What’s Wrong With This Picture?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these pictures come close. I’ll try to keep my ramblings shorter than that, but having viewed the 9 photos of our
Daily Stats leader, I do have plenty to say. The first photo for 1845 Elsie Avenue in Mountain View is of the front of the house. You see two boxes shoved together and painted in an unflattering green two-tone (not to mention the hideous lava rock or stone that adorns the lower portion of the façade). There also appears to be a lack of landscaping with just a lawn and one lone tree. Moving on to photo #2, we see the kitchen, which is described as updated and beautifully maintained. I love the 10-panel wood door with glass and the cabinets are passable, but not high end. Countertops look very ’70s, as does the linoleum. But in all fairness, the price is $699,845 so you can hardly expect cherry cabinetry, granite counters, and tile floors, can you? Photo 3 is so dark, all I can really see is a refrigerator, countertop and through to a light fixture and sliding door. This might be a dining room, but who could tell? The living room is featured in photo 4, with what appears to be a blue carpet. The front window is large and lets a lot of light in, but appears to be the original and not an updated dual pane. Photo 5 is one bedroom, with wallpaper wainscoting and a very dark ceiling. I am hoping it is original wood not burgundy paint, but the photographer did a great disservice in this and other photos by not properly depicting rooms and highlighting the better features. The bathroom in photo 6 has been updated according to the description, but all I see is wallpaper, wallpaper, wallpaper. Not a very neutral wall, but I realize this can be easily remedied. Photo 7 shows a second bedroom, with blue (and I mean blue) carpeting and wallpaper wainscoting with contrasting wallpapered walls. The wood sash windows look nice; however they may be original as well, as opposed to newer dual pane. The last two photos don’t really give us much. One is the exterior entryway to the home where you might notice that the siding is either original wood or something out of a Sears catalog, and the last one showing the house numbers on an archway above a fence (very telling!). Sarcasm aside, the home is priced well for a 3/2 of 1250 sf on a standard lot. The home appears more than livable and really could use cosmetic upgrading, although nothing major appears in the images. There is no photo of the rear yard, so that may need some work. And the property comes in on target with both the Zillow Valuation and Value Range. The home has been in the same family for 50 years, so there is no recent sale to speak of and no short sale or repo to deal with. On the market 51 days, it might be worth an in-person visit to assess the overall condition of the property and the neighborhood. And I said all that in 527 words!
Recent Sweet Digs Posts:
Getting a Foot in the Door
San Jose Skyline Continues to Soar with Axis, in 2008
SF and Daly City: Condos on the Cheap, part 1
Photo courtesy of pete@eastbaywild.com/Flickr
Lenore Wilkas said:
I, too, looked at those pictures and saw a home that looks well cared for and perhaps well love since its been in the same family for 50 years. Not everyone can afford a high end home in the bay area and you are doing a disservice to us, as your reader, with such sarcastic remarks. Unless you go to physically look at the house, you are really not in any position to make those comments. Pictures show, pictures hide, pictures are manipulated. The pictures only give you an idea if you want to go and look at the house in person. My guess is that it is owned by a senior citizen who has taken loving care of the house. It is probably spotless inside, but has not been updated in 20 or more years. I know it is hard to come up with something to right but why not try to go and see some of the houses you write about first?
November 9, 2007 11:17 AM
Susan Brady said:
Yes there is more than a touch of sarcasm here, but it is primarily directed at the agent who posted the pictures. Sloppy, haphazard photos can turn off a buyer, which was my point.First impressions are very very important and when you do not properly present a home in its best light, then you can lose people immediately. I did state that the home might be worth a visit, so that people seeing those pictures don’t automatically write it off.
November 9, 2007 12:27 PM
anna said:
Also, these days we aren’t even allowed to visit and write about what we see, so all we have to go on are the photos. Realtors should be aware of how important those photos are!
November 9, 2007 1:12 PM
Red said:
I agree, the agent often seems to be totally negligent when putting together the listing. I see horrible errors in the details of the listing, awful photos or just one ugly shot.
Is the attitude “this is just there until they wise up and lower the price so it’s worth my effort” ? Or is there a “pocket buyer” they have in line to get both sides of the deal ? (well, maybe not these days…)
Any seller should take a close look at how they are being represented!
November 9, 2007 3:45 PM
susan.brady said:
And I can only hope that what we are doing here at Sweet Digs helps to educate both buyers and sellers. They need to take control or at least approve listing descriptions and photos. Every little thing can effect a sale, and you have to stay vigilant.
November 9, 2007 7:40 PM