A picture is worth several thousand words. Keep this statement in mind as you go about finding the best way to showcase your property to the world. Buyers are very picky about what they want. You probably have a gem that appeals to a large pool of buyers but how would they know what you have unless they can get an accurate idea of what it is? Pictures serve as the bait to draw people in to set appointments.
Let’s think about who exactly you’re selling to. There are a couple types of buyers. We’ve got local investors who are interested in fixing and flipping. On the other end we’ve got families that are interested in a move-in ready piece of Real Estate. To go into further detail, let’s examine the mindset of the fix and flipper.
Most fixers are looking for a good deal where they know what they’re getting into. It’s imperative that you don’t leave out any important photos of repairs. The one thing you’ll definitely want to avoid is coming off as dishonest. The fixer community is a very small one and word spreads quickly. To show that you’re serious about selling and trustworthy, take detailed photos of the exterior and interior of the property as well as all major and minor repairs. If you really want to gain trust and seal the deal, try creating an itemized estimate of repairs or purchase an inspection report from a local general contractor. From this point you’ll want to provide a link to all of these details and photos that can be accessed by anyone. I’d recommend uploading your data to Google Drive and setting sharing options to ‘public.’ From here you can access the link and share it with any buyers that came along or have your Realtor (if you’re using one) post the link to the details section of your MLS listing.
Families that want a property to live in are a totally different breed of buyer. While fixers are looking for concise and precise data to make a business decision, families or retail buyers, as I like to call them, are looking for pictures that induce positive, optimistic emotions. When you’re going after these types of buyers, you’ll want to make sure the property is totally fixed up and ready to go. Any upgrades are a huge plus. For an extra boost, you can try renting furniture for the purpose of staging the property. Once you have it ready, you’ll want to hire a professional photographer to come in and take pictures. You can also buy an $850.00 camera and do it yourself, but if this is a one time deal, it’s better to pay someone $115.00 one time and get it done that way. Another excellent option is to have him or her take a video walk-through of the property and post it on YouTube. From there you can add the link to the listing.
