Listing your property on meQasa.com is a very smart and efficient way to quickly sell or rent it out. However, there’s one more thing you can do to further increase the number of people that get interested in your advertisement and will call to book viewings or even close a deal on the property. You guessed it: good pictures! After seeing the title of the property listing, the next thing a serious seeker is likely to want to see is what the property looks like. For this reason, you should put your best foot forward with your photos. Here are 5 tips on how to do just that:

1. Use What is Handy – Your Smartphone:

   Thankfully, you don’t necessarily have to be a professional photographer to get flattering images of the home you’re representing. Nowadays, most smartphones come with decent cameras, which will work just fine for the purposes of taking good pictures of the property you’re advertising for rent or sale. Besides they are more convenient as you have your phone on you at all times and are less likely to forget that than you would a bulky professional camera. Remember to keep your hand steady while you take the shot so it doesn’t come out all blurry. Alternatively, you could purchase a camera tripod to assist you.

2. Capture the Essentials:

   A listing that attracts buyers and renters has at least pictures of the following key areas: the front view of the exterior of the house, the living room, at least one bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. These make it easier for the prospective tenant to visualise themselves living in the home you’re advertising. They could also note the parts they might want to have changed if they are considering closing on the property. The pictures of the washrooms and the kitchen are especially important as they are the hardest and most expensive to change or upgrade, so you should make sure they are very clean before taking pictures showing any amenities like ovens, kitchen islands or washer-dryers.

3. Ensure the Property is Clean

   This may seem like an obvious point but it will surprise you how many agents and homeowners have had extreme difficulty selling or renting their property because they didn’t take the time to clean up before taking pictures. Move clothes off the beds, clean dishes, wipe down surfaces and sweep up. Seekers are more likely to like the place if they can envision themselves in a neat home. It is difficult enough with some properties to take flattering images for advertising purposes. Taking images of a dirty property makes the task even harder.

 
 

4. Carry a Light to Improve Lighting of Dark Interior Areas:

   When taking photos of the premises, make sure the lighting is adequate. To achieve this, try turning on all the lights in the room you’re photographing, or you could open some windows, curtains and doors to let in sunlight so pictures will be clearer and more attractive. If it’s not the sunniest day or the lights in the house are not sufficient to brighten areas of the house, you could use fluorescent lights – one of those ones that are sold in traffic and are easily attainable. Bright photos allow for a clearer picture and increase your chances of getting the viewer interested enough to contact you about buying or renting the home. Try to avoid reflections of the light in your photos or a glare effect from the lights.

5. Keep the Rooms Bare:

   Another very important thing to do is to keep the room bare of all non-essential items. This includes all furniture that is not part of the rent agreement. This is so the prospective tenant can subconsciously plan their own interior décor while looking at the bare living areas and other rooms. If the home is still going through final construction, you should still move aside any building tools and materials, rags and buckets that lessen the attractiveness of the photo. You should also avoid having people appear in the pictures.

Pictures of your property are the biggest selling point in your online advertisements. If you do not take the time to make them great, you are likely to miss out on a lot of potential clients who will move right on to the next ad that has great pictures of the property. Have some other tips on how to take attractive pictures of property for the market that work for you? Let us know in the comments below.