Disaster on the Inside or a Case of the Lazy Agent?

Gone are the days when buyers drive around an area to search out real estate or page through the Sunday paper for local listings. Today's buyers begin their search on the internet. Most of my buyers have looked at numerous listings on the web months before I even get them into my car to see properties.

One key factor to getting buyers to look at my listings on the web is including professional interior photos of the home. I would guess that nine out of ten buyers would click past a property if there were no interior photos. After all, if you can't see what's on the inside, there must be something to hide, right?

Unfortunately that is not always the case. With the number of short sales and foreclosures flooding the market, you may have a case of the "lazy agent". This was the case with our current home. We noticed the property as soon as it hit the market. It was listed at a great price but there were no interior photos. We immediately were suspicious but decided to take a look anyway because of the location. When we walked in were were SHOCKED! There were original mouldings, original french doors to the dining room, updated baths and kitchens and loads of built-ins. It was in pristine condition and we felt like we hit the real estate jackpot!

The home (shown below) was listed as a short sale and we immediately wrote an offer and closed 6 months later. Not once did I ever meet the seller's agent. No interior photos and no face to face meetings. I give you, A Case of the Lazy Agent. This is how she spelled Millionaires on the listing: MILLIONAIRS. Does it get any worse? Absolutely. 

Moral of the story: If you love the area and the home is priced right, it may be well worth a visit even if you don't see any interior photos.