When it comes to listing your home, the adage of ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’ applies. A poorly listed home can make a huge difference in terms of dollars as well as the overall time that your property sits on the market. As the premier real estate agent for UBC homes, here is a guide to 3 do’s and don’ts when it comes to listing your home.
- Do: Take a picture of your home from the curb
In the real estate game this is known as curb appeal. The importance of pictures and how you represent your home cannot be understated when it comes to attracting buyers. Make sure you get the whole house in the shot and do not let bushes, trees or cars block the line of sight.
Remember:
The exterior of your home, your yard and the overall appearance of your property is equally important and needs to be represented in your listing.
- Don’t: Take a crooked photo
This may seem like an obvious statement, but you would not believe the number of photos that are on listing sites where the house is crooked, and it looks like the home and street are on a downhill slope.
Make sure that when you take the picture, be mindful of your camera’s angle and that your home’s roof is parallel with the photo’s frame.
- Do: Consider a bird’s eye view photo
A photo that is taken from the air is a great way to showcase a large property or a waterfront location. Make sure that your photo not only shows the house, but also the surrounding property or water. Both of these features are strong selling features and attractive to many buyers.
- Don’t: Use a fisheye lens
Unfortunately fisheye lenses do the opposite of what many people think – fisheye lenses actually make space look smaller and distorted. Distorted images are a definite detractor when it comes to attracting buyers, so stick with traditional lenses to showcase your home and use design tricks to make small spaces appear larger.
- Do: Stage each room before photographing it
When it comes to listing your home, you want to represent each room in as best of light as possible. Take the time to properly stage each room and make sure that the room is well lit and clean before photographing it. If you would like any tips on how to stage your home, I would love to assist you.
- Don’t: Stage a mess or an unfinished room
When it comes to staging there are so many situations that you want to avoid. Some of the more common pitfalls include:
- Staging a messy or cluttered room.
- Photographing your pets in your listing photos.
- Staging or photographing unfinished rooms.
- Staging photos that are dark and make the room look smaller.
These are just a few of the staging mistakes that you want to avoid. Allow your real estate agent to be part of the listing photo process and think about how you want to represent your home.
This guide of listing do’s and don’ts should help you attract a larger list of potential buyers to your property. This should in turn equate to a faster sell for top dollar. If you would like more information on how to list your home on the hot Vancouver real estate market, please contact me today. I look forward to working with you soon.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB.