6 Easy Steps to Great Listing Photos!

This is a guest post by Marc Freislinger.  

Marc is an upcoming real estate photographer.  His tips will help you sell your homes faster and for more money.  More people are using the internet to find homes, and great photos are key!  

1.  Stage The Property

To stage a property is to make it appealing to as many people as possible. This is usually done by de-cluttering and maximizing the use of space. When a buyer tours a home that’s too full of personal effects, they don’t see the years of memories that accompany those things. Buyers just see a home that feels a bit too small. In a similar way, vacant homes can feel cold and uninviting. Some sellers will rent a full homes worth of furniture to negate this effect, but even small items such as wall art, place settings, and silk plants can make a home feel lived in. Because photos are even more impersonal than a walking tour, they can amplify these effects if you’re not careful in your staging and shooting.

2.  Shoot HDR

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is a great way to show off property interiors. Because homes are lit from multiple sources such as ceiling lights, floor lights, and exterior windows, it can be a challenge to take a good photo that doesn't burn out the windows or hide the interior in shadows. HDR photos are created by merging a series of photographs into one image that contains more detail than any single shot can. The photo series is taken on a tripod, using equally spaced exposures.

This allows for the full range of tones to be shown in the final product. The series can be merged using specialty programs such as Photomatix or Luminance HDR, or by hand in photo editing software like Photoshop. In the two shots below, you can see the difference between the camera’s “auto” setting, and a finished HDR photo.

3.  Shoot From The Hip

When most people take photos, they walk through the home and shoot while looking through the camera view finder at eye level. While this may easy for the photographer, they are missing out on one of the easiest ways to make a home feel larger on the inside. Set your tripod a little lower. While hip level may be a bit too low, shooting from chest level will help get more of the room in the picture and thereby make the home feel larger.

4.  a² + b² = c²

The widest point of any square or rectangle is across the diagonal. Another easy way to capture more of a room and improve the open feel of a home is to shoot photos across the widest part of a room. Shooting on the diagonal will also usually allow you to show only two walls of a room rather than three. This can be useful for keeping cluttered shelving or other unwanted items from view.

5.  Watch Your Verticals

When houses are being built, contractors use carpenter squares, lasers, and plumb bobs for one very important reason. They use them to keep the house square. Walls are vertical, ceiling and floor joists are horizontal. While looking at photographs, our imagination puts us in the space. Lines in pictures such as baseboards, door frames, and even wall corners should be horizontal and vertical just as they would be in life. Anyone who as ever visited a fun house knows how uneasy a person can feel when these items are built off kilter. When these things are off in a photo, some people experience that same feeling of vertigo.

6.  Hire A Pro

Taking and processing photographs is time consuming. Realtors make their money dealing with clients, networking, and marketing. Investors make money locating deals, analyzing properties, and running their businesses.  Is your time best spent learning and perfecting this craft? Or is your time better spent doing those things that make you money? I hope that something above will help you get your homes sold, but the best way to ensure professional looking photographs is to hire someone who has the eye, the software, and the experience to make your listing look its best. If you’re in the Phoenix area, I hope that you will consider Marc Freislinger Photography.

5 Social Media Tips to Help Your Real Estate Business

This is a guest post by Matthew Coates.

Let's get one thing straight, Matthew Coates knows social media.  Matthew is running a real estate business and a majority of leads come from social media and the effort he puts into it.  Here are his tips on helping you grow your business through social media.

With some major prodding from my wife, I entered the social media space about 6 or 7 years ago. I never thought my business life (and personal for that matter) would change as much as it has during this period of time. There is no doubt in my mind that with the current business I'm doing , approximately 50% of it comes from social media. Bold statement, especially with these real estate trainers out there that say social media is a waste of time, and stop playing Candy Krush on Facebook and all that, "tweeting around", etc. I contend that I am more productive than many of your agents that make 300 cold calls a day to complete strangers and hard pressure them, and I don't burn out from doing what I do. 

And it's not that I haven't tried other methods - believe you me. I jumped in gung-ho last August after I got back from a retreat featuring one of the heaviest hitters in the real estate training world. I got a farm area around one of my listings, made 300 calls in a day. About 15 people actually picked up the phone. This is because when someone calls your home phone and your don't recognize the number, they don't answer. Pretty simple. Of the 15 who answered the only positive response was one person who was interested in receiving updates in their neighborhood. 

Now I see the point that if you do this daily you will have made 6,000 calls in a month and that yields X production, but you know what? Too much abuse for me. I want to work with people that WANT to work with me, not ones that need to have their arm twisted. I'm sure I'll bend a lot of people out of shape, but oh well, I know what works for me, and you can take it or leave it.

I don't look at my post so much as a "strategy", as I do just a way of being successful in life, and it automatically pours into your business life. And while I am referring mostly to Facebook, these could easily be woven into Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and the whole 9 yards of social media sites.

So, what are my top 5 social media tips for real estate success?

Fill a need

When someone expresses a need, can you help? I'm not really talking about financial contributions, although that is the biggest given. I'm talking about helping make a recommendation for a good local vet, or maybe if someone's car broke down and they can't get to work. Most people look at this as taking time away from their own schedule and what they are going to lose, but I suggest looking at this as an investment in people. Does that mean they are going to call you next week to buy a house? Probably not, but you never know who they might run into. Heck, nothing may ever come of it for you, but you will have made a different in the life of another person, and I think that's enough.

Listen

Most of the time people just want to be listened to. Isn't it nice when you have had a hard day at work, or out trying to get clients, just to have someone there to hear your story. We all want that. Most people don't listen very well. They are too busy thinking about what they are going to say next. I'm not saying to jump into the drama and go fix everything, but by listening and adding comments of empathy and understanding , you will gain trust from others.

Be original

This is my biggest pet-peeve on social media. So many people comment the same exact things. Your friend posts a pic of them on family vacation in Hawaii, everyone says "awesome", or "hope you had a good time". Say something unique! How about "Did you get a chance to check out the Princeville area in Kauai? I heard it's pretty lovely and lush." Open up for the original poster to provide additional information, they love to give it, trust me! And the funny thing is that others will "like" your comment if it is original. One step further, you are looking forward to a notification on the OP's response because you had something intelligent to contribute to the social media interaction.

Be positive

I recently watched a very powerful video about the perception of negative social media behavior and how it can impact what friends think of you. It portrayed a guy updating his Facebook status with "My life sucks." And then we see friend after friend "hiding" him from their timelines.

Although it may have been stretched a bit, I don't think it was far from the truth. People don't want to see negative status updates on Facebook, especially ones where the only want to change them is if YOU change YOURSELF. Now tempering the negatives of your life and asking for advice or help is a completely different matter. I'm talking about airing your dirty laundry, complaining about this or that for argument's sake. Not attractive at all. Keep it upbeat , optimistic, but more than anything ,be yourself and be genuine and authentic. People can see right through a phony.

Don't "like" everything

One of the first things many people in business do when prompted to get involved in social media is to "like" all of their friends status updates. Please don't do this! It is pretty annoying, very transparent, and screams that you are desperate for friendship and/or business. Be selective - if something truly resonates with you, go ahead and "like" it, even comment "LIKE", or add something else to validate the friend's status update.

Hope you found this article helpful. My passion is helping people find solutions to buying and selling real estate in the Phoenix, AZ area. If I can be of assistance you can visit my website at livingchandler.com, call me at602.332.3321 or email me at mdtscoates@gmail.com 

If you have other social media tips feel free to comment below!

It is a scientific fact! - Better photos sell homes quicker

Better photos sell a home quicker and there is also a higher perceived value for the home.

On homes priced under $300k, I take photos myself using a DSLR camera with HDR functionality. These cameras cost around $500+, but they are well worth it.  You will also need HDR editing software which starts about $100.  

Here is an example of a shot BEFORE doing HDR.  

Here is the same photo AFTER applying HDR technology

For homes priced over $300k, I use a professional photographer like Bryan Schiele.  Bryan's photos look like this:

If you think you can do photos like Bryan, make sure you check out the video below.  He details all the work that goes into just one photo.



As you can tell from watching the video there is a lot of post production editing that accompanies taking a great photo. So do yourself a favor and put the camera phone away and spend the extra coin on having great photos to market your properties!

3 Ways to save $1500 on every remodel

Wanna save $1,500 on every real estate flip you do? Here's how:  

Home Depot Paint Rewards
1. Home Depot Paint Rewards is segmented into 3 levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. For each level rewards members can save 10%, 15%, 20% respectively.  Here is a pictures of my account.  

Quick Tip: You can jump right into the Silver level by asking the pro desk.  Tell the pro desk representative that you are a real estate flipper intending on doing several flips this year, and would like to start saving on paint today.  Chances are they will do it for you.  Each paint order will save you approximately $200.

Savings:  $200/house

Lowes Material Discounts

2.  There a couple ways to save at Lowes.  The simple way is to buy 10% off coupons on Ebay.  They run approximately a $1.00 each.  You can buy as many discount coupons as you want.

The better way to start saving money is by setting up special pricing with Lowe's.  I've done this at several Lowe's stores.  The first thing you need to do is put together a material list of fixtures, faucets, door knobs, canned lights, ect.  Next, take your list to the Lowe's Pro desk and ask them for special pricing on these items.  Here is an example of my list (my complete list is much longer!)

  

Once they price out your list, your average discount should be around 25%.  Therefore, if you are placing a $2,000 material order at Lowe's, you just saved $500.  Not bad savings for 20 minutes worth of work, huh? As an added bonus, Lowe's will put the order together for you or your contractor to pickup!

Savings:  $500/house

3.  Local Dealers

Never buy flooring or appliances from the big box stores. Go to a local flooring dealer and negotiate set pricing for tile, carpet, and wood floors.  You can save 10-20% over what big box stores charge. So your $2000 tile order will save you $400!

Savings:  $400/house

Use local appliance stores as well as they usually have discount packages for investors. My appliance package at a big box store is normally $1500 and I get it for $1100 at a local Phoenix appliance store.  

Savings:  $400/house

$200 - Home Depot Pain Rewards

$500 - Lowe's Material Discount

$400 - Local Flooring Store

$400 - Local Appliances Store

$1,500 - TOTAL SAVINGS PER HOUSE

So put an extra $1,500 back in your pocket on your next flip!  Any other ways that your are saving money on your flips?

Top 10 Hottest Zip Codes - Houston July 2014

Stats are fun but not as fun as investing in real estate.  Analyzing a real estate market by the contract ratio is a key indicator in measuring how hot the market is.  A "Normal" market has a contract ratio between 30 and 60.  Markets with a ratio greater than 60 indicate a hotter market.  It's a simple stat that anyone can use to analyze the current market conditions. 

Below are the hottest zip codes in Houston.  If you are thinking about investing,  the market hotness will help determine if your home flies off the market or lags on the market for months.

Rank	ZIP	CITY	ACTIVES	PENDINGS	Ratio
1	77036	Houston	18	32	177.78
2	77080	Houston	29	45	155.17
3	77067	Houston	19	28	147.37
4	77099	Houston	29	41	141.38
5	77003	Houston	18	25	138.89
6	77477	Meadows	22	30	136.36
7	77077	Houston	60	80	133.33
8	77045	Houston	27	35	129.63
9	77562	Highlands	17	22	129.41
10	77449	Katy	199	255	128.14
11	77084	Houston	137	175	127.74
12	77065	Houston	34	42	123.53
13	77450	Katy	131	159	121.37
14	77345	Kingwood	83	97	116.87
15	77043	Houston	29	33	113.79
16	77064	Houston	58	66	113.79
17	77089	Houston	77	86	111.69
18	77423	Brookshire	30	33	110.00
19	77070	Houston	74	81	109.46
20	77388	Spring	117	127	108.55
21	77429	Cypress	202	212	104.95
22	77071	Houston	31	32	103.23
23	77303	Conroe	34	35	102.94
24	77095	Houston	153	157	102.61
25	77057	Houston	46	47	102.17
26	77339	Kingwood	92	94	102.17
27	77096	Houston	54	55	101.85
28	77075	Houston	35	35	100.00
29	77489	Missouri City	42	42	100.00
30	77034	Houston	35	34	97.14
31	77479	Sugar Land	225	218	96.89
32	77583	Rosharon	83	80	96.39
33	77041	Houston	55	53	96.36
34	77091	Houston	27	26	96.30
35	77505	Pasadena	40	38	95.00
36	77083	Houston	99	94	94.95
37	77461	Needville	17	16	94.12
38	77082	Houston	65	61	93.85
39	77035	Houston	46	43	93.48
40	77373	Spring	167	155	92.81
41	77014	Houston	38	35	92.11
42	77584	Pearland	238	219	92.02
43	77040	Houston	48	44	91.67
44	77346	Humble	234	212	90.60
45	77005	Houston	53	48	90.57
46	77493	Katy	113	101	89.38
47	77062	Houston	60	53	88.33
48	77381	The Woodlands	109	95	87.16
49	77008	Houston	233	203	87.12
50	77536	Deer Park	60	52	86.67
51	77073	Houston	81	70	86.42
52	77088	Houston	68	58	85.29
53	77079	Houston	53	45	84.91
54	77498	Sugar Land	69	58	84.06
55	77407	Richmond	206	171	83.01
56	77581	Pearland	128	105	82.03
57	77433	Cypress	354	290	81.92
58	77007	Houston	261	207	79.31
59	77546	Friendswood	152	120	78.95
60	77053	Houston	28	22	78.57
61	77545	Fresno	51	40	78.43
62	77021	Houston	50	39	78.00
63	77047	Houston	74	57	77.03
64	77566	Lake Jackson	65	50	76.92
65	77471	Rosenberg	81	61	75.31
66	77025	Houston	56	42	75.00
67	77573	League City	334	249	74.55
68	77328	Cleveland	23	17	73.91
69	77018	Houston	107	79	73.83
70	77478	Sugar Land	64	47	73.44
71	77504	Pasadena	30	22	73.33
72	77015	Houston	44	32	72.73
73	77571	La Porte	108	78	72.22
74	77386	Spring	290	208	71.72
75	77094	Houston	21	15	71.43
76	77063	Houston	28	20	71.43
77	77092	Houston	35	25	71.43
78	77049	Houston	59	42	71.19
79	77510	Santa Fe	27	19	70.37
80	77375	Tomball	253	177	69.96
81	77009	Houston	118	82	69.49
82	77048	Houston	29	20	68.97
83	77382	The Woodlands	173	119	68.79
84	77469	Rosenberg	147	101	68.71
85	77059	Houston	60	41	68.33
86	77447	Hockley	37	25	67.57
87	77379	Spring	293	195	66.55
88	77072	Houston	41	27	65.85
89	77016	Houston	35	23	65.71
90	77396	Humble	137	89	64.96
91	77530	Channelview	37	24	64.86
92	77459	Missouri City	325	208	64.00
93	77406	Richmond	233	149	63.95
94	77401	Bellaire	61	39	63.93
95	77586	Seabrook	91	58	63.74
96	77006	Houston	44	28	63.64
97	77090	Houston	60	38	63.33
98	77024	Houston	95	60	63.16
99	77494	Katy	569	357	62.74
100	77518	Bacliff	16	10	62.50
101	77578	Manvel	72	45	62.50
102	77068	Houston	47	29	61.70
103	77017	Houston	31	19	61.29
104	77022	Houston	18	11	61.11
105	77539	Dickinson	188	114	60.64
106	77378	Wills	48	29	60.42
107	77098	Houston	40	24	60.00
108	77004	Houston	91	54	59.34
109	77521	Baytown	136	80	58.82
110	77502	Pasadena	46	27	58.70
111	77384	Conroe	75	44	58.67
112	77338	Humble	117	68	58.12
113	77086	Houston	28	16	57.14
114	77377	Tomball	140	80	57.14
115	77044	Houston	177	100	56.50
116	77532	Crosby	105	59	56.19
117	77066	Houston	68	38	55.88
118	77055	Houston	104	58	55.77
119	77354	Magnolia	135	75	55.56
120	77019	Houston	74	41	55.41
121	77385	Conroe	94	52	55.32
122	77511	Alvin	117	64	54.70
123	77302	Conroe	53	28	52.83
124	77372	Splendora	21	11	52.38
125	77503	Pasadena	23	12	52.17
126	77380	The Woodlands	73	38	52.05
127	77535	Dayton	72	37	51.39
128	77474	Sealy	37	19	51.35
129	77357	New Caney	53	27	50.94
130	77441	Fulshear	205	104	50.73
131	77590	Texas City	89	45	50.56
132	77523	Beach City	103	52	50.49
133	77531	Richwood	20	10	50.00
134	77087	Houston	35	17	48.57
135	77056	Houston	62	30	48.39
136	77506	Pasadena	29	14	48.28
137	77565	Kemah	48	23	47.92
138	77327	Rye	65	31	47.69
139	77563	Hitchcock	63	30	47.62
140	77037	Houston	17	8	47.06
141	77365	Porter	183	86	46.99
142	77568	La Marque	93	43	46.24
143	77042	Houston	40	18	45.00
144	77355	Magnolia	123	54	43.90
145	77051	Houston	46	20	43.48
146	77304	Conroe	157	67	42.68
147	77316	Montgomery	155	66	42.58
148	77591	Texas City	45	19	42.22
149	77039	Houston	24	10	41.67
150	77486	West Columbia	24	10	41.67
151	77484	Waller	29	12	41.38
152	77318	Willis	131	54	41.22
153	77868	Navasota	27	11	40.74
154	77038	Houston	25	10	40.00
155	77069	Houston	72	28	38.89
156	77520	Baytown	77	29	37.66
157	77389	Spring	311	117	37.62
158	77026	Houston	24	9	37.50
159	77076	Houston	24	9	37.50
160	77336	Huffman	67	25	37.31
161	77362	Pinehurst	25	9	36.00
162	77301	Conroe	79	28	35.44
163	77575	Liberty	37	13	35.14
164	77515	Angleton	70	24	34.29
165	77027	Houston	41	14	34.15
166	77550	Galveston	104	35	33.65
167	77845	College Station	33	11	33.33
168	77033	Houston	48	16	33.33
169	77541	Freeport	81	27	33.33
170	77356	Montgomery	373	124	33.24
171	77422	Brazoria	34	11	32.35
172	77028	Houston	25	8	32.00
173	77331	Coldspring	60	19	31.67
174	77445	Hempstead	34	10	29.41
175	77418	Belville	38	10	26.32
176	77058	Houston	27	7	25.93
177	77833	Brenham	68	17	25.00
178	77351	Livingston	219	54	24.66
179	77029	Houston	21	5	23.81
180	77364	Point Blank	42	10	23.81
181	77093	Houston	30	7	23.33
182	78934	Columbus	22	5	22.73
183	77551	Galveston	84	19	22.62
184	77488	Wharton	49	11	22.45
185	77320	Huntsville	99	21	21.21
186	77340	Huntsville	90	19	21.11
187	77360	Onalaska	88	18	20.45
188	77437	El Campo	57	11	19.30
189	77554	Jamaica Beach	300	53	17.67
190	78133	Canyon Lake	19	3	15.79
191	77020	Houston	32	5	15.63
192	75862	Trinity	122	17	13.93
193	77871	Normangee	17	2	11.76
194	75979	Woodville	39	4	10.26
195	77879	Sommerville	21	2	9.52
196	77650	Crystal Beach	143	13	9.09
197	77414	Sargent	111	10	9.01
198	77457	Matagorda	24	2	8.33
199	77663	Village Mills	34	2	5.88