How to choose a realtor

As you might imagine, we see a lot of homes for sale. While most of our clients are San Diego realtors, we shoot a fair amount of listings for homeowners, developers, property managers, tradesmen, contractors and San Diego vacation rental owners. Over the years and after photographing thousands of listings, some things become readily apparent to a real estate photographer. The following are just observations from my perspective that you might find helpful when it's time to find a realtor to list your property for sale.

The quality of the photography and other marketing content from your realtor's past listings is a very helpful indicator. If your realtor's past listings have high quality imagery and video you can expect they are serious about selling your home at the highest price point. Professional real estate photography and video in San Diego is not cheap, but the most successful San Diego realtors know the importance of showing your home in the best possible light. If your prospective realtor's past listings look like amateur iPhone pictures, that's a big clue.

We had a San Diego real estate photo shoot recently in Carlsbad with one of our regular realtor clients just a few doors down from a previous listing on the same street with the same realtor. The homeowner and realtor were there and we got to talking about photography. The homeowner made it perfectly clear that the photography from his neighbor's listing was what prompted him to call the same realtor. He knew intuitively that he wanted a realtor that was going to provide the highest quality marketing content to help him sell his home at the highest price point and you should too.

The preparation of your home for photos and showings is another key factor when it comes to finding the right realtor. From my point of view, the preparation and staging are where the right realtor can really make a difference in how much interest is generated by your listing content, how many people show up at an open house, and ultimately, how much you get for your property.

I think you'd be surprised at how involved the top realtors are in terms of getting a home ready for sale. It can take weeks or months to fully prepare a home for sale and the best realtors are involved in every step of the process. They have a team of vendors that includes contractors, electricians, painters, cabinet makers, masons, inspectors, landscapers, pool and spa maintenance pros, tree trimmers, window cleaners, home stagers, etc. A good realtor will be able to advise you what repairs will offer the highest return on investment and what repairs to forego. They will know who to call and when to call them.

When the home is as perfect as it can be, our team arrives for the listing photography and video. It's not uncommon for the realtor to be there putting the finishing touches on all the important details and reviewing the photos in the camera insuring all the important angles and features of the home are captured.

Staging a vacant home with contemporary furniture that compliments the architecture is another key element that all of the most successful realtors are very familiar with. Staging is not cheap, but worth the price from what I've seen. Photography of a vacant room just doesn't sell it like a professionally staged room will. If you have a vacant home, especially a custom home, expect a good realtor to push for staging or partial home staging.

Another consideration has to do with not inconveniencing you any more than needed. Chances are good you are living in the home while it's being prepped and photographed. A good realtor will make every effort to minimize the inconvenience to you, the homeowner, while repairs are being made and when it's time for the San Diego real estate photography. On larger homes and estates, we'll bring our entire team in to minimize the time we are in the home at the request of the realtor. Some realtors and brokerages offer access to their own internal networks of buyers and investors should you like to avoid the conventional process of listing on MLS, doing open houses, or have other circumstances that suggest a more private transaction should take place.

Check out the social media content of any realtors you may be considering. You'll get a good sense of the type of marketing content they are providing for their clients as well as what they are doing to market their own brand. You can tell a lot from reviewing Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. The San Diego real estate photography and video should represent how you would like to see your home represented.

While experience counts for a lot when selecting a realtor, don't overlook a new realtor who is just starting out. What they may lack in terms of numbers of transactions, they more than make up for with a genuine enthusiasm and desire to get your home sold. Usually, newer realtors are supported by Team Managers and Brokers that can bring many years of market knowledge and experience to the table.

The very first opportunity to generate interest in your home in the marketplace is when the San Diego real estate photography, San Diego real estate videography, San Diego real estate Matterport 3D virtual tours and San Diego real estate Drone Photography first appear in the MLS. That's why you want a realtor that takes special care in providing professional marketing content that tells the best possible story of your home.

If you see our team show up for your San Diego real estate photography, you've got the right realtor.