- Take the date off of the pictures. You may need to read your user's manual but for goodness sake - get them off. A fresh date is only fresh for a week. Then it's old.
- Keep your pictures in tune with the season. I'm not even just referring to summer vs. winter. I mean, take spring, fall, etc. A listing someone is viewing in the fall still has a summer picture. Yes, the summer picture is nice but it immediately says "This house didn't sell even during the summer". Make a habit of going out 4 times a year AT LEAST and make a day out of taking all new pictures of all of your listings. No time? Hire someone.
- Speaking of pictures, take good ones! Don't use your camera phone. Keep vertical lines straight so the house doesn't look crooked. If the incandescent lighting is overly yellow, use a photo editing program to fix it. Use a good pixel camera - nothing DOESN'T say 'home' like a grainy, yellow photo. Take a not-so-good photo? Fix it or find someone who can.
- Remove outdated remarks, especially 'no showings until xx/xx/xxx'. Perhaps even if they don't want showings until a later date, don't list it until that date.
- Wait until the house is clean and uncluttered to take pictures. Those are the pictures that will be syndicated to other websites (even if you don't do it yourself). Those are the pictures that go out to prospective buyers IMMEDIATELY when it's listed. Get the nice pictures first, then list the house.
- Change the verbiage to match the season's desires. Play up football in the fall, baseball in the summer, etc. Appeal to the senses of the seasons. Buyers want to feel what it's like to live in the home - in every season.
- Write descriptions under the photos on the MLS
These are all things you can do for cheap or free that can really enhance your buyer's experience and help get them into your listing. More tips? Please share!
