potential home buyers. It is ultimately up to you to showcase your home in its best light through pictures and videos. A realtor can help you tell your story and guide you through the process to get your home sold, fast.