10 ‘Turn-Offs’ when viewing property online:
October 3, 2022
For many of us we will initiate our property searches online from the large property portals to individual estate agency websites. In between these options we have private listing websites, Facebook marketplace and even eBay where property / land get listed. With the accessibility and speed of the internet today we can simply pop online within an instance and get the full details on that property we might notice with a for sale sign or simply place in an exact post code to see what the prices are doing in a set location.
Often or not listings online are of fairly good standard with lots of details and information shared and are now expected to be factual over any exaggerated false highlights or worse, click bait. So what really turns people off when they browse property for sale online?
- Quality of photography: From blurry to dark or simply not capturing the whole scene, a photo can in deed both sell a house and yet turn people away. You do not have to be a professional photographer in order to capture great images, though there is certainly a place in the industry for such professionals, and neither do you need the top camera and lighting. Following simple guidelines will allow you to obtain great images that will attract online browsers. Big turn offs for those flicking through photos online include images too dark (maybe put the lights on or do not take a photo with the sunlight pouring in to a room), images not capturing the whole room / space, not enough of them ie at least one for each room.
- Lack of information: It sometimes happens that a listing hits the internet hot off the press and there will be little details and sometimes no photos, this can be a put off and especially that new listing remaining without details can slowly creep down the timeline of ‘latest listings’. If a property is hitting the internet then do so with all the details ready to be browsed and admired. Many people, especially via property portals, will expect the full property details (and measurements), photos, floor plans and map location (ideally street view) plus additions such as property videos / audio tours.
- Poor presentation: From the likes of toilet seats up to bins outside the property, certain somewhat negative eye-catching blemishes on the presentation of a property can put off that potential buyer. Maybe photos have been taken on a grey / dark day and it must not be the case that the agent presents these photos (not for too long at least) without trying to edit them (software can be used to remove grey skies and replace with blue). Did you take the photos during the winter and was there a lack of green on trees or a blanket of snow on ground – Think about updating things if you now are in spring / summer!
- Spelling mistakes / grammar: Many listings will contain either rapidly written details that are less than engaging to also including varied grammar errors with spelling mistakes too. It might sound a touch tedious to pick on such finer details, though sometimes these finer details (especially on prestigious property) can make all the difference.
- Exaggerating: Speaking from my personal opinion and hearing this from others, those property listings where a 3 bedroom property is suddenly a 4 or 5 thanks to extended space in a hallway or a dinning room has a single bed added – Keep the property listings real as not only are you fooling the person in to wasting time this can also reflect negatively on the estate agency in question. Respect those who you are attracting, it is important not to be misleading in property details and stick to accurate wording and facts.
- Multi-Listing: Property which are repeated with agent after agent and certainly appearing multiple times during a search on a property portal will certainly give the impression of desperation.
- Leading with an internal photo: Automatically you will think that it must be quite bad on the outside if the best you can offer is a photo of a dull internal photo. Whatever happens the buyer will know where the property is located and what the outside looks like, most people viewing property will expect to see the property and possibly too the grounds (even extending to aerial photography for the more sizeable / prestigious listings.
- Offers in excess of (OIEO): This is probably the biggest moan for me and I hear it from others too, its the OIEO listings as it makes you think of greed on behalf of the seller – State the price wanted not a price hoping you can squeeze out more of from people. If someone wants your property enough they will pay the price you want and if more than one wants it at the same time then offers in excess of might take place naturally. I tend to bypass property stating OIEO (or offers above / over). Try and be subtle, ie ‘offers in the region of’ which states the obvious maybe, but less aggressive.
- Big price changes: Those property that hit the market and then just a few days later come off and re-emerge quickly with drastically reduced in prices. This happened just recently with a property down our road, £575,000 then within 7 days down to £500,000 (OIEO) – Why? This might look great if done so to appear in searches for ‘price reductions’ though it will both cause suspicion towards the seller and estate agent(s) in question.
- Conflicts: Here I am referring to which agency is listing what property. We recognise that many high street agencies will have an array of property in their portfolios at any one time. Though nationally recognised high street estate agencies are fine at their jobs, sometimes certain type of listings (especially luxury property) are better listed with agencies that have better expertise in the field and reputations for doing so. For instance, a high valued property on the larger size might require over and above what an estate agency who focus on general property listings can offer within their standard package and commission fee structure. From professional photography to detailed property descriptions and additional marketing options such as video tours / drone footage might be required which a more suited (high end property) agency can offer (and charge for). With no disrespect to the agencies I use as an example here, but YourMove are far better positioned to market a basic 2 bed urban located semi whereas Hamptons International will be far more suited to taking to market a luxury penthouse in Mayfair.
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