Can I take pictures?
grackleflint asked:
… is it considered rude, to ask to take your own pictures?
This is a question that I get asked by more than half of my buyer-clients. It is a natural question to ask. And the answer is “maybe.”
There are a number of reasons that I have heard for why sellers don’t want you to take pictures:
1. You are photographing their possessions. These things are private.
2. You are photographing their possessions. How are the photos going to be used? Will they be published on the web without permission?
3. You are photographing their possessions. Are you casing their house for robbery?
I have compassion for sellers on this. It is very hard to open your doors to anyone who wants to show up. Open houses are frequently populated by nosey neighbors. The web is full of sites that make fun of houses (particularly listing pictures.) People who hold open houses are targeted by burglars. In short, it is not paranoid, IMHO, to restrict pictures. Yet few sellers will say “no,” if asked. I have seen sellers be offended if they were not asked.
As a buyer’s agent, I recommend that the buyer ask permission before photographing.
I also recommend limited picture-taking. Photograph only what you need to augment your memory of the place. Anything beyond that will take away from getting an overall sense of the house. I find that buyers who take lots and lots of photos or walk around with a moving camera tend to see the house through the camera lens. That gets in the way of getting an impression about whether you’d like to live there.
I’m sure you’ve seen the shutter-bug going through open houses. Do you take pictures and does it help you remember the place?
What do you think about taking pictures of houses for sale? Please tell us whether your opinion is as a seller or as a buyer.
