Listing with only 1 or just exterior pictures.

Multi-Family and Apartment Investing
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Listing with only 1 or just exterior pictures.

Mercedes Williams
Member since 2023 · 20 posts · 4 votes

As I'm looking through properties I'm been noticing a lot of them with either only one picture of the exterior and nothing else. Someone who doesn't have a lot of time to look at properties right away this is kind of a turn off.

How do some of the seasoned investors approach this. Does the seller just want you to ask for more pictures to know if you're serious you'll request them?

This may be simple but if they're really trying to sell would they post more pictures to draw more interest?

Any investors have any insights?

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Jared HottleBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Cedar falls IA Waterloo, IA · Member since 2020 · 902 posts · 549 votes
3y

Could be a few reasons to do this. One is the inside looks horrible and the agent is trying to market the property to the best of their ability. Another is if it is occupied the tenant may not be the cleanest nor do they have an incentive to keep it extremely clean like a seller would. 

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  • Aaron Poling
    Realtor · WV · Member since 2018 · 454 posts · 310 votes
    3y

    Listing pictures are always a pet peeve of mine. With digital photography they are so easy to take and post. As a real estate agent it always drives me crazy when other agents only post one, or no pictures. I always wonder how their clients let them get by with it. If someone is selling on their own, it still doesn't make sense. The data on how many more views listings with 6 or more pics is crazy, doesn't make sense not to do it. In some cases it may lead to an opportunity, because if you inquire and its a good deal, potentially that listing will have less competition for you to bid against. 

    Good Luck! Aaron

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  • Jared HottleBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Cedar falls IA Waterloo, IA · Member since 2020 · 902 posts · 549 votes
    3y

    Could be a few reasons to do this. One is the inside looks horrible and the agent is trying to market the property to the best of their ability. Another is if it is occupied the tenant may not be the cleanest nor do they have an incentive to keep it extremely clean like a seller would. 

    [email protected]319-288-5382
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  • Michael Dumler
    Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Mercedes Williams, if there's only one listing photo of the exterior, more often than not the interior is in terrible condition or it is tenant occupied. In this case, there's nothing wrong with contacting the listing agent to see if they can provide any interior photos. You would think that providing as many photos as possible would benefit the seller and weed out unmotivated buyers, but some property owners are just uptight about it. 

    0Reply
  • Reed Rickenbach
    Real Estate Broker · Memphis, TN · Member since 2020 · 202 posts · 203 votes
    3y

    In my market (Memphis) this is usually due to the property being tenant occupied. I would look at this as more of a good thing (opportunity) than bad. If a property is mis-marketed that will give you a better chance for less competition. 

    1Reply
  • Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
    Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    3y

    Lots of fish in that ocean-Next!

    0Reply
  • Mercedes Williams
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    3y

    Thanks for all of the responses. I can see  more angles and reasons now due to everyone's responses. Ill look at it as a good thing and do my DD to check out these properties that fit my range whether they have pictures or not. Analyzing it and seeing if it will fit my criteria is the most import thing regardless of the lack of pictures.

    0Reply
  • Mercedes Williams
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Bjorn Ahlblad:

    Lots of fish in that ocean-Next!


     Im looking more in multi- family so they're are some properties available they're just seeming hard to find or not an area that has many amenities accessible or close to any major highways that would make them more attractive to rentors. 

    0Reply
  • Mercedes Williams
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 20 posts · 4 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Reed Rickenbach:

    In my market (Memphis) this is usually due to the property being tenant occupied. I would look at this as more of a good thing (opportunity) than bad. If a property is mis-marketed that will give you a better chance for less competition. 


     Good points, I guess the tenant occupied part is a good reason to not have pictures that I overlooked.

    1Reply
  • Patrick DruryBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH & Cleveland OH · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y

    @Mercedes Williams
    Pretty common in Columbus and Cleveland with tenant-occupied properties. Also, a lot of listings are curb offers only. 

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  • Patrick Fanning
    Rental Property Investor · Rocky Hill, CT · Member since 2019 · 42 posts · 20 votes
    3y

    @Mercedes Williams

    Like others here have said, I like when there aren't many pictures because it limits the competition. I've bought 3 deals off the MLS this way, all of them had terrible and few pictures.

    0Reply
  • Tyler Fontaine
    Property Manager · Member since 2022 · 196 posts · 125 votes
    3y

    Generally this is because the property is beat up or because the tenants inside are creating issues. As a serious investor, I actually love seeing this. It automatically weeds out people who aren't prepared for these types of situations and makes it so there is less competition usually.

    0Reply
  • Hersh ShahBusiness Member
    Realtor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 117 posts · 78 votes
    3y

    @Mercedes Williams,

    This is typically because there are tenants in place and most investors don't want to share with the tenants that they are selling the property. Getting pictures and such will tip off the tenants.

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  • Mark Wright
    Real Estate Agent · Adirondacks, NY · Member since 2018 · 51 posts · 16 votes
    3y

    As others have said, for places with tenants in place, it's common to not always get interior photos.

    In general, around here at least, almost all properties that have little or no interior photos implies that the property is too ugly on the inside to show photos of...

    The flip side- I've gone to see a total fixer-upper property that only had 3 listings photos.  One of the 2 houses on the lot had some fantastic characteristics that you wouldn't have known about unless scheduling a showing.

    0Reply
  • Mark F.
    Rental Property Investor · Northern NJ · Member since 2019 · 672 posts · 677 votes
    3y

    It's how I picked up property #2. What's the problem? This means there's less traffic and attention. David Greene even touched on this on the latest podcast #718 I believe.

    Houses that have a s hitty realtor who does a horrible job making a listing means your offer is going to be more competitive. People like you will say "oh man I don't even want to bother getting more info" and move right along. So other investors will come in and put in a little work to see if the deals worth it.

    To work around this you just contact the agent and go see it. Run your numbers assuming it needs at minimum paint and flooring, new kitchen and bathroom. Then you base your offer on how much you have to dump in. Simple as that.

    1Reply
  • Walter JonesBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2018 · 100 posts · 100 votes
    3y

    Great insight on this thread. I take a pause on the listings with one picture and go a little deeper into rents, comps, etc., knowing plenty of people will pass it over. We have an investment addendum I present with a tenant occupied offer - it gives us the right to see the inside, usually within 72 hours. This is done before giving earnest money and paying for an inspection. We can reject it for any reason and move on to the next one, or schedule the inspection and move forward.

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  • Patricia Steiner
    Real Estate Broker · Hyde Park Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    Made you ask, made you look, right?  The biggest deception in real estate are photos - I've visited properties that looked absolutely nothing like the photos.  And, when a listing agent displays 35 photos, why go and see it?  You've seen it (or in some form of photo shopped, virtually staged, virtually landscaped form).  While one photo is not the best marketing play by any means, protecting the privacy of the occupants should far outweigh the right of someone to sit home in their pajamas and view not only the property but all of it's contents.  Realtors and investors need to mitigage risk while marketing their properties...one photo is not enough but you don't need 20 to generate interest while preserving privacy.  

    Best...

    1Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Mercedes Williams:

    As I'm looking through properties I'm been noticing a lot of them with either only one picture of the exterior and nothing else. Someone who doesn't have a lot of time to look at properties right away this is kind of a turn off.

    How do some of the seasoned investors approach this. Does the seller just want you to ask for more pictures to know if you're serious you'll request them?

    This may be simple but if they're really trying to sell would they post more pictures to draw more interest?

    Any investors have any insights?


     Very common for tenant occupied properties not to have interior photos. To be competitive you'll need to get comfortable making offers without interior photos.

    0Reply
  • David Dachtera
    Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Mercedes Williams:

    As I'm looking through properties I'm been noticing a lot of them with either only one picture of the exterior and nothing else. Someone who doesn't have a lot of time to look at properties right away this is kind of a turn off.

    How do some of the seasoned investors approach this. Does the seller just want you to ask for more pictures to know if you're serious you'll request them?

    This may be simple but if they're really trying to sell would they post more pictures to draw more interest?

    Any investors have any insights?


    In my recent search, I've found that some listings with only one pic - usually front exterior - are tenant-occupied.

    For what it's worth ... 

    1Reply
  • Mike Hasson
    Specialist · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 110 posts · 102 votes
    3y

    I once had a home for sale in a bad part of town. Vacant homes in this area were targeted by squatters, copper thieves, and so many other disreputable characters.

     Since the day the for sale sign went up in that yard, the house was cased out multiple times per day. And I knew because I was living in it! After about the 5th day of people looking over my fence, through my windows, and attempting open my doors, I took the for sale sign out of the yard and had all interior pictures taken down. My realtor was not a fan of the idea but understood that safety was obviously priority here.

    So we just had the pictures on hand, and gladly sent them to anyone who inquired. This is probably a one-in-a-million situation, but a possible reason why someone might not want to show the inside of their home to the world.

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