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Zillow Predicts Stronger Housing Market Across the Board in 2021.

Continued frenzied demand, economic recovery and tech adoption expected
to bring biggest annual home sales growth since 1983.


www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zillow-predicts-stronger-housing-market-across-the-board-in-2021-301196344.html



It's Spring cleaning time!

Putting your house on the market? Time to start Spring cleaning!

The outside is just as important as the inside. When the weather is dry is a good time to rake the lawn, clear leaves from gardens and gutters, edge the driveway and sidewalk, and prune any trees and shrubs that have dead or wild branches. When the weather warms up later, the gardens will then be ready to plant any new, flowering plants and shrubs. Curbside appeal can make a potential buyer consider looking further at the property.

Now is also the time to donate useable, unwanted and unnecessary items, pack up what you don't immediately need, and toss the rest. Unclutter, unclutter, unclutter.

Then clean like the Queen of England is coming. You want listing photos to show a home that looks clean, freshly painted if necessary, and inviting. Don't forget to clean the windows. And it needs to be done before I arrive.
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My job is to showcase your home to it's best advantage. It's a team effort between me, the homeowner and the realtor.

What To Do Before The Photographer Comes

Whether you are the Realtor or the homeowner, there are things that need to be done before the photographer comes. Everyone who has decided to put their house on the market has time before pictures are taken, to go through and get the house ready.

The emphasis to the homeowners is to go beyond the usual Saturday morning cleaning, in preparation for listing photos to be taken.

Pretend the Queen of England is coming.

Outside:
Clean up garden beds and remove collections of leaves. I'm not saying to mulch, although that would be nice, but since gardens and plantings give the first impression in photos and when prospective buyers come, try to take the time to do it.  ~ Roll up garden hoses. ~  Make sure the lids are on the trash cans if they have to be in the photo. ~  Wash the outside windows, garage door windows and outside lights. It really does make a difference. ~ Put away garden tools. ~  Move cars out of the driveway and park down the block so they won't be in the picture. 

Inside: Wash the inside windows, bathroom mirrors (check for streaks) and any large mirrors and large picture frames. ~ Dust the furniture. Dust the top of ceiling fan blades. ~ Check for cobwebs around ceiling fans, chandeliers, and up by crown moldings and corners. ~ Remove evidence of a pet. Sorry, but there are people who do not love them like you do, and might not come to a showing if they see something in a photo. ~ And please put dogs in a room until it is to be photographed, and then move them to a room that has been shot. Large, overly friendly dogs can knock over equipment, and loud small dogs can still get in the way, and make it hard to communicate with the homeowner. ~ Try to declutter as much as possible. It helps to make rooms look larger. ~ Get rid of overflowing trash and recycling cans, inside and out. ~ Try to take as much as possible off of kitchen counters. ~ Clean and degrease any exhaust hoods. ~ Take everything off of the front of the refrigerator. ~ Wash any floors without carpeting, and vacuum all floors before the appointment. ~ Remove area rugs and vacuum underneath. Again, it makes the space look larger. ~ Turn on all lights and make sure they work. Replace any burned out bulbs with bulbs of the same type. ~ Turn off the ceiling fans in rooms that haven't been photographed yet, otherwise the blades create an unattractive blur in the photos. ~ Make the beds and smooth the bed coverings and smooth pillows. ~ Be sure to see if anything under the bed shows, and move it towards the middle of the bed so it doesn't show. ~ Declutter bathroom vanities and toilet tank tops. 

Do Drones Right


These are two of 13 drone shots for the same listing. Why is money being wasted on shots like these? How do they highlight the property? Are they going to clinch the sale? I think not. I only saw a couple of shots that I felt were worth uploading.

Drone shots done well are good; going crazy with multiple bad shots just looks like someone has a new toy.



​Realtors - do NOT let the owner insist on giving you their horrible photos and then watch the price - and your commission - drop. 
YOU are the professional that they have hired. 

 Below is just one example of what I've seen when the seller gives the realtor their photos. This was in 2019.
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Attached are some of the 55 listing photos the owner insists on.  The price dropped $5,000 on May 10th after being listed April 25th, and only 4 - yes, four - viewers out of 763 as of May 21st, saved this listing. That's 1/2 of 1%. 

1) A closeup of a blooming Magnolia 2) One of 4 closeup photos of the kitchen. Why not stand back and get it all in for at least one photo? 3) It looks like the furniture is going to slide off the deck. 4) A shot of furniture, but not the room. 6) Closeup of shower curtain. *sigh* 7) There was a shot of the sliding doors with the blinds opened. So why add one with them closed? 8) Closeup of shower door. But what does the plumbing hardware inside look like? 9) Partial, close dining table, needs color-correcting, and the window is "blown out". 10) Shot of tiles and part of the toilet tank.

Now, would you want to come out on a Sunday afternoon and see this house? ​    The realtor had me reshoot the property, and it quickly sold.


​How NOT to Entice the Public to Rush to See a Listing

March 25, 2019   I found these photos online today. I blurred out the make of the vehicle in the driveway, and blacked out the house number.

This listing has been up for 140 days; just over 4 1/2 months and had a $20,000 price drop last week.  Maybe if the house were straightened up ahead of time and better photos were taken, it would see more action than 1,791 views as of 3/25, and 23 saves. That comes to 1.23%.
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​Curb appeal pays off. Here are 16 easy ways to achieve it.

www.moving.com/tips/16-easy-ways-to-boost-homes-curb-appeal/                                                      



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How to have a great open house.
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https://www.thebalance.com/preparing-for-open-houses-1799037






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It's coming up to that time of year. Whether you're buying or selling, it would be helpful to be aware of these points.

And they also apply to rentals.
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https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-home-inspection-works/




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​"Photos Sell". And good photos help to draw more interested people in to your open houses.
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Whether it's a sale or rental, paying a photographer for clear, artistic photos is worth it to help
​get a quicker turnaround.

Contact Bella Casa Photography to schedule a photo shoot for your listings.

See the Contact Page for more info and pricing.


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​With Spring around the corner, now's the time to get your sale or rental in shape.
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And when you're ready to put your property on the market, remember Bella Casa Photography for photos to help attract people to come see it.
https://www.houselogic.com/…/important-repairs-to-make-bef…/



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  • Useful Articles
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