Photos of messy houses

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Sometimes, I need to make photos of houses which have not been staged or are very cluttered. Do you charge for fixing the mess? Moving furniture, clean debris, store toothbrushes, take leaves out of pool, etc...or is it just part of our job?
 
Is not your job to present their house - if they can't be bothered to mow the lawns and bring in their underwear from the line, then why should you? Unless you're being paid enough of course..

I used to do typesetting and would correct people's shitty spelling; then their crappy grammar. In the end someone got tetchy with me because I'd corrected his rubbish so heavily. I guess he was partly annoyed I'd showed him up and partly annoyed the writing wasn't 'him' any more. I stopped doing it then.

Same with houses - unless the realtor asks, or the vendor asks, and pays, forget it.

If you're of a mind to ignore my advice, please come and photograph my house.. and mow the lawns, paint the roof, wash the windows etc etc. I'll only pay you for the photo though! :)
 
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No, it's not part of the job...unless you say it is. For my bit, I have finally put my foot down on local clients and clearly tell them I am not a cleaning or staging service and, most importantly, I will NOT photograph unkempt or compromised properties that make the agent and the photographer look unprofessional. I used to straighten and clean with the best of them...even coil up hoses, make beds, take shampoo and medications off vanities, replace lightbulbs, etc, and finally realized I was doing THEIR job! Your business cannot afford to (literally) look bad and neither should the agent's.

Now, they know I can (and will) walk away AND charge up to 50% of the session price for my trouble - and they get zero photos! Good news is, they are all far more cooperative. The last thing you need is for agents to tell each other, "Oh, the photographer will do that." No!

So, I'd recommend @lalvar40 that you remind them of the most basic PURPOSES of your images: (1) To attract buyers, and (2) give buyers and sellers an an example of the listing agent's professionalism, and (3) to show a property in the best and most undistracted ways possible. You MAY lose some clients, but you will make up for that with an elevated/more enlightened market reputation.
 
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Sometimes, I need to make photos of houses which have not been staged or are very cluttered. Do you charge for fixing the mess? Moving furniture, clean debris, store toothbrushes, take leaves out of pool, etc...or is it just part of our job?
Hi there...I photograph houses all the time. I think the key to your conversation is to have your Realtor prep the people by explaining what THEY have to do to make it presentable for their online presence. Within reason, I will remove items to make it better, but if all of a sudden I feel that this is a major time factor, I just tell the Realtor to be there with me and help. They will soon instruct the seller on what to do to make things easier for all parties involved.
 
I am BOTH a Real Estate Broker and Photographer. I prep my buyers by saying I am not a cleaner/stager and tell other Agents the same. Other than 'putting a toilet seat lid down" or something minor...if the home is not ready for pics I simply say I will come back. I have even let the other agents know I charge a 'trip charge' if it is not ready for the wasted time and they have paid it...
 

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