On-line Shopping for Real Estate
May 16th, 2008 categories: Buyers, Sellers
We all do it with clothing and electronics; some people even purchase vehicles on-line, but real estate?
It’s a great age we live in - the age of technology. Ebay and other on-line retailers have made shopping on a computer virtually effortless. So you purchase a $50 shirt on-line, maybe even a $700 computer, but a $150,000 home? Understand, I realize you are not purchasing homes on-line (although it does happen on eBay), but you ARE eliminating good homes based on pictures and descriptions you are viewing on-line. It’s a bad idea, and here’s why:
Back in the day, homes for sale weren’t available for viewing on-line. Agents will tell you they used to get books weekly with interior specs and black and white exterior photos of homes for sale - black and white, I know, can you believe it? In turn, buyers would do a drive by of the home and be forced to look at the number of rooms and room sizes on the sheet they were provided by their agent - nice color interior pictures weren’t an option. Agents will be the first to admit that on-line home shopping has made their lives easier and it definitely has. What I’m not sure of is the true impact it’s had on the buyer.
Let’s face it, some real estate agents are horrible photographers (just check out my worst MLS photos). Unfortunately for sellers, once a potential buyer views a not-so-good picture of their home it’s immediately thrown on the chopping block. At the same time, many agents are excellent photographers and can make a crappy little house look like a palace. How many times have you seen, let’s say, a sweater on eBay that looked beautiful and you just had to have it. You know where I’m going with this right? Your package comes and the sweater is something you wouldn’t let your dog sleep on! The same goes for real estate. Not that you would see a house on-line and make an offer sight unseen, but I can’t tell you how many clients call me and say ‘I just saw this house on-line I have to have, it’s perfect’. To be let down when we get there, as it isn’t nearly as perfect as it appeared in the photos. At the same time, a lot of times buyers immediately rule out properties due to really bad photos.
Not only are some agents bad photographers, some are also bad at selling a property. By ’selling’ I mean describing the positive features of a home. The one thing they do get right? Room dimensions. When looking at homes on-line, don’t just check out the photos, check out the room sizes. If you’re not good at visualizing room sizes, measure out the size of the rooms compared to room sizes where you are currently living.
One of my recent buyers was adamant about not looking at a house I thought would be perfect for her and her family. She told me she saw it on-line and didn’t like it (it was also on the market for a while because it was overpriced to start out - check out my article “Selling Your Home in Today’s Real Estate Market“). I literally forced her to see this house. We walked in and she instantly fell in love! She began raving about the room sizes and number of bathrooms. I asked her if she even read the info sheet I emailed to her - no, she just looked at the pictures.
Do yourself a favor and look at ALL of the information you’re given. In addition to seeing some ugly pictures, you may be pleasantly surprised with what you will find.
