Approaching real estate agents.

[sonicbuffalo]

Ok, well best bet is to approach slowly and try not to make direct eye contact. Hold out your hand and let them sniff it but don't try to pet them right off the bat.

Oh... wait, thats pit bulls. Lol

I'd have to agree with most of whats already been posted, most agents don't understand or recognize the value of well done professional pictures.

Sent from my LG-LG730 using Tapatalk

I disagree...they know they're getting quality shots with a pro, but realtors are mostly tightwads!

 

[Steve5D]

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that real estate agents are tightwads. They're not going to give money away but, like anyone else, will pay for something they see value in.

Our job as photographers isn't to just show up, provide excellent results, and expect to be paid. Our job is to show a real estate agent the value in what we can provide. We can't assume that an agent will look at a photo and say "YES!".

We need to sell them on the fact that there is value in what we provide. If you can do that, you'll be hired. If you can't, you won't...

 

[manaheim]

My experience isn't that they are tightwads, so much as they have a very hard time understanding the value of spending $400 or more on a professional... when they seem to be doing "just fine" with their P&S camera. They also tend to be... uh... confident... and have a default position of looking down their nose at anything that they hadn't already thought of on their own.

There are exceptions, of course, but this is generally what I've found.

COMMERCIAL real estate, however... is a whole different ballgame. Get into that if you can, and you'll be doing great.

 

[bribrius]

lot of agents are just like mwac. Husband works wife is agent for supplemental income. They don't have a lot of money to be tight wads with. They can go a month with no pay check at all.

 

[manaheim]

And here I thought I was overgeneralizing.

 

[skid2964]

I got started doing this 5 years ago by offering to shoot a house for free, just to get my photos in the local Multiple Listing Service. They really stand out, even in thumbnails and they catch people's attention, even if they don't buy the home, it draws attention to the agent with good photos... Now, 700+ photo-shoots later, the agents come to me. Some agents don't care about their photos but the ones that realize that professional photos sells homes will seek out a pro. If they sell one home from better photos, they are already WAY ahead in terms of bottom-line profits for the year. I've had several tell me: "I sold that home in three days and I believe it was your photos that did it!"...

 

[SquarePeg]

The town I live in has a very good broker who seems to get all the hot listings. A friend works there so i know that they use a pro and also stage the homes. You can tell it's working in her favor. Some Realtors have seen the lighting.

 

[Designer]

CdTSnap; in addition to all of that, some realtors have purchased their own DSLR. They can write it off as a business expense, like their car and all the rest. That doesn't mean that they suddenly become proficient, but you've got to show them that you really can make better pictures than they can using essentially the same equipment. It's going to be a tough sale for the average realtor and average house prices. Where things change is in the higher end of things where the RE is high end, the realtor is more likely to spend some money getting really good pictures.

 

[SGK]

A good piece of advice I've heard is to approach the owner, not the agent, especially if it's a house that's been on the market for awhile. I have not shot any homes yet, but I've advertised my services for 45 USD (approx. 50 NZD).

For agents and owners alike, I link my Flickr portfolio in the ad and let the photos speak for themselves. https://www.flickr.com/photos/121411995@N07/sets

 

[The_Traveler]

I got started doing this 5 years ago by offering to shoot a house for free, just to get my photos in the local Multiple Listing Service. They really stand out, even in thumbnails and they catch people's attention, even if they don't buy the home, it draws attention to the agent with good photos... Now, 700+ photo-shoots later, the agents come to me. Some agents don't care about their photos but the ones that realize that professional photos sells homes will seek out a pro. If they sell one home from better photos, they are already WAY ahead in terms of bottom-line profits for the year. I've had several tell me: "I sold that home in three days and I believe it was your photos that did it!"...

My neighbor is a realtor and I did two houses for him as a favor (500+ and 780+)
Less than an hour each- but of course I'm not a pro.
Listings looked great
The houses sold in 4 day/6 days.
So he showed up with a check and gave me a couple more to shoot.
In fact I just shot his house before a remodel.

It's not rocket science, it's fun for me and I wait until the house closes for the money.
It's definitely not a live-on-this-income but I use the occasional fee for poker money.

 

[snowbear]

I saw a CL listing a while back for a business that is doing this. They were looking for people wanting a little extra money - just send a portfolio of interior and exterior shots. The company supplied the equipment for consistency, and (I suppose) called you when there was a job in your area.

It is true that many of the listing photos are crappy. I constantly see, what is obviously the same house, on multiple listings.

 

[Steve5D]

This is an article which, while it doesn't deal specifically with professional photography, does mention it, and it certainly suggests that agents see a real value in it, to wit:

We posted professional photos online and never had to put up a ‘For Sale’ sign.

“Professional photographs are a must to create a strong online presence.”

South Charlotte News

Read more here: South Charlotte neighborhoods are seeing houses sell quickly
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