There are many things that can’t be controlled in the process of selling your home, so at Leaf, Realtors, we aim to leave nothing to chance whenever possible and we hire experts for each component of our home marketing instead of doing it ourselves.  For example, we don’t claim to be experts at photography or internet website design — instead, we hire the best in each of these areas of expertise and our role is to orchestrate their work for outstanding results.  Because of this approach, we often hear from our clients that their experience working with Leaf, Realtors is unlike any of their prior real estate experiences.
With respect to our approach to photographing our clients’ houses — Have you ever noticed the different quality of real estate photographs on the internet?  At Leaf, Realtors, we prioritize making sure that a home looks its best in pictures on the internet because this is an essential component to the successful marketing of a home.  We focus on the details and often-overlooked components of real estate photography to show off our clients’ homes in the best possible light.
1) Top-notch professional photography.  We chose our photographer after reviewing the work of several photographers because we like the tone of his photographs and how warm and inviting they make our clients’ homes look.  First, we plan ahead for weather, which can be tricky, as different homes require different conditions — do we want to have interior shots with sunlight streaming in or more diffuse light characteristic of a bright, but overcast day?  For exterior shots, we consider where the sun is in relationship to the house to determine the time of day to shoot the exterior, and we evaluate whether a home would be suitable for photography at dusk.  On interiors, we collaborate with our photographer in the setup of many shots and discuss solutions to spatial obstacles so as to reach the best photographic solution to the marketing message that we want to send to prospective buyers.  Our photographer’s work is processed digitally so it’s a seamless process for us to upload home photos to multiple locations on the internet.
2) Staging to set the scene.  Some houses just look great naturally, and some need a little bit of attention to details when it comes to preparing them for buyer showings so we counsel our clients on what they can do to make their homes more appealing to prospective buyers.   We also make sure that our clients’ homes look great not just in real life for buyers but also in each shot that’s going to appear on the internet.  Many non-broker real estate sites limit the number of photographs to 25 photographs or less, so we have to make sure each shot is perfect.  One way we do this is by bringing props to our photography shoots — flowers, plants, bath towels, fruit bowls, etc. to accent the features of the room represented in a neutral way.  This process literally takes hours of our time, but we believe it’s time well-invested, as we only have one chance to make a first impression with a buyer looking online.
Take a look first-hand at our listings and how they stand out from the crowd on line.  For more information about these properties and/or our evolved approach to real estate marketing, contact Leaf, Realtors at 908-975-9756.