Anna Mayer-Huls is an agent with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

Gone are the days when buyers drive around a neighborhood 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 the properties.

One key factor to getting buyers to look at my listings on the web is including professional interior photos of the home as well as floorplans. I would guess that eight out of 10 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?

That is not always the case. With the number of short sales and foreclosures flooding the market, you may pass over a “diamond in the rough” for your client. This was almost the case with my own current home.

I noticed the property as soon as it hit the market because it was listed at a great price and in an unbeatable location. The problem? There were no interior photos. I was immediately suspicious, but decided to take a look anyway because of the location. When I walked in I was 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 I felt like I hit the real estate jackpot!

The home was listed as a short sale, which had made me even more leary of the condition. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. I know this isn’t the case with every property, but it may be worth the extra 30 minutes to add that “photo-less” property to your buyer’s tour this Saturday. You may very well find them their own “diamond in the rough.”

Anna Mayer-Huls is an agent with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty. She can be reached at:

425 W. North Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Direct: 312.867.2275
Cell: 773.550.7668
Fax: 312.229.9206
Email: amayer@jamesonsir.com