Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday – taking a look at miserable, awful, terrible MLS photos!
I’m constantly amazed not only by the terrible photos that are put onto MLS, but also of what people take photos of!
Have a look…
Try searching “bad photo shop” on Google Images and you’ll find thousands of images just like the one above.
It’s like there’s a whole sub-culture of guys (unemployed, in their parents’ basements…) who set out to expose bad photo-shop jobs!
Here are a few more choice examples of awful photos from MLS:
Toilets, Anyone?
It amazes me how many MLS listings feature a glorious shot of the TOILET!
Maybe people want to know what the bathroom looks like, but usually there isn’t much to show!
If you have a luxury condo, or maybe one that is larger than 1200 square feet, chances are good that you have double-sinks, a jacuzzi and separate standing shower, or maybe some upgrades more than just the basic builder-finishes, circa 1988 like in the photo above?
Which of the following photographs of the damn toilet make you want to buy the condo it is selling?
Yeah, nothing quite like having the seat up!
“Loft Features”
I understand that people want “loft features.”
But isn’t this photo taking things a bit far?
This photo is of the ceiling, the wall, and the pipes that run across the room.
And you know what? This is absolutely awful! The whole “soft loft” phase has come and gone, and in my mind, this is one goddam ugly condo! It looks dirty to me! Look at the ceiling! I like the “unpolished” look in many, many spaces, but too much of a good things is a BAD thing! This photo does nothing to make me want to show the condo.
Tickling Your Artistic Side
I guess somebody thought this looks……good?
Here is a photo of the room, from the viewpoint of the kitchen faucet.
If I was a buyer, and I was also a kitchen faucet, how would I see the room?
Kind of like that, I guess…
Terrible, Terrible Staging
Dinner for two…
Just seat yourself anywhere…..on the floor. Yep, anywhere on the floor will do, or simply stand and eat!
This isn’t quite Japan where you sit on the floor at a table that is fourteen inches off the ground. Nope, this is Canadian dining, with no chairs.
Here is my grandfather’s chair and there is the world’s smallest plasma-TV – it’s twelve inches!
But make sure you sit in the corner of the room, and don’t let anybody see you!
Stay out of the light.
“Less is more.”
What’s Out The Window?
Oh……that.
Hmmm, I think I’ll pass on this condo.
The interior shots looked really nice and all, but then you went and spoiled it by showing me that there are huge green highway signs within spitting distance, not to mention the eight lanes of traffic outside my window…
What the @*$#?
What is this?
It looks to me like a shot of the floor, wall, cupboard, and hallway.
But it can’t be……because who would ever take a photo of that and why?
If you’ve got eight photos ready to go and you want to fill your quota of nine, just upload a picture of a cute baby or something.
What the hell is this?
Half A Bed
This speaks for itself.
Maybe there was somebody actually sleeping on the other side of the bed when this photo was taken?
Hey – I wonder what the other 75% of this room looks like. Too bad a photographer with a wide-angle-lens and some experience didn’t take the photo!
One Eighth Of A Kitchen
Unless……well, unless this kitchen only has a sink and a dishwasher. Then it could be a full kitchen and more than just an eighth.
Maybe….just maybe, this kitchen has no fridge, stove, or microwave.
Or cupboards.
It’s a good thing they didn’t take the photo at 2PM when the suns rays are the brightest. Oh….wait…
Colleen McGoey
at 8:33 am
My husband and I frequently have a chuckle after looking at MLS photos. What amazes me is that the sellers are ok with the photos being out there as advertisment for their home!
My fav are the ones taken from atop a table. You know to give a different perspective… the perspective of a spider.
Marz
at 9:03 am
I agree with most of these… except the toilet. I’d like to be sure that the condo I’m buying doesn’t have a disgusting toilet… maybe it’s just me.
Greg
at 9:52 am
I find the bigger issue to be the limitations of the MLS website. Why the hell in this day and age are we limited to only 9 photos?
Why are they so tiny that you have to squint to make anything out?
Considering how much cheaper bandwidth/servers have become in the past few years there is no excuse for this.
David Fleming
at 12:13 pm
@ Greg
I totally agree. I’ve served on a committee at TREB and I know that despite having a slew of creative, experienced, and dedicated people in a room coming up with ideas and suggestions to improve MLS, there are so many levels that these ideas have to pass through. I’m still waiting to see ‘square footage’ become mandatory for condos. We put that one in the pipeline almost 18 months ago!
But that’s why all MLS listings have the VIRTUAL TOUR capability. I use this for all my listings, and it’s starting to catch on among agents who strive to market their properties. The nine photos is a basic once-over, and the virtual tour can essentially take you inside the property.
Lauren
at 12:18 pm
Please keep fighting the good fight — maybe going one step further to destroy realtor’s camera phones unless they prove they can be trusted? Then again – if people keep buying these places, why should they work any harder at better photography? Lowest common denominator is working.
ms
at 8:35 pm
I’ve enjoyed both today and yesterday’s posts, but to be honest, I’ve probably fed into this craze by actually buying a condo that had no photos listed on MLS, and was able to buy my place without any competition (granted, the only reason I saw it was because I was already in the building to see another unit that actually had pictures up)…so, I’d have to give a big thumbs up to the no pictures situation from a first time buyer’s perspective…