House of the Day: 1217 Ditmas Avenue
Why do sellers keep using brokers who haven’t figured out how to take a decent digital photograph? This was the first thing that popped into our mind as we looked at this new listing at 1217 Ditmas Avenue on the Kestyn website. (We lifted the exterior photo above from PropertyShark.) The second was that this…
Why do sellers keep using brokers who haven’t figured out how to take a decent digital photograph? This was the first thing that popped into our mind as we looked at this new listing at 1217 Ditmas Avenue on the Kestyn website. (We lifted the exterior photo above from PropertyShark.) The second was that this one-family house (with two-car garage) could benefit from some staging. After all, it has some respectable bones but it has a very drab, dated feel to it. Declutter the furniture, take down those drapes, punch it up a bit, and you’d definitely have a better shot at achieving the $999,000 asking price. And get a broker who won’t cut corners on the photos. You have to put your best foot forward in this market.
1217 Ditmas Avenue [Kestyn] GMAP P*Shark
My first screening is internet screening. There are plenty of houses, if the they look crap in the photos I’m unlikely to pursue them further. I’m like a bored HR manager trying to find a way to eliminate half the resumes.
Yes, babs, good point from an agent’s side of things. I can think of numerous people I know who simply would not be willing to do the things normally necessary to sell a house within a reasonable amount of time. AND, I’d bet many of those same people would be stubborn about bringing the price down to compensate.
Here’s the problem — how do you tell a seller that he/she has poor taste? I have dealt with sellers who wouldn’t change anything, no matter what. I have even spent my own money to fix up other peoples’ houses to sell them only to have them destroy what I’d done. I’m sorry, someone willing to pay good money for a house may not want to see your decor and your clutter, not to mention your crappy floors and peeling paint. Houses don’t sell themselves anymore. I feel sorry for this broker, who probably tried to convince the seller to make changes only to be refused. I keep telling people, once you put your house on the market you can’t live there for real anymore. It has to be pristine at all times, and totally de-cluttered. Some people aren’t willing to go there, and that will cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
Interesting to read all these comments. I’m definitely of the masses who needs good photos and some degree of good staging to make me want to look at a place. Though, in this case the photos are not nearly as poor as many I’ve seen. And, though the decor is an impediment, I am able to see through it at least well enough to recognize a beautiful old house.
I’m not looking for real, but one of my frequent insomnia activities is looking through the online listings, often for hours at a time. I am incredulous at how poor most of the photos are. Many are even taken at night! Even a mediocre photograph taken with natural light coming in the window would be an improvement. The couple of people here who are able to project past these impressions are in a distinct minority. (Good for them!) For the rest of us boobs, it’s well-known that these first impressions, whether through photos or when you walk in the door, are crucial.
We saw this house a few times and considered making an offer about 5 months back. It was not cluttered and the kitchens and baths are renovated (not my taste, but new/clean). Overall the family has kept the house in good condition. I don’t know how much staging you can do with teenage kids around. I am surprised that no one has bought it. We decided it was just too long of a commute. Under 1mil it is a nice home especially if you have a big family. Pictures aside, I wonder if there is something else wrong with it. It was one of the better kept houses we saw.
Frankly, a seller should ALWAYS try to put forth the best image possible. Of course, do it within financial reason and understand that you cannot sell a pig by putting on the lipstick – at least not in this market. To me a floorplan is crucial – usually more important than pictures. But brokers should know that savvy buyers can easily weed out the losers, can see the diamond in the rough, and arent swayed by nice staging. Seriously, if I see another 12 by 15 living area that seems huge because the broker staged with a nice 48-inch love seat (instead of sofa) and a two-person drop leaf table and photoed with a wide angle lens i will kill myself. Talk about wasting my time.
Christopher, I wish I were brave enough to drive either scooter! But I’m a chicken mod.
There are certainly 2 valid sides to this issue, and I find myself coming down on both sides, depending on whether I am buyer or seller, and price of the property.
Seems to me, if I were selling or a broker, all listings should have many photos and those pictures should showcase clean, uncluttered spaces that shows off the best architectural features of the house. Within that, I don’t think you should strip the home of personality. I disagree with HGTV’s shows that paint everything beige, and take out all indications that real people inhabit the home. If you can’t picture the red wall in some other color, and that decides whether or not you buy it, you don’t really want it.
Since taste is certainly subjective, I wouldn’t worry about whether your decor is grandma or cutting edge, unless you are selling the furniture with the house. Clean! That’s what counts, Clean and uncluttered.
That said, as a buyer, the dumpier, the better for me. I’ve seen houses that looked like the Collyear brothers lived there, with peeling paint, nasty rugs on the floor and fly paper hanging from the ceiling. Some buyers at this open house literally ran from the building in horror. I loved it. Under all that crap were great period details, good sized rooms, and a fine, undervalued house. An inspection would be the final determination, not the stacks of magazines growing in the corner. Less competition, and a weeding out of those with no vision. Also some major re-negotiation for junk. That’s my kind of house.
Just my two cents: I think in today’s world where everyone is sooo busy with everything else in life, the internet becomes the first layer of house hunting for many. If the pics don’t look good, you can potentially exclude a serious number of people. That being said, I would prefer to go after a house that hasn’t been staged. From what I understand, and correct me if I’m wrong, staged houses go for higher prices. Why not get a little discount (even if only a couple grand) because the seller didn’t bother to box up grandma’s excessive doll collection. To me, it’s the lack of a floor plan that’s unforgiveable. Even if you have to draw one out by hand with approximations on the dimensions and scan it into your computer, dammit, put it there!!! When I look at a realtor’s site, if the property doesn’t have a floor plan listed or the floorplan is unacceptable to me, I don’t even bother looking at the interior photos. I have to admit the only reason I looked at the photos for this listing is because I was curious what you all were talking about in terms of being ‘dreary’ etc.