A 2008 survey by the National Association of Realtors found that 87 percent of home buyers use the Internet to search for homes before they start pounding the pavement - and that means “your photographs need to be top-notch,” says Maureen Reddy, owner of DaVinci Designer Gallery, an interior design and staging firm in Winthrop.

Some realtors will absorb the expense of photography upfront; if yours doesn't, find a photographer yourself who specializes in real estate.