Photographing Interiors with Point-and-shoot cameras.

Although I would highly recommend photographing interiors with a SLR and a lighting kit, many realtors and sellers

do not have this type of equipment.  So, in turn, they will be using their point-and-shoot cameras.  A couple problems may arise from using this type of camera. 1) If you are shooting inside a low lit room, the image may not be in focus. 2) If you shoot toward an area that is emitting a lot of light, the image will be dark. So why do these things happen and how can you fix them?

1) Out of focus – In low lit rooms, it is difficult for automatic cameras to find something to focus on, a pattern, a crack in the wall, the corner….something!  In order to fix this problem, you will need to find something in the room that is at the same distance as the shot you want, to focus on. Now there is a trick to this that we will discuss in a moment.

2) Dark images – You will find that when you point the camera in the direction of light, everything else around the light will darken.  The reason for this is that the camera thinks there is too much light entering the lens, so it closes what is called the aperture, exactly the way the iris in our own eyes gets smaller when looking into light.  This causes a dark image.  How do we fix this?  When you are taking a picture of a room that has a window with light coming through, you will need to point the camera toward a darker part of the room, maybe the wall next to the window.  You will notice that the image in your preview gets progressively lighter as you pan from the window to the other walls in the room.

Now, in both of these examples, we have asked that you move the camera to focus on something other than what you actually want to photograph.  Now we will tell you how to get the photograph you wanted. After pointing the camera in the areas we have recommended, you will need to hold the shutter button down only half way.  If the picture snaps, you have pressed it all the way.  If you hold it down half way, you will see and hear your camera focus and meter the light.  Now, while holding the shutter down half way, position the camera back to the shot you really wanted to take, and squeeze the shutter the rest of the way.

Sell the Home not the House!

This is a follow up article to the Perceived Value blog.

In our lifetime, we have all made many purchases.  Some were major and required much thought, and others were minor impulsive buys; but they all had one thing in common, benefits.  Let’s take the purchase of clothing for example.  When shopping for a new jacket, shirt, or whole outfit, many people like to see how it looks on them before they buy.  People want to imagine how they will live with it, walk in it, work in it, and of course how others might see them.  If they feel good about what they imagine, they will feel good about themselves and make the purchase. So what are they really buying?  Is it not the imagination of what benefits might result from purchasing these clothes?

A vehicle is another example.  When purchasing a vehicle, many people take it for a test drive before they buy.  What is going through their mind when they are on the road?  They might wonder how many people they can fit, even imagining who those people are.  They might imagine it being parked in their driveway, or they wonder about the reaction and comments co-workers will have when they pull in with a new car.  What about taking trips, where are they going and how they look in the drivers’ seat?  Where will I put my coffee?  They even change the radio to their favorite station imagining that they already own it.  So, again, what are they really buying and how do these examples relate to selling property?

When selling property, we have to release the buyer within us and remember how we ourselves are influenced to make a purchase.  Many realtors and sellers focus only on the features and amenities of a home such as its spacious living room, newly remodeled kitchen, four bedrooms, hard wood floors, and energy efficient appliances.  But how do all these translate to benefit for the buyer? What is it that they are really buying, a house or a home?  We can’t forget that it is not the house they are buying but rather it is how they will live in it!

As with any purchase, buyers will go through the imagination stage within a property.  The question is then, what are we as sellers or realtors allowing them to imagine?  If the property is vacant, can they imagine family nights or gatherings in a living room that is empty?  Can they imagine entertaining in the dining room with no dining table?  Can they see how comfortable and relaxing the bedroom is without it appearing so?  What about an occupied home?  When the current owner has personalized the space for their use and their family, how do we allow buyers to feel at home, or imagine their life in a space that feels as if it belongs to someone else?  Will they imagine their family and friends over at someone else’s home? Can they walk in and say: “Yes! This is home!”

By not considering the buyers perspective, we are only giving them the features and amenities to consider in their decision to purchase.  We know, by comparison, there are many other properties and products with similar features, so, when selling property, we want to allow buyers to focus and imagine how they will live in the space.  We want them to be able see their family and friends in the living room relaxing and enjoying each others company.  We want them to imagine themselves having dinner in the dining room, and see how comfortable and relaxing the bedroom is.  We want to show them how their life could be in this property. After all, is it not this imagination of how our lives could be, that makes the sale?

For more information on preparing a home for the market, please contact BryanSuarez Property Presentation.

Perceived Value

Understanding how people form judgments and make decisions is key to knowing how to present a product to a market. We all make decisions and form judgments based on our visual perception of a product, environment, or situation. Visual perception is our ability to interpret information from our surroundings through the visible light that enters the eye, technically speaking. When talking about marketing and products, the resulting perception allows us to form a perceived value.

As sellers and marketers, we try to create perceived value through a buyers’ visual perception. Now, what is perceived value? When our product makes a touch point with one of the buyers’ five senses, immediately the buyer begins to form an opinion. Is this product attractive, of good quality, useful? Will it help the buyer to stand out or create the lifestyle they want? Although we could talk-up the features of our product, the reality is that customers buy products not for their features but rather for what they perceive the benefits of that product to be. An example I love to use when talking about benefits is a drill bit. When a buyer makes the effort to purchase a drill bit, what do they really want to buy? Is it the drill bit itself? Of course not! What they are truly buying is the benefit a drill bit will provide them, a drilled hole. So when selling property, we must ask ourselves, what are buyers really wanting to buy and how do we stimulate their visual perception and increase the perceived value of our properties?

The real estate industry is a very “visual” market place. It has been said that 80% of buyers first search online for prospective properties to view. The key word here is “view.” What are they “seeing” when online? How are you presenting your property (product) online? If you are using photographs, ask yourself: do these photographs show the property well? Can prospective buyers see the space? When buyers view these photos, they will form a judgment as to what they perceived the value to be (price and functional value), then make a discussion as to request a viewing or not. We want them to view the property, so we need to be sure our photographs show the full potential of the property. It is even more critical at the showing that buyers are able to see this potential as this will be the strongest selling point and the best opportunity for them to form a judgment.

However, before a buyer views the property, and even before the property is listed; realtors should evaluate the property and take note of every aspect of the home including, curb appeal, odors, lighting, finishes, furniture (if occupied), or the need of bringing in furniture. Take special note of unusual or modified floor plans. Once you have analyzed the property thoroughly, you can now develop a comprehensive staging plan that includes furniture, art, lighting, and accessories if vacant, and rearrangement and decluttering if occupied. Staging the property is not simply the rearrangement of furniture, or decorating. Staging is using design and marketing to sell space and a lifestyle that buyers want. It is marketing a product to gain a faster and more profitable sale. Staging the property allows buyers to see the full potential of the space. It gives them reference as to how their own furnishings will work, and creates an environment that they want as their own. The more a buyer can relate to the space, the higher they perceive the value to be.

The goal then is to let buyers “see” the full potential of every space within a property and allow them to imaging their lives there, giving them justification for aligning their perceived value with your asking price.

For more information, please contact BryanSuarez Property Presentation.