For Sale By Owner Homes

For Sale by Owner Homes listed in the
Realtor MLS for as low as $299!

           Taking the Best Photos Possible for Your MLS Listing

Photos of your by owner home will be the only thing, besides price, that will encourage potential buyers to schedule a showing to see your home for sale in person. You have very few opportunities, depending on how many photos your For Sale by Owner Homes flat fee listing package comes with, to encourage these potential buyers to schedule a showing, so you must make the most of it. 

Most importantly, you cannot rush good photos. You may need to experiment with photographing your home at different times during the day to find the best light. When you look at the pictures you've taken of your home, you must have a critical eye, as a potential buyer would. Make sure there are no straggling dirty dishes in the sink, or dirty laundry in the hamper.

Frequent Photo Issues

1. Images of your by owner home that you submit for your flat fee listing must not exceed 640 x 480 pixels. If you need to check the size of your photos, please see our Photo Guide page.
2. Take photos horizontally, without tilting your camera into a vertical position. All photos submitted for use in the Multiple Listing Service must be taken horizontally, or they will be skewed.
3. Photos should not be cropped to highlight a particular home feature unless you maintain a 4:3 ratio. If you would like your images cropped but are not sure how to maintain a 4:3 ratio, send the image to our office with specific details on how you'd like the image cropped.
4. Only submit photos in JPG or GIF format. While most images are automatically saved in this format, check the photo properties if you are unsure.
5. Do not submit images that have been scanned in, taken with a disposable camera, camcorder or camera phone.

We deal with hundreds of photos on a weekly basis. If these issues are present in your images, you will be asked to resubmit new images with corrections made.

What Should You Feature in Your Pictures?

Depending on how many photos your FSBO flat fee listing package includes, photograph the following home aspects, listed in order of importance:

1. Street view of the home
2. Primary living area/ den
3. Kitchen
4. Most utilized eating area (if easily seen within the kitchen photo, skip this photo)
5. Secondary living area
6. Secondary eating area/ Formal Dining room
7. Back view of the home, special garden, or unique patio area
8. Entry way or dramatic staircase
9. Master bedroom, if unique
10. Any other intriguing aspects of the home (don't forget to highlight great neighborhood aspects like a community pool or pretty park if you still have photos left.)

Your goal should be to highlight the special features of your home that would turn a potential buyer's head and make them want to schedule an appointment to see your home.

Details to Capture the Best Possible Images

Ideally, interior photos will capture both the room details and outside views from any windows. Blinds and curtains should be open to allow natural light to come in. However, when you take photos, the camera will automatically adjust focus to the room's brightest spot – usually windows, making the room features appear dark.

To avoid making your room look dark while still capturing an outside view, you'll need to wait until an overcast day, or try shooting in very early morning or late afternoon when the light is not so intense.

Experiment with your camera's flash, shooting images with the flash on, and then with the flash off. Also, experiment with interior lights on versus off. Use the images that make the room look bright and airy, ideally avoiding any yellow tint.

When shooting the outside of the home, a bright day will give you the best results. Do, however, make sure that sunlight is not washing out the face of the home, which will make the home elevation difficult to discern.

Sizing Your Images

Photo sizes are measured in pixels. Earlier, we mentioned that photos sent to us should not be larger than 640 x 480 pixels. Because many digital cameras now take photos at a high resolution, you may need to reduce your image's size in order to be able to email the picture and also to comply with our photo submission regulations.

To check your image's size, run your mouse over the image file (within the file folder, without the image opened) and a small dialog window will tell you the image size. If resizing your images is necessary, please see the "How to Resize and Send Photos" page.