Preparing your home for real estate photography www.majesticcentral.com.au by Ian Barnes
Preparing your home for real estate photography The following is designed to help you understand the process of photographing your home for sale. GENERAL OVERVIEW WHY THE NEED TO PREPARE FOR PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS? HOW WILL WE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU Image enhancement doesn’t and won’t work If you are short of time or just too busy, head to the checklist at the end of this publication. • The photo shoot should take between 30-60 mins (longer if a video is required or interactive floor plans are being done and we do not have existing floor plans or if the home is exceptionally large, even in the case of twilight shoots where we are waiting for the right light, it can be up to 2 hours). • I do like the seller to be home if at all possible as we may need to move things around slightly, but it isn’t essential if you can’t be there. • Buyers are time poor and these days everything real estate is about the visual medium of the internet. Presentation and effects (good or bad) are massive on the outcome. • We have about 8 seconds to catch a buyer’s attention in what is a competitive real estate market. • You get one chance to make a great first impression. A great photographer and agent still need some assistance so that we, as a team can help make your property shine and stand out from the crowd. • Well-presented homes should sell for more and generally a lot faster. Whilst it is impossible to quantify this, it is generally accepted in the industry by real estate professionals, great presentation can easily affect sales price by as much as 10% or more. • We all know anecdotally that poorly presented homes will affect buyer’s emotions far less and this logically means more procrastination by buyers (longer on market) and lower offers. • We are not allowed to “Photoshop” images if it means there is any form of misrepresentation. Photographers can “enhance” images slightly for maximum appeal, as long as we don’t fundamentally change what is there. • Stretch rooms to make them look bigger. • Make pools look clean. • Make windows or carpets clean. • Make lawns green. • Block neighbour homes or power lines etc. • Zoom in to views to an extent they are not representative of what the buyer actually sees (With the naked eye). Sent to you by email as a PDF and/ or as a printed hard copy I hope you get the message. The best photos accurately reflect what is there in a positive and maximum potential way. Buyer’s always dislike inaccurate photos, and worse, sellers (and agents) could be sued if it was intentionally deceiving. So in a nutshell, it pays you handsomely to do this well, in time and money. The following are some easy to follow practical steps to help you and ensure we get you the highest price by appealing to the best buyers.
WHAT WILL WE PHOTOGRAPH? THREE HEALTHY PRAGMATIC MINDSETS/ AFFIRMATIONS FOR THE SELLER THE A,B,C THREE BIG TICKET ITEMS EXAMPLES: Image enhancement doesn’t and won’t work 1. Front elevation (but not always), maybe 2 angles if appropriate. 2. Kitchen, possibly 2 angles if photogenic. 3. Living spaces as for kitchen. 4. Master bedroom and usually some other bedrooms if appropriate. 5. Outdoor living. 6. Pool if applicable. 7. Aerial photo if applicable or views as appropriate. 8. Location lifestyle photos if applicable (used sparingly). 9. Laundry only if exceptionally well equipped. 10. Entry voids/grand entries. 11. Ensuite if applicable. 12. Other features/rooms as required. 13. I don’t usually shoot garages or sheds. i. “I want to sell and move, the quicker I get this over with the less work overall and therefore less stress. It is a predictable process.” ii. “This is no longer going to be my home, it is the future buyer’s home soon.” iii. “I need to think in terms of the difference between “showing condition” from “living condition”. Short term inconvenience means a faster outcome and a higher price.” A. Carpet - there are good arguments for replacing worn or tired carpets not only for photos but for selling. B. Paint - as above. Feature walls could be painted out or worn paint patched and entire rooms painted if required. C. Hire Furniture - I believe in almost all occasions (unless a land value property) excellent justifications and advantages in furnishing empty houses before photographing or showing. I have sold homes that had over 100 inspections “empty” and once nice rented furniture was placed in them sold to the next buyer who asked if they could buy the furniture, and paid the full price for the home. I need a minimum of 4-5 photos even for a land value property or block of land, simply as that is how many photos appear on a web page. The rule of thumb that I follow is that if the photo doesn’t add value, I won’t use it. (The old saying “Less is more”). For larger homes, typically I usually want 12-20 photos. A pragmatic mindset to help you accept the reality of what can be a lot of preparation, work and will help get to where you want to go. These items are only going to be touched on very briefly, feel free to discuss personally in detail. All three however do in my opinion provide “good bang for your buck”.
Preparing your home for real estate photography THE TWELVE TOP GENERAL POINTS TO MAXIMISE BUYER VISUAL APPEAL 1. DE-CLUTTER 2. DETAIL/CLEAN 3. EXTERNAL GENERAL • Take a step back and look at each room individually through a critical set of eyes, try to see what a buyer sees. • De-clutter rooms which may be excessively furnished. They do not photograph well. Most rooms accumulate over the years more “stuff” than is necessary. The saying is “less is more”. Busy rooms look smaller, and less appealing. • Less clutter enables purchasers to envisage how their furniture and belongings will fit into your property. Ultimately we want buyers to see themselves in your home, as their new home. • It is even worth considering renting some storage space if you do not have sufficient room in your garage. • We will not photograph inside the garage, so that can be a good place to put excess items for the photo shoot. (Buyers will look in here though when the home is open, so the storage unit is not a bad option as a more general strategy for de-cluttering, or store items at a friend or family member’s house or even consider a garage sale in advance if time permits). • Cobwebs are a big NO. • Everything should be in its place. • Electric cables and extension cords hidden. • Dust should be wiped clear. • Wet areas should always look spotless. • Driveways degreased and immaculate. • Remove all vehicles from driveways and do not park directly in front of the house. • •Sulo bins/ garden bags out of site. • Remove door mats, floor mats, shoes and pet bowls. • Clean windows, dust free surfaces, vacuum or mop floors. • Open curtains and blinds and turn off ceiling fans. • Make sure all light bulbs are working. • Put away garden hoses, tools, toys and bikes. • If necessary consider high pressure hosing paving and drives. What we are selling is the spaces, the usability of that space and the future lifestyle of your home to the future buyer. The most important thing we can do to improve the presentation and leave a favourable impression in your buyers minds, is to de-clutter. Clean always photographs best. If in doubt, it’s always best that it is as spotless as possible, it will appeal to the buyers that view the property anyway. Clean never goes out of style.
4. WINDOWS 5. LAWNS/GARDENS 6. KITCHEN • Consider professional cleaners. Windows and sills should be cleaned. • Freshly mulched gardens always look best. • Weeds all gone. • Edges neat and trimmed. • Freshly mowed in the last few days before shoot (not too short, green is best). As to lawns generally, green always photographs best. Consider a “shock” or lawn boost a couple of weeks before, lots of water (within legal watering requirements). • Consider repairing patches in lawns if you have a pet, make sure all mess is removed from paths and lawns. • Make sure all weeds are absent from paving and driveways (Roundup sprayed on 10-14 days beforehand should kill all weeds). • Hedges and shrubs trimmed. • Remove photos, notes and papers from the refrigerator. • Clear bench tops of food, dish racks and cutting boards. • Remove fridge magnets and other items off the fridge. • Sink empty, if necessary stack all in dishwasher. • Remove dish liquids, tea towels, soaps and plugs. • Put away garbage bins, brooms, mops and cleaning products. • Add a bowl of fresh fruit or a vase of fresh flowers. • Excess kitchen appliances on the bench tops could indicate a lack of storage and bench space. Clear them, ideally nothing other than a nice kettle should be on display, maybe a nice cookbook as well. • Remove electrical cables, particularly extension cables or risk the appearance of a lack of electrical power points.
7. BATHROOMS/LAUNDRY 8. THE STUDY/OFFICE • Clear bench tops of toothbrushes, soaps, razors and plugs. • Remove shampoos, soaps and cleaning products from showers. • Remove rubbish bins, scales, bathmats and laundry baskets. • Close toilet lids, remove toilet brush and spare toilet rolls. • Put out fresh towels, folded and hung neatly on rails and remove all non-matching towels. • Make sure glass and mirrors are spotless. • Remove any cat litter trays. • Tidy up study desks. • Invoices/statements placed neatly away in drawers. • Book shelves neat and organised.
Preparing your home for real estate photography 9. BEDROOMS 12.SWIMMING POOL 10. PETS 11. CARPETS • Make your beds with your best bed linen and thickest pillows. • Remove books, tissue boxes and jewellery from bedside tables. • Remove portable fans, heaters and rubbish bins. • Remove pool toys, skimmers, pool blanket and Kreepy Krauly pool cleaners. • Pool clean/ skimmed, water sparkling. • Pool bottom cleaned. • Contain pets in the garage or out of sight. • Pet beds and food bowls out of site. Professional cleaners are a great freshen up, and will make carpets smell clean too (a side benefit).
CHECKLIST FOR THE DAY OF THE PHOTO SHOOT No. DESCRIPTION DONE 1 Please have pets “managed” or absent for the photo shoot. 2 Have floor plans available if we have them and if not already sent to agent in advance. 3 Sweep and mop floors. 4 Turn on all interior lights. 5 Kreepy Krauly out of pool and site a few hours before shoot (we don’t want water marks in photos). Please remove pool cover if the pool is to be a feature. 6 Have water blade and water features running. 7 Pool fence, if glass, is clean. 8 All cars hidden/out of front shot. 9 No Sulo rubbish bins/kids toys in front of house shot. 10 No garden hoses visible. 11 All kitchen and bathroom benches cleared. 12 Fridge magnets and all fridge paraphernalia gone. 13 All light bulbs working including bedside lamps (warm colour preferred). 14 Turn off TV and put remotes away. 15 Remove all toys, portable fans, game consoles. 16 Make all beds. Solid colour bed spreads photograph better than patterns. 17 Tidy/hide all power leads/cables. 18 All newspapers and most magazines hidden. 19 Hide the portable gas heater if it is movable. 20 Remove exercise bikes/treadmill and exercise gym equipment unless there’s a purpose gym room. 21 Lawns mowed, Leaves raked up. 22 Curtains open, let the home breathe. 23 Decks or pavers cleaned/mopped/scrubbed. 24 De-clutter books, games, tissue boxes. 25 Remove all personal items. (Excessive photo collages or mantle pieces covered in personal photos). 26 Remove posters/stickers from walls. 27 Clear away all clothes. 28 Remove washing from clothes line. 29 Bikes hidden away. 30 Kid’s bedrooms, everything away as it should be. 31 Kitchen sinks and benches cleared. 21 Kearns Crescent, Applecross www.majesticcentral.com.au Ian Barnes P 0423 123 533 E ian@majesticcentral.com.au I hope the above has been helpful and useful. I look forward to helping you get sold in the minimum possible reasonable timeframe with the best possible outcome. Thank you.
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