PHOTOGRAPHS ARE IMPORTANT
Wed 06 Aug 2014
How your property is presented for sale is so important - and photographs are a vital ingredient in that.
Whether being featured in the local press, in the agent's window or on the many portals, such as RightMove and Zoopla, many people will make a snap judgement on a property by looking at the photographs displayed. There has been some discussion on this subject in the press recently so we thought it might be useful to pass on some thoughts on the matter.
As with many aspects of marketing a property for sale, this is a team effort on behalf of both seller and agent. The seller's role is to ensure their property is looking sparkly clean and tidy when the photographs are taken, with clutter kept to a minimum. The agent can then concentrate on getting a good set of photos, without having to keep stopping to move things around!
Getting down to detail, here are a few ideas to bear in mind when preparing the property for photography:-
- ensure windows are cleaned
- repaint the front door if its scruffy
- tidy away all those coats and shoes in the hall
- if there is a dining table, make sure its polished and perhaps put some flowers on it, or a colourful bowl of fruit
- cover up any saggy sofas with a throw
- hide away any evidence of pets, such as dog beds and food bowls
- whilst you don't have to put everything away in the kitchen, try and make sure surfaces are as free from clutter as possible - and no pots and pans drying on the draining board!
- tidy away any clothes left out in bedrooms, and try and make sure bedding is nice and smooth - wrinkled bed covers do not give a good impression
- in the bathroom, do you need all those potions and lotions out on display? Again de-cluttering is well worth while
- outside, put away gardening implements, if there is a lawn, newly mown always looks good, and if there are not many plants, perhaps consider a few planted tubs or hanging baskets.
For our side of the equation, we are keen photograhers and aim to produce a good quality set of images. We have invested in good quality Nikon camera technology and training in the best way to take property photographs. We try to minimise the use of wide angle lenses, as that can offer a distorted picture of the size of a property. They have their use for the smaller rooms of a house, but we do not think they should be used for every shot. We would consider it a failure on our part if a prospective viewer finds a property to be much smaller than they expected from our photographs.
We think that the housebuilders show properties can be a good example of how a property can look, but appreciate that it is your home and normal life has to continue, but getting ready for photography does also help to focus the mind on the eventual move, and if downsizing, its a good opportunity to start on the sometimes painful process of disposing of all those bits and bobs accumulated over the years.
We are always happy to give advice on how to present a property for sale - our years of experience have given us quite a few tips and ideas to pass on!
