Don't Let Bad Photos Sink Your Real Estate Deal

Have you ever heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? I feel that more times than not in life, we do exactly the opposite. First impressions are crucial in lots of aspects in life and are vital in the real estate space. Ever notice how homes with bad photos usually sit longer on the market? Be honest, what would you think when the first picture on Zillow was a poorly light, grainy photo that was shot in vertical mode? You probably didn’t have great thoughts about the home.

This same logic applies to rental listings. It is crucial to have professional photos of your listing! You want to make sure that the first thing a potential tenant sees is how nice the property looks. You want your photos to tell a thousand words and get the tenant excited about your listing. The photos should set your property apart from other listings in your area and should make it a no brainer for a new tenant to rent your property.

So how do you get professional photos? Unless you have a professional camera and experience in this field, you want to find someone who is qualified for the job. Hiring this job out will cost money but should be looked at as an investment. You will always have the photos in your possession and by consistently renting out your property, the high quality pictures will pay for themselves.

Where to find a photographer

Referrals

Use your network and see if anyone you know is a photographer or if anyone you know knows of someone who does this kind of work. Make sure they had a positive experience and vet them for yourself before hiring them for the job.

Zillow

Zillow actually has a section where you can find real estate photographers in your area. Reach out to these people to see how much they charge. Ask to see some of their work and see if you like it.

Google

Search for real estate photographers in your area on Google and a list of businesses will pop up. Go through this list and view each person’s website. From there, you want to reach out and see if they are the right person.