When it comes to listing photos, the adage a “picture is worth thousand words” is spot on. According to the National Association of Realtors most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the first step more than 43 percent of home buyers take in the home buying process is looking online. It’s reported that 92 percent of buyers use the Internet in some way in their home search process, and 50 percent of buyers search using a mobile website or application.
While perusing listed properties, 60 percent of a buyer’s time is spent on photos, with the remaining 40 percent divided between reading the description, features list, and agent comments. With such a significant amount of time spent browsing photos, a true picture is extremely important.
Listing photos can determine whether a potential buyer requests to see the home in person or moves on to another property. While enticing buyers to book a showing is the goal, it’s equally essential to avoid misleading buyers as to the true condition and features of a property.
In Greater Chattanooga, we feel so strongly about listing photos that our local MLS rules require agents to upload at least one photo within 48 hours of entering the listing in the MLS. If we fail to comply with this rule, our listing is not viewable to other agents or the public until we upload a photo.
The importance placed on photos doesn’t stop there. Our MLS has the authority to remove photos that are not pertinent to the property for sale. It might be tempting to include images of the nearby park or local tourist attraction in an effort to show off the neighborhood. However, such photos promote something that’s not for sale.
In addition to the local MLS Rules, the requirements in our Code of Ethics also apply to photos and how Realtors market property. Article 2 requires Realtors to “avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.” Article 12 requires Realtors to “be honest and truthful in their real estate communications” and to “present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations.”
Whether a Realtor engages the services of a professional photographer or takes photos themselves, one should always consider whether the listing photos present a true picture. As a seller, it’s important to review your home’s listing photos with your Realtor and ask yourself questions such as these:
Does the carpet need cleaning? If so, better to leave that job to the professionals rather than ask a photographer to digitally clean away the wine stain or the worn area where Rover likes to camp out after a romp in the yard.
Won’t buyers love the thought of cozying up by the fire this winter? Sure they would. But if the gas line has never been plumbed, think twice before adding flames to the photo or other non-working fireplace photo.
How much more curb appeal would the home have once those newly planted shrubs fill out a bit more? Rather than give those bushes a digital growth spurt, it’s best to give them a few years to mature.
Will buyers avoid viewing my home in person if they see the power lines? Maybe. Yet those lines aren’t going anywhere. While it’s not necessary to feature them prominently, it’s a good idea not to crop out these type of permanent fixtures. When buyers are faced with such surprises on a showing appointment, they lose confidence and begin to speculate what else might have been presented in a less than truthful manner.
Wouldn’t it be cool to shoot the family room with a wide angle lens so it appears larger? It’s a neat camera trick, yet it doesn’t sit well with buyers who show up looking for extra space that doesn’t exist.
All of these questions are good ones to consider. Sellers are urged to work with their Realtor and/or photographer to portray listed property in a positive yet truthful light. It bodes well for sellers and buyers alike.
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Tips for buying a home with friends
With housing inventory low and prices on the rise, some people are making the decision to partner with friends and buy a home together. This scenario allows people who otherwise would not be able to afford a house to share expenses and achieve the dream of becoming homeowners. But how do you know if buying property jointly is right for you?
Buying a home is a business transaction, so you and your friends will have to approach it as such. You’re going to have to have a very open, very frank conversation with your friends about their finances, their plans for the future, what to do if someone wants to sell, etc. If these are conversations you’re uncomfortable having, or if you’re worried about the effect these things might have on your friendship, then buying a home with friends is probably not the right choice for you.
However, if you and your friends can come to terms, owning a home while sharing the burden of all the costs can help you build your savings while gaining equity in a home.
Here are some tips on purchasing a home with friends:
Review your friends’ finances: This is most likely the largest financial decision of your life, so now is not the time to hem and haw on questions of finance. You’ll need to be aware of everyone’s credit scores, income, savings, and any other relevant assets. It’s important to make sure you and your friends are financially prepared to become homeowners.
Decide how payments and costs will be split: Issues to consider include how much each person will contribute to the down payment, and if that will affect how you and your friends divide the mortgage payments. Will the utilities be split evenly every month, or will you alternate who pays? It’s important that these details be worked out and understood by everyone involved before the home is purchased.
Decide on the type of house: Are you planning on buying a single-family home or a multi-family home? Do you see yourself sharing a kitchen and bathroom, or are you looking to buy a place where you’ll each have your own private residence? You should also decide ahead of time on everyone’s must-haves for the home. Knowing your friend will only buy a house with a big backyard or that they won’t buy a house on a corner lot can save you a lot of time house hunting.
Get everything in writing: It is important that all of the co-purchasers keep written documentation of all of your agreements regarding financial and other responsibilities. So many people think there’s no need to write up a contract because they’re dealing with friends, but it can help you to avoid conflicts and surprises down the road.
Work with a Realtor: Buying a home is an important decision, and whether you’re doing it on your own or with a friend, using a Realtor is a smart move. A Realtor, who is a member of the National Association of Realtors, can provide counsel, discuss listings, show you homes in person, negotiate on your behalf and help you stay focused on the issues that are most important.
If you enter the arrangement educated and prepared, co-purchasing a home can be a great way to get your foot on the first step of the homeownership ladder.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,500 members, and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. For more information, visit www.gcar.net.
When it comes to listing photos, the adage a “picture is worth thousand words” is spot on. According to the National Association of Realtors most recent Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, the first step more than 43 percent of home buyers take in the home buying process is looking online. It’s reported that 92 percent of buyers use the Internet in some way in their home search process, and 50 percent of buyers search using a mobile website or application.
While perusing listed properties, 60 percent of a buyer’s time is spent on photos, with the remaining 40 percent divided between reading the description, features list, and agent comments. With such a significant amount of time spent browsing photos, a true picture is extremely important.
Listing photos can determine whether a potential buyer requests to see the home in person or moves on to another property. While enticing buyers to book a showing is the goal, it’s equally essential to avoid misleading buyers as to the true condition and features of a property.
In Greater Chattanooga, we feel so strongly about listing photos that our local MLS rules require agents to upload at least one photo within 48 hours of entering the listing in the MLS. If we fail to comply with this rule, our listing is not viewable to other agents or the public until we upload a photo.
The importance placed on photos doesn’t stop there. Our MLS has the authority to remove photos that are not pertinent to the property for sale. It might be tempting to include images of the nearby park or local tourist attraction in an effort to show off the neighborhood. However, such photos promote something that’s not for sale.
In addition to the local MLS Rules, the requirements in our Code of Ethics also apply to photos and how Realtors market property. Article 2 requires Realtors to “avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction.” Article 12 requires Realtors to “be honest and truthful in their real estate communications” and to “present a true picture in their advertising, marketing and other representations.”
Whether a Realtor engages the services of a professional photographer or takes photos themselves, one should always consider whether the listing photos present a true picture. As a seller, it’s important to review your home’s listing photos with your Realtor and ask yourself questions such as these:
Does the carpet need cleaning? If so, better to leave that job to the professionals rather than ask a photographer to digitally clean away the wine stain or the worn area where Rover likes to camp out after a romp in the yard.
Won’t buyers love the thought of cozying up by the fire this winter? Sure they would. But if the gas line has never been plumbed, think twice before adding flames to the photo or other non-working fireplace photo.
How much more curb appeal would the home have once those newly planted shrubs fill out a bit more? Rather than give those bushes a digital growth spurt, it’s best to give them a few years to mature.
Will buyers avoid viewing my home in person if they see the power lines? Maybe. Yet those lines aren’t going anywhere. While it’s not necessary to feature them prominently, it’s a good idea not to crop out these type of permanent fixtures. When buyers are faced with such surprises on a showing appointment, they lose confidence and begin to speculate what else might have been presented in a less than truthful manner.
Wouldn’t it be cool to shoot the family room with a wide angle lens so it appears larger? It’s a neat camera trick, yet it doesn’t sit well with buyers who show up looking for extra space that doesn’t exist.
All of these questions are good ones to consider. Sellers are urged to work with their Realtor and/or photographer to portray listed property in a positive yet truthful light. It bodes well for sellers and buyers alike.
Tips for buying a home with friends
With housing inventory low and prices on the rise, some people are making the decision to partner with friends and buy a home together. This scenario allows people who otherwise would not be able to afford a house to share expenses and achieve the dream of becoming homeowners. But how do you know if buying property jointly is right for you?
Buying a home is a business transaction, so you and your friends will have to approach it as such. You’re going to have to have a very open, very frank conversation with your friends about their finances, their plans for the future, what to do if someone wants to sell, etc. If these are conversations you’re uncomfortable having, or if you’re worried about the effect these things might have on your friendship, then buying a home with friends is probably not the right choice for you.
However, if you and your friends can come to terms, owning a home while sharing the burden of all the costs can help you build your savings while gaining equity in a home.
Here are some tips on purchasing a home with friends:
Review your friends’ finances: This is most likely the largest financial decision of your life, so now is not the time to hem and haw on questions of finance. You’ll need to be aware of everyone’s credit scores, income, savings, and any other relevant assets. It’s important to make sure you and your friends are financially prepared to become homeowners.
Decide how payments and costs will be split: Issues to consider include how much each person will contribute to the down payment, and if that will affect how you and your friends divide the mortgage payments. Will the utilities be split evenly every month, or will you alternate who pays? It’s important that these details be worked out and understood by everyone involved before the home is purchased.
Decide on the type of house: Are you planning on buying a single-family home or a multi-family home? Do you see yourself sharing a kitchen and bathroom, or are you looking to buy a place where you’ll each have your own private residence? You should also decide ahead of time on everyone’s must-haves for the home. Knowing your friend will only buy a house with a big backyard or that they won’t buy a house on a corner lot can save you a lot of time house hunting.
Get everything in writing: It is important that all of the co-purchasers keep written documentation of all of your agreements regarding financial and other responsibilities. So many people think there’s no need to write up a contract because they’re dealing with friends, but it can help you to avoid conflicts and surprises down the road.
Work with a Realtor: Buying a home is an important decision, and whether you’re doing it on your own or with a friend, using a Realtor is a smart move. A Realtor, who is a member of the National Association of Realtors, can provide counsel, discuss listings, show you homes in person, negotiate on your behalf and help you stay focused on the issues that are most important.
If you enter the arrangement educated and prepared, co-purchasing a home can be a great way to get your foot on the first step of the homeownership ladder.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,500 members, and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. For more information, visit www.gcar.net. v