Selling your home can be stressful and nerve-racking.
Processes like this naturally take time to play out and get settled.
Best of luck to all the folks who are currently in this process!
Zillow presents numerous homes for sale each year. This site is the blog focus.
Below are common mistakes seen in uploaded photos throughout Zillow, and
tips to avoid them.
Improving your home photos before uploading them to the site will boost public impression before they see your home in-person!
Processes like this naturally take time to play out and get settled.
Best of luck to all the folks who are currently in this process!
Zillow presents numerous homes for sale each year. This site is the blog focus.
Below are common mistakes seen in uploaded photos throughout Zillow, and
tips to avoid them.
Improving your home photos before uploading them to the site will boost public impression before they see your home in-person!
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1. Reflections of Photo-Takers in the Photos:
Take note of reflective surfaces in your home:
Microwave door, Oven door, Stainless Steel appliances, Mirrors, Metal surfaces, Windows, Glass Doors etc.
Great example: small, narrow bathrooms.
If the mirror is in an unavoidable spot, cover the mirror with a pretty curtain to block your reflection!
The potential of a nice, clean room is automatically ruined by the photo-bombing.
Experiment with different angles for catching the room, without catching yourself!
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2. Do not load a series of similar-angled photos for a room.
We got the drift after the first two angles.
- Turn on at least one light in each room, even in daylight.
- Experiment with your camera and its flash setting to see how your photos turn out.
-If you have an older camera such as a small Kodak Digital, they cause fuzzy images when their flash is turned off.
*Lean up against a wall for support, or set your elbows on a sturdy surface to avoid focus blur. Mess with different pressures on your shutter to see how photos turn out.
- Delete all junk photos after picking out the cleanest ones.
HD Digital cameras are great for home photos. They work with light and adjust themselves much differently than old, cheap cameras can.
- Catch different positive assets inside a large room:
**Delete all junk photos before uploading. Potential buyers should never see errors.**
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3. Do NOT use the "fishbowl" effect for tiny rooms. It never looks good!
The fact that one attempts this stretching "trick" just proves the room's minute size in the first place. You are not fooling anybody.
There are numerous photographers out there that can capture your home for you.
If you do not take time for clean photos, then do not expect quick offers to view and purchase your home.
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4. Vacuum Lines a Distraction!
Photos of carpeted bedrooms with psychotic vacuum lines plague Zillow. It's terrible!
Seriously, it always appears as if the seller rushed to clean before a showing.
That is not a good first impression. You need to be aware of details.
To show off the length of a rectangular room, take time to vacuum in clean, straight lines along the longest walls.
Take note as to how your carpeting reacts to different directions of the vacuum.
Use the direction that looks the cleanest with lines and shades of the carpet's fibers.
If the room is square, then choose one of the below and vacuum in straight lines leading to:
1. the closet
2. the large window
3. the room's private bathroom entrance (turn on bathroom light so viewers see inside)
These are positive assets. Your clean lines draw public eye to these desired features!
Photos of carpeted bedrooms with psychotic vacuum lines plague Zillow. It's terrible!
Seriously, it always appears as if the seller rushed to clean before a showing.
That is not a good first impression. You need to be aware of details.
To show off the length of a rectangular room, take time to vacuum in clean, straight lines along the longest walls.
Take note as to how your carpeting reacts to different directions of the vacuum.
Use the direction that looks the cleanest with lines and shades of the carpet's fibers.
If the room is square, then choose one of the below and vacuum in straight lines leading to:
1. the closet
2. the large window
3. the room's private bathroom entrance (turn on bathroom light so viewers see inside)
These are positive assets. Your clean lines draw public eye to these desired features!
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5. Carpet and Wall Nightmares!
How many of you browsed homes in Zillow, and got scared of what is hiding inside old, ugly-colored, or shaggy carpeting?!
How about those grungy, yellowed-from-cigarette-smoke, and/or cracked walls? Yikes.
Remember, selling your home is about the public's impression. The better the impression, the quicker potential buyers in your area will visit and make an offer.
*There are always friends, family, and/or neighbors to ask for help with the home.
*If you attend church, ask your fellow congregates to assist you with your house.
You need to make the effort to ask around. Power comes in numbers!
This is not the time to be lazy.
Do what is better for your family.
How many of you browsed homes in Zillow, and got scared of what is hiding inside old, ugly-colored, or shaggy carpeting?!
How about those grungy, yellowed-from-cigarette-smoke, and/or cracked walls? Yikes.
- Wash down your walls with warm water and a tad of soft, home cleaner mix.
Open windows for proper ventilation! - Repaint whatever rooms you can with soft, neutral colors!
Avoid wild colors!
(A few kitchens had awful red and green theme...it looked like Christmas barfed on them.)
Remember, selling your home is about the public's impression. The better the impression, the quicker potential buyers in your area will visit and make an offer.
- Wash your old carpeting.
Borrow a carpet-cleaning machine if you can't afford one.
(If the carpeting looks like something died on it, cover it with a nice rug!) - Be professional and tell your walk-throughs that the carpeting needs replacing and show them underneath the rug(s).
*There are always friends, family, and/or neighbors to ask for help with the home.
*If you attend church, ask your fellow congregates to assist you with your house.
You need to make the effort to ask around. Power comes in numbers!
This is not the time to be lazy.
Do what is better for your family.
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6. Lazy Curb Appeal caught in Photos:
If you are not elderly, fighting a lethal disease, or physically-handicapped,
you need to put in effort.
The laziness that several Americans have today shows through sites like Zillow.
Pick up the cluttered rooms, organize closets, do laundry on a regular basis etc.
Be a better role model for the children in your home.
If you are struggling financially, now is not the time to hide in a pity-party.
Foreclosures are embarrassing.
Strive to sell your home before a foreclosure hits you.
At least clean up the front facade of your house if you can't fix the entire thing!
Do what you can in order to earn appropriate money for your home.
Do not pick some random color that clashes with your siding and trim color combo (especially old, red brick). It ruins the home's appeal.
Google-search pretty home colors or pick up a couple home reno magazines.
**Lighter, pastel shades for front doors often work much better.
They love tools, and someone is bound to have a chainsaw and/or a pickup truck.
**Hire a professional to remove them if you are not confident with the job!**
Consider volunteer agencies and apply for assistance if you are struggling to get the work finished. Do not be embarrassed to ask for help.
The shabby appearance of your home is more embarrassing than asking others to help you fix your house and sell it successfully. Make the effort.
If you are not elderly, fighting a lethal disease, or physically-handicapped,
you need to put in effort.
The laziness that several Americans have today shows through sites like Zillow.
Pick up the cluttered rooms, organize closets, do laundry on a regular basis etc.
Be a better role model for the children in your home.
If you are struggling financially, now is not the time to hide in a pity-party.
Foreclosures are embarrassing.
Strive to sell your home before a foreclosure hits you.
At least clean up the front facade of your house if you can't fix the entire thing!
Do what you can in order to earn appropriate money for your home.
- Wash your roof shingles and house siding to remove grime and dirt.
- Remove weeds, moss, leaves, etc. out from your shingles and gutters.
- Repaint fading window, door, and house trims.
Garage sales, second-hand stores, or clearance at home improvement stores might have primer/paint for cheap. Ask family, friends, and neighbors for primer/paint cans if you are struggling. Be sure to give them something nice in return if you can't monetarily repay them. - Wash and repaint doors, including garage doors.
Rust stains and cigarette smoke stains taint your home's appeal.
Do not pick some random color that clashes with your siding and trim color combo (especially old, red brick). It ruins the home's appeal.
Google-search pretty home colors or pick up a couple home reno magazines.
**Lighter, pastel shades for front doors often work much better.
- Trim house bushes to similar size/shape for an eye-appealing consistency.
- Trim tree branches hitting the roof, gutters, windows, and house siding.
- Clean up flower beds, gardens, and wash your home's walking paths.
- Remove dying trees and other vegetation on your property.
**Be smart and research the safest methods for cutting trees to protect your
friends, family, yourself, and your home.
They love tools, and someone is bound to have a chainsaw and/or a pickup truck.
**Hire a professional to remove them if you are not confident with the job!**
- Cut the grass, leaving clean lines.
This depends on the height of your lawn mower blade.
- Remove weeds near fencing, sheds, above-ground pools, decks, etc.
Consider volunteer agencies and apply for assistance if you are struggling to get the work finished. Do not be embarrassed to ask for help.
The shabby appearance of your home is more embarrassing than asking others to help you fix your house and sell it successfully. Make the effort.