Getting enraged at “Awaiting image”

I’m helping a few clients look for homes at the moment and spending a bit more time on property websites than usual. Normally, I’ll be checking our own properties or looking for comparables for valuations but now I’m having to look  from the buyers end a bit more.  I will be the first to admit I’m not a patient man at the best of times so, whilst doing this, I have found myself getting just a little bit enraged at some common habits;

“XXXX agents are pleased to present”

Of course you’re pleased but I don’t need to know! Don’t waste my time, just tell me about the property.

No floorplans

Seriously guys, its the 21st century.  Make a bit of effort, you’ll get more interest and I’ll won’t have to puzzle out your details.

Rubbish photos

Did you check them before you uploaded them onto the computer? You did? And you put them on anyway? Sheesh.

Awaiting image

You know that the first time a property goes on the net, it gets auto mailed to those buyers who’ve registered for updates. If you haven’t added the photos (or much else half the time), that’s what the buyers get to see and they don’t get resent it unless it drops in price by a certain percentage. Would you bother clicking on something without a photo? No, I didn’t think so.

What puts you off a property on Rightmove?

Opinions needed! When you’re looking at properties on the internet, what puts you off contacting the agent/requesting more details? We’ve been discussing this issue with our clients over the past month and have already heard some interesting opinions, so we thought it would be a good time to collect together some opinions and see if any patterns develop.

As agents, we know buyers want to see the maximum amount of information on the web. They expect multiple photos, floor plans, plenty of description and local information – if these items aren’t in place, we understand entirely why buyers would be put off. However, we’ve also heard from current clients about some more idiosyncratic “personal triggers”, preconceptions, assumptions or generalizations that turn them off particular homes. As a starter, here’s some thoughts from our canvassing so far;

” If I see photos with the lights on, I assume the house is normally dark so I don’t bother seeing it”

“If the agent only puts three photos on the web, we think those are carefully chosen and the rest of the house is horrible”

“If the main picture is of the inside, I always wonder if the outside is ugly”

“If the agent doesnt make any effort with describing the house, they must think its awful themselves”

“Less is more – if the initial text is more than a line or two, I don’t bother reading further”

“The main picture should always be on the front of the house. Also any outside pictures should reflect the season – I don’t want to pick up details of a house in the spring if the photos show snow in the garden – highlights the facts it’s been up for sale for ages!”

“.. if there is no picture of say a kitchen or a bathroom for a property on Rightmove I’m inclined to think it must be in a state and the agent is trying to hide it so you end up being less inclined to enquire further of that particular one, even if it needs work, I would rather see it all.”

Please do let us know your thoughts by commenting below, contacting us on Twitter or Facebook (Madison_Oakley or www.facebook.com/MadisonOakleyEA) or emailing at carey@madisonoakley.co.uk.

Postscript – following retweets from Rightmove of this post and even a related thread on the housepricecrash forum, the following results are up to date as of 17th May 2012;

27% of respondents suggested quality/number of photos

9% of respondents suggested lack of outside photo

12% of respondents suggested badly written descriptions

24% of respondents suggested the price

12% of respondents suggested price caveats like “Fixed Price”, “Offers Over” or POA

3% of respondents suggested misnaming rooms (size of bedrooms being the most common bugbear)

6% of respondents suggested lack of floorplans

3% of respondents suggested lack of postcode or map software

Bath student properties for 2012 academic year

Looking for student accommodation for the 2012 academic year? The season is just about to start, with most agents advertising either just before or just after Christmas. This year, Madison Oakley will be releasing all our student properties via Facebook on the 1st of December so, for priority notification of all our student properties, visit and like our Facebook page.

All our student properties are accredited and managed by local landlords. We have upwards of 50 properties ranging from 3 beds up to 7 beds in areas like Oldfield Park, Moorfields, Widcombe, Southdown, Wellsway, Newbridge and the city centre.

Students will be pleased to know we do not charge “admin fees” to tenants and always conduct individual viewings. We also provide floorplans and internal photos on every property to make your search easier. However, in return, we do ask that all members of a group view at the same time.

Once all properties have been released onto Facebook, we will update our other websites with full details.

November in the Bath property market

November in Bath - the Christmas lights have been switched on by Mr Cleese, it’s dark by 4ish and you can tell many agents have (at least mentally) shut up shop for the winter. Most owners think they’d be mad to put their property on the market now and the overwhelming majority of agents I speak to have been busily reinforcing this with their clients all month. Stock levels across the city reflect this, with only 763 homes advertised (as opposed to an average of 960 in the summer months). Why sell now when you can wait till March/April and you’ll have the spring market to take advantage of?

Let’s think outside the usual box. I’m a big fan of January marketing in Bath – the supply levels have dropped rapidly over the winter months and most owners don’t wake up from hibernation until Easter. The canny seller can place their property onto a market heaving with frustrated buyers, safe in the knowledge that they will be one of the very few until March. Early Spring (if you can classify January as that!) often brings competitive bidding on quality properties – after all, some of the buyers NEED to move and, if your home is the only one on offer of its type, you might be very pleasantly surprised at the result.

However, some of the same argument can be used for marketing BEFORE Christmas. If supply levels have already dropped 23%, you might find your competition has disappeared for the moment. Having released a new property last Monday, we have been frankly staggered at the response from active buyers and have already agreed a sale at a “summer” price to cash buyers. Another home that buyers pulled out of last Tuesday is already back under offer at exactly the same price agreed in August (and in half the time). Viewers tell me they are struggling to find anything to look at, offers this month already exceed numbers received in September and there are plenty of investors looking to buy in readiness for the 2012 academic year.

Arguments against selling this side of Christmas? The local property paper takes a winter break from the 1st week of December, some solicitors won’t be around much over Christmas, evening viewings are a bit of a nightmare all round and travelling into town during the Christmas Market is best avoided!

Given I’m writing this on the 21st of November, I think we can agree that time is against us this year but do remember the advice for next year – if you’d like to be a big fish in an empty pond, try selling in November or January.

Property descriptions from estate agents

What do you think of the descriptions estate agents use on property details? Platitudinous claptrap or aspirational language?  Below are three sets of examples;

1) Generous accommodation, highly desirable, an exciting opportunity has arisen, latest in modern convenience, superbly presented, charming and unique, excellent position, stunning example, highly individual and unique, unlock the next level in modern living, echo the elegance of neoclassical design whilst delivering clean lines, we are favoured with instructions on, elegantly proportioned, well maintained, enviable access, classically styled, generously proportioned, favoured location, tastefully extended and modernised, stunning combination of contemporary design and efficient practicality, inspirationally designed, pleasing melange. (Taken from properties advertised today on Rightmove in Bath)

2) Darkest Pimlico. Seedy FAMILY HOUSE two rooms in basement, ground, 1^st and 2^nd floor and attic room on 3^rd. Decor! – peeling, faded and fly-blown. Garden – good for Westminster – all of 20ft. Lease 80yrs. G.R £60p.a. If you are too late to secure this gem we have a spare along the road rather more derelict. A lightly built member of our staff negotiated the basement stair but our Mr Halstead went crashing through. (Roy Brooks – Mud, Straw & Insults)

3) Trippy two bedroom Victorian terrace house right in the heart of the town. Hall, sitting room, kitchen/dining room, lobby, bathroom garden & on street parking. Suit someone from the cider & mushroom crowd. (The Real Ralph Bending Estate Agent)

The first example is a collection of the worst kind of meaningless drivel estate agents are famous for. Coming from the same lexicon as “compact and bijou”, it’s this type of language that contributes to the industry  not only having a reputation for untrustworthiness but also being a target for comedy. 

Roy Brooks was justly famous in the 1950′s and 60′s for his delightfully truthful property ads in the Sunday Times and Observer. To quote from the introduction to his fabulous compilation – “In a trade well known for its euphemisms, optimistic cliches and skilful literary camouflage, he won the delighted applause of the property-buying public”. 

Ralph Bending currently operates out of Glastonbury and is banned from advertising in his local newspaper. The Daily Telegraph called his website “the site we wish every estate agent would write”.

So, what is the RIGHT kind of property ad?

1) Think about how to set out the text – the limit is approximately 300 characters on most websites to make the maximum impression. If this text fails to impress, the potential buyer won’t “click through” to see the rest. The same is true of newspaper ads. Start with a headline phrase to draw the reader in then give them the information THEY want. Think about the USP’s (unique selling points) of the property and highlight those. Draft several versions and take the time to get it right!

2) Be truthful – this doesn’t mean you can’t use evocative/romantic/atmospheric terms as long as they fit the product. “Luxuriate on squishy sofas in front of a crackling blaze” works in a rural 18th century cottage!

3) Ban all cliches – anything remotely identifiable as “agent speak” needs to be removed forevermore.

4) Attention to detail – spelling and grammar need to be spot on every time. Learn how to stop spelling “accommodation” and that “dining room” doesn’t have two n’s.

For examples of our property descriptions, visit our website.