I’m often asked by home owners when they’re selling their home, why I stress so much the importance of having really good and appealing pictures of their home to use to promote their property online. They sometimes get fussy with me when I suggest that they clear off the clutter from their kitchen counter or their bedroom floor.

They often question why I think it’s necessary to have the beds made and the dishes done and put up. Some of the objections I get are “Well we’re not selling our dishes so why does it matter if the buyer doesn’t like them?” or “We’ll just make sure to have the house clean before anyone comes to see it”.

Here’s why it matters.

Home buyers are looking at hundreds of different homes that they may be interested in from the comfort of their own home. It’s not costing them any money to take a peek at the inside of your home. It’s not taking up too much of their time and they don’t even have to let you know that they saw your bed unmade.

They can sit at home, in their office, on a beach or a deck and take a look at that sink full of dishes, check out your collectibles on the kitchen table and even see the dirty clothes on the floor!

They can eliminate any further interest by the click of a mouse. They can determine that there is not enough storage in the house because your using the kitchen table or counter as storage, they can determine that there is no dishwasher in the house because you haven’t washed the dishes, they can decide that if your too lazy to make your bed, knowing that a virtual stranger will be looking at it, then you’re probably too lazy to keep up the maintenance on the house, repair all the little things that need repairing or even keep the house clean!

Click your gone!

As a result of the pictures and the pictures alone, you have given a potential buyer absolutely no reason to get up of their couch and actually come see your home, let alone even making an offer.

Great pictures which show off your homes features are VERY important. They should entice a buyer to want to walk through your front door. They should encourage them to spend time and money to actually see all these rooms in reality.

You will only have one chance to make a great impression and that chance comes in the form of really great pictures. Make sure that the Realtor you choose to list your home for sale, knows and stresses the importance of good quality pictures and takes as many as possible to promote your home online.