The Hall of Shame for Worst Realtor Photos

I’ve written in the past about the really bad photos that can be seen on far too many MLS listings. When I wrote this article back in September 2006, someone somehow recognized the house and sent a link to the Seller who in turn informed his agent. That agent contacted me and threw a fit so I took the photo down, even though there was no referrence to the specific address or even the area of Austin in which the listing was located. It was somewhat amusing to me that the agent was so angry at me about a photo he took and chose to place on an MLS listing.

Well check this out. That was just one photo in one blog article and one agent, and I took heat for it. I wonder what sort of flak Canadian Realtor Norm Fisher is going to catch for putting up a gallery of 30 terrible photos (see link at bottom of this article) that he pulled from his local MLS. He says it only took him about 30 minutes of browsing listings to assemble the 30 photos. I believe it. The same could be done here in Austin. But he went through the trouble of placing the photos into a talking slideshow, where he delivers deadpan commentary about each photo. I’m not sure which cracks me up more – the photos and commentary, or the Canadian accent backed up by the soft, romantic instrumental music. It’s great stuff. A link to the slideshow along with a story about it was in todays Realtor Magazine Online email digest. I’m sure he’s going to getting a lot of hits to his website from that article. Then eventually the agents who’s photos are featured on his slideshow will be calling him to complain and make excuses and demand the photo be removed.

Bravo to Norm Fisher of Royal LePage of Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada for a clever, funny and somewhat campy presentation. There is a serious point being made though – when you hire a Realtor, check out the current listings of that Realtor to see how your home will be presented.

OK, here is the link to the Hall of Shame for Worst Realtor Photos

6 thoughts on “The Hall of Shame for Worst Realtor Photos”

  1. Very funny, but sadly very true. I’m amazed that many, many agents will still only put one photo up and a poor one at that. Let’s see, you drove all the way to the property but only took one photo? Go figure…..

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  2. ‘Hmm. There appears to be a nuclear bomb going off in your backyard.’ Dayum!

    Those were pretty bad – I don’t think the agents that used those photos can appreciate the fact that poor marketing of the home constitutes poor marketing of themselves. To be fair though, is it safe to say that some pictures are taken by the agent without much choice – i.e., the seller needs to get their act together and clean the house, mow the yard, fix some exterior blemishes, etc.? The agents only have so much time to get the photos uploaded in the MLS (48 hours from the time they accept the listing), or they get fined – right?

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  3. The PHOTOS are HORRIFIC…the descriptions worse. QUIET is often spelled QUITE. SEPARATE is spelled seperate. And it goes on and on…Is this a nation of real estate agent illiterates when SPELLCHECK is readily available. Either I get my real estate license and show Austin what a professional,intelligent, well educated, creative person can do, or I should lend my talents out as a photographer/writer for the agents. It is APPALLING to me, as I am trying to do research for my relocation, but it is nary impossible with such feeble descriptions, incomplete ones, and wretched pictures. And they show NO IIMAGINATION and have not helped their sellers STAGE the house to look a bit appealing. Some even take photos of FLAWS…it’s AMAZING; so thank you for your blog, as I don’t feel alone on an island.

    I would like to spend $200k-want either small swimmers pool or play pool or community pool. Need “location,location” (yes, I know budget doesn’t include Lakeway–but need only nice one level house with 3 bed/min. 2 baths, garage & 2000 sq. feet. What area do you suggest for my requirements? Is it true that Pflugerville is declining in value, as there were some listings that had potential on another site, but someone told me that would be a bad buy. Would appreciate your assistance, if you have time and are motivated.

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  4. That’s HI-Larious! I loved that website of bad photos. The best part is the Realtor’s accent and his dry comments about each photo. Good stuff.

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