Have you ever searched for a rental property online and decided to inspect it based on the photos you saw? You’d think this would be ok? Of course. Why wouldn’t you? It should be reasonable to assume property images used for advertising be both relatively and reflectively current.
What then of advertising with thirteen year old photographs? In this example, what some saw was far from what they got. What they saw was a grossly misrepresented property.
I think it would be fair to assume that most if not all prospective tenants would have pulled up there, laughed and/or shuddered and kept driving. But not before dropping off some respect for reputation in the gutter.
‘Despair’ was the word echoed by the owner. Imagine pulling up to the kerb. Thinking you can’t possibly be at the right property. How could my property be in this awful state, when the reports said everything was fine? Your expectation slamming into reality. Head on. Shock.
What’s more and quite astonishingly, a ‘To Let’ board had been installed in the front. Next to the skew-whiff letterbox. A terrible branding campaign for an agency given the message portrayed by the immediate surrounding imagery.
It got me to thinking, what is the general attitude towards a ‘rental’ property? It’s not ‘just a rental’. To my mind, it’s someone’s castle. And as an agent, I am the keeper of that fort. I was honoured to help get this fort back on track and take over the reigns. Onwards to a happily ever after.
Moral of the story: Owners, attend routine inspections yourself at least once a year. Eye spy with my little eye. Keep the b******s honest. Ensure you receive written reports with photographs of your property twice a year. Engage an annual garden maintenance program. Each time your property is vacated, request new photos for the marketing and consider offering vehicle reversing training to your tenant!
At Step Up Property, we pay attention and endeavour to update our managed property photographs as they become available to market. Accurate representation. We invite owners to routine inspections. What you see is what you get. Drawbridge up!
Jaylee
