The late morning silence that typically pervades my home was broken by expletives emanating from my bedroom. From my study, I yelled, in a similarly frantic tone, if all was OK. My wife responded, "No, all is definitely not OK!"
What did I do?
Lori is a quiet, introspective lady. Those who know her can attest to her gentle demeanor. And she is quite my opposite in her reserve when it comes to four letter words. So I charged upstairs concerned about what was not OK.
She was at her desk, facing her computer. As I approached, she swung around and pelted me with a verbal assault. "I'm so damn frustrated," she said. "This whole real estate thing sucks and it's not gotten any better over the years." "I know it's not your fault, but you can do something about this. You have too. People listen to you."
No, it's not okay
The bone of her frustration was clear. She was searching for homes with a sense of urgency. We are seriously considering moving. Next week she will be flying out to what could be our next destination for three days to visit schools, meet with an agent, and tour homes. She is madly surfing websites, saving searches and participating fully in the online real estate experience.
But all is not OK. Many homes lack a sufficient number of photos.
Or contain bad photos that illustrate elements that have no bearing on the property.
Or contain no photos at all.
"Gavin is 7 (referring to our youngest son) and he's already filled the picture library in my cell phone with hundreds of photos of his Webkin," she ranted. "And they're all good photos! If he can do it why can't every agent take a lousy dozen photos of a home and post it? Why?"
I stood in silent agreement. I've been asking that question since 1998.
"Maybe we can hire Gavin out to agents and put the income away for his college fund," she said.
Lori pointed out homes with agent comments that sounded great. But descriptions of homes aren't enough. Not if you are serious about buying one.
According to my wife this presented her with two distinct problems:
1) She could not make an informed decision on which properties to tour with her agent
2) She would have to email said agent and ask her to go look at the homes, determine if they are right for us, take pictures and send them to us ASAP.
In her mind…
Neither prospect is OK
Not for her and not for our agent, who is now burdened with the task of performing the job of the listing agent.
As I stood accepting punishment for all that is wrong with real estate, Lori reminded me of a task I performed a while back for a broker who wanted to market a $3.5 million listing here on the Central Coast that wasn't moving. I drove over to the home, took a few pictures and used the Wifi inside the house to get online and upload the photos to an account I set up for her with Real Estate Shows. I spent a few minutes writing the subtitle copy and pressed submit.
In no time she had a compelling tour of the home ready to be syndicated all over the web.
A day later, I had one of the voice artists we work with at 1000watt record the audio of the script and sent the file to Jeff Turner (President of Real Estate Shows) and requested he customize the tour for me just a tad. After all, this was a $3.5 million home.
This is the result:
I know, no big deal. And that's my point. In less time than it takes an agent to explain to a seller why a listing is sitting on the market longer than it should, a simple show (minus the audio track) that effectively merchandises the listing was created.
Such an effort also creates a better experience for the prospective buyer (My wife, for example).
"Real estate is stressful enough," Lori said. "Agents should be doing what they can to reduce the stress, not add to it."
Yup.
Settling a great debate
Not long ago, Rob Hahn's post What Makes a Realtor Good launched a debate that tendered only a vague definition of what makes a Realtor good or bad. Well today, I can clarify that definition:
A bad Realtor is one whose marketing effort for a six figure listing pales in comparison to a seven-year old's playful regard for his $11.95 pet dinosaur.
A good agent is one who says "no problem, I'll take care of that" when asked to compensate for the bad agents job.
- Davison
Twitter: 1000wattmarc
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As a real estate broker of 26 years, I am always amazed when I see no description or pictures of a property. If the sellers only knew.
FHLJ,
Keahi
An agent is ripping their client off when they don't post at least one photo of EVERY room in the property they are selling. A floorplan of EVERY floor should be posted as well. There's NO excuse.
You can see every angle of a $20,000 car. You can see under the hood. You can the right side. The left side. The front. The back. The trunk. The glove box!
If I were a broker I would require that any agent using my name take the extra hour or two to put the photos and floorplans together.
An agent is ripping their client off when they don't post at least one photo of EVERY room in the property they are selling. A floorplan of EVERY floor should be posted as well. There's NO excuse.
You can see every angle of a $20,000 car. You can see under the hood. You can the right side. The left side. The front. The back. The trunk. The glove box!
If I were a broker I would require that any agent using my name take the extra hour or two to put together the photos and floorplans.
Why aren't more brokers demanding that? And it's more than just one photo per room. When I view a kitchen I want to see more than just a cupboard. When I view a bathroom I want to see more than just the countertop or shower head.
Many Realtors don't realize that you can now upload photos yourself instantly when the new listing hits the system, rather than the old way of sending it to the board and waiting for them to process the other 9,000 listings they just received.
Spot on. I went through the same frustrations a few months ago. The thing that was even more infuriating was seeing the photos of the gym, the lobby, the post room etc in a high-rise building but no shots of the actual apartment! And as you've rightly pointed out, it takes less than two minutes to fix.
@Wesley – How is that possible that many agents don't know that? I would think simple human desire to be more efficient would inspire every single agent to seek out better ways to do things even if those solutions were not on their radar
I agree that the agents that can't post or take decent photos should (and will) fail, but I also know that the best way to find the house that "fits" is to have your good agent find it. I spend hours showing people homes that they saw on the Internet, and then sell them the house that they didn't ask to see because the photos or description were inaccurate. There is no substitute for local knowledge of the inventory.
I've found that there are still many agents that think they'll lose buyer leads if they include "too much" info, photos and media. Their logic being that limiting these details will somehow generate more inquiries and showings.
@Steve. Agreed. But that still can't justify not offering the best possible web experience for the consumer. And really, that first stage online endeavor is not about finding the home that fits. It's more about finding home that might fit. And I've learned having relocated once, that is a critical step and everything the web is about.
@Nathan – right your are. All I can say to that is, where or from what source does that train of thought come from? I would really like to confront that place or individual. Or maybe, have my wife do it.
It would be nice if we could inform the sellers what a disservice these listing agents are doing for them. But our code of ethics prohibits this type of approach. I know the code has rights for the public, but it doesn't protect the public from a bad marketing approach. This is why it is important for sellers to do their homework about what the agent intends to do for them for the commission they are paying, and have an OUT in the listing agreement if this is not done!
Many agents are fearful of posting photos of their listing because the home has not been properly prepared for sale. Showing potential buyers photos of bedrooms with purple walls, unmade beds and clothes lying on the floor and cluttered living rooms filled with ceramic chicken collections is not going to sell the home. The first step is to Stage the home (or at least get it to a sufficiently clean and clutter-free state). Then the agent can be proud of posting photos and Real Estate Shows that will have buyers knocking down the doors.
@Annie – that makes sense but… I think then why bother listing it on the web until that home is staged? Or better yet, be transparent in the description and write – Sorry no pictures yet. But they are forthcoming.
@Marvin – that would not only be nice, it do everyone a service.
Many home sellers don't even know how to sell a home so they don't demand it (proper marketing) from agents. That's why they hire us, we're supposed to know, right.
I think there is a transition taking place where consumers are beginning to learn more about Realtors and what they should expect from their agent.
It is not happening fast. It takes time, but it is happening. Consumers are slowly becoming more informed and as they do they are expecting more form their agents.
This is a good thing…
Spot on. I wish I had written this post on my blog.
About 3 years ago I started a sideline business that offers RE photography and resells Real Estate Shows accounts. It was through this process that I realized just how few RE agents actually "get it" and were willing to invest in quality photography. I saw the opportunity to build a dynamic real estate team that understands and uses the types of technologies promoted by 1000Watt.
Keep pressing the issue. The times they are a changin …
Marc,
To compensate for the lack of visual marketing of properties in my own board, I have taken the occasion to video record properties. Now, for the cross town buyer, that could be overkill. However, my out of town buyers or buyers whose decision making helpers are out of town, REALLY like it when they get a narrated walk thru video of the homes they are considering…
My two cents…
Guys,
I can't help thinking about what Annie wrote which I believe is spot on. But it does raise a valid question. Is marketing a home on web without pictures a valid tactic to drive lead generation? Am I missing something here? And what if you list a home that is unsightly? In today's world of transparency do you shove that under the rug and hide it behind flowery description or do you post it, show it, make no excuses about it and present the wonderful possibilities to a buyers. After all, there are plenty of buyers who think the perfect home is one that does need some work.
I'd like to hear your feedback.
@Todd, I think your two cents has dollars worth of value!
Marc, I didn't know you all were moving? not Ann Arbor?
I remember this show from RealEstateShows, I use them on every listing from 59K and on up.
They are fun and easy to do, don't do enhanced listings on r dot c but I upload one of Jeff's show to all my listings.
Not 100% but I am growing weary of the high cost of living here in the beautiful but remote village of San Luis.
I miss a city. A sports team. I miss being to get a slice of pizza for $2.00 instead of having to buy an entire pie for $15.00.
I miss living amongst folks with a more worldly perspective rather than one coined from the naiveté that comes from spending your whole life living in one of the top ten best places to live on earth.
I need to find a greater selection of educational choices for the younger kids and a city full of employment or entrepreneurial opportunities for the older kids. I just don't see owning a surf shop in my kids future.
And I need a music scene. The homeless kid strumming a battered guitar for coinage doesn't cut it for me any more. In the 12 years since I've lived here – no major touring artist has stopped here to play.
Ann Arbor. Mmm. Too North for us.
Glad to see a vote for the RE Show. It's a nice touch indeed.
Why is it the norm in this country to list real estate without having floor plans readily available on the internet? Why aren't more buyers complaining? What makes this ok? No, it's not okay…
My guess is this – nothing becomes the norm in real estate until it hits a tipping point. Did you know that in 2000, only 20% of the industry had websites?
As for buyers, they do not know that is even available. My guess is they probably need to find the blueprints to their home and figure out how to scan those huge documents to fit on little website.
The biggest problem is simple: You can NOT take proper interior real estate photos with a point and shoot camera. (http://tinyurl.com/ahvoz8) Period. You just can't. Look at the samples at the above link and tell me otherwise. I've watched Realtors walk around a home with their $199 Coolpix snapping photos without hardly even looking at what their shooting! Kohler spends more time and effort photographing a $200 toilet than most Realtors spend photographing a $700K house! That internet presentation is the FIRST impression most buyers will have of a possible home – and most Realtors 'blow it' big time with their muddy photography.
And it's not about RealEstateShows or VisualTours or all of these other zooming slideshow programs that people think make a difference. THEY DO NOT. If you're putting poor photos in RealEstateShows, zooming in and out and putting music behind it, will NOT make a bit of difference. Garbage In, Garbage Out. You have to start with good photos. Period.
The biggest advantage of this "problem" is that most Realtors will continue to take their own dark, blurry, crooked pictures of windows, corners of a bed, and sofas, when in reality customers are not looking to purchase the 'objects' that they are photographing! That leaves a HUGE opportunity for those Realtors who know and can actually SEE the difference, and hire a professional photographer who knows how to shoot interiors with the proper cameras, proper wide angle lenses, and who knows how to process those photos to make a home look incredible! If I were a Realtor I would use that marketing advantage on my listing appointments as it will virtually guarantee you the listing!
I'm not a believer in the idea that giving less information makes people want to contact you. I've found that by posting multiple photos, virtual tours and thoughtful descriptions that we get more leads.
I think by giving all of the information up-front does two things:
First, it makes buyers realize that you aren't hiding anything. They don't have to worry about taking time to come out to the house for a showing only to have it disappoint.
Second, by providing the information that people want you can get them excited about the house. It's really about how you present the home. Make your listings exciting. You'll get more prospects that are actually interested in your listing for the *right* reasons.
Just my two cents.
I'd like to think you are in the majority Kristina or at the every least part of an enlightened movement.
I'd like to think you are in the majority Kristina or at the every least part of an enlightened movement.
[...] Davison, of 1000watt, even wrote a post somewhat in response and concluded: A bad Realtor is one whose marketing effort for a six figure [...]
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Undoubtedly my mind drifted back to the famous words, “Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such..”.