How to sell a property faster?

Anyone who has tried to present their property on the internet knows that a good photograph is the key to arousing a potential client's interest. After viewing the listing, the client should feel sure that they want to see the house or flat and that it will not be a waste of time.

It is in the seller's interest to show viewers as much as possible and in the best possible light. Photos are standard, so nowadays property listings can stand out only by the attractiveness and quality of the photographs attached to them. What can you do so that the photos added to a listing encourage rather than discourage potential buyers? Properly preparing the property for presentation is a very important aspect of the sales process and must not be neglected. So how do you prepare rooms for a photo shoot?

Make sure everything is tidy in the flat or house. We often do not realise that a potential buyer frequently judges how attractive a property is by how attractive the photo is. Remember that a potential client prefers not to think that someone lives in "their" future flat. That is why you should avoid photographing laundry hanging out to dry or a television that is switched on. In the bathroom, be sure to remove drying towels, and in the toilet put the seat down. In the kitchen, make sure the sink is clean, keep as few items on the worktops as possible, and put a bowl of fruit there instead. In the bedrooms, be sure to make the beds and put away any clothes lying around. A well-prepared photo shoot should reassure the client that they have seen everything worth seeing before they visit the flat in person.

The foundation is good photo quality. Blurred, out-of-focus photographs in which nothing can be seen may put people off buying. Avoid badly lit photos – they are less attractive to people viewing the listing. It is also hard to take a decent photo when the sunlight coming in through the window is much brighter than the light that is the main source of illumination in the interior. A glaringly bright patch will ruin the whole composition. How can you avoid it? The best way is to increase the intensity of the lights inside. You can also use a flash, but be careful that the light is not reflected in a mirror or a window, for example.

When photographing rooms, try to make the frame cover as large an area as possible. Do not frame a bookcase, a cabinet or a wall lamp on its own. Such photos add nothing. Avoid taking pictures of, for example, just the bath or the washbasin. It is better to photograph the whole bathroom or kitchen, because then you can see how big and spacious it is. This also lets you show many details in one photo, without boring the potential client with too many photos in the listing. When photographing small rooms, such as bathrooms, it is worth using a reflection in a mirror, which lets you fit more items into the frame.

Photos taken in different seasons can be very attractive and add variety to a listing. In property sales, however, they have the drawback that photos showing spring, summer or autumn may suggest to potential buyers that the property has been on sale for a very long time (and is therefore unattractive). So if you take on a building plot for sale in winter, remember to take new photos in spring and replace the old ones in the listing. Posting winter photos should be justified by the qualities of the property you want to present (for example a guesthouse in the mountains next to a ski lift, and so on).

Avoid presenting photos with a visible date on them, which may wrongly suggest that the property has been on the market for a very long time. A few more minutes spent taking, editing and selecting good photos can shorten the time to sale by as much as several months, because in today's world of visual culture it is the photo that attracts the attention of potential buyers. These rules are worth remembering if only because you get just one chance to make a good first impression. You can do it by showing the client photos that will make them want to see your flat in person.