What Online Listings Don’t Tell You

Searching for homes online is convenient, but there are certain issues that are impossible to identify from behind a screen that you can only know about by seeing the home in person.

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The difference between how a real estate listing looks online and how it looks in person can be vast. There are three main issues that are nearly impossible to identify in an online listing that you need to be wary of:

1. The sizes of the rooms. Good photographers really know how to make a space look larger than normal by using wide-angle lenses and imaging software. It’s not always as clean as it looks online; sometimes it’s very hard to tell how clean a home is from the photos online. Experienced sellers that have been preparing their homes for months in advance are typically exhausted when the time comes to take photos. They may do a deep clean in the main areas, but may not necessarily clean the whole house.
2. The smell of the home. If you’ve been looking for a home for months and your agent finally sends you a listing of a perfect house that just came on the market, you’re naturally going to want to drop everything and rush to view the property immediately. Once you get there and open the door, though, your nose can get inundated with the smell of a thousand city zoos. This is a common thing that happens because nobody lists “bad smell” in their property description.
3. The quality of the neighborhood. I highly advise hanging out in a neighborhood for hours if you’re serious about purchasing a home in it. Don’t let the the online presentation persuade you into thinking that everything is perfect. If the neighbors are outside, it’s a good idea to introduce yourself and get a feel for the social culture of that street. Being there at seven in the morning and six or seven at night can give you a better feel for this type of thing.

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Good photographers know
how to make a space look bigger than it is.

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Here are some professional home shopping tips to consider when you’re looking at homes online:

• Don’t get emotionally attached.
• Use an expert advisor.
• Be patient.
• Don’t avoid listings that have bad photos.

If you have any questions, concerns, or topics that you’d like us to discuss in a future video blog, feel free to get in touch with me by email, phone, or text message. I look forward to hearing from you!