Ugly House Photos

This North Platte, Nebraska bedroom is not ready for buyers.

This Mesa, Arizona bedroom suffers from an identity crisis.  Is it a bedroom, a storage room, a music room, a hobby room, etc.?

Too much going on in this Sun City, Arizona bedroom.

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You only get one chance to impress, excite, entice, captivate, and attract a buyer with your real estate photo.  Get it right the first time.

Photo mosaics are confusing to buyers.

Dark photos are unacceptable.

Fish eye lens photos are a turn off.

Blurry photos don’t help sell homes.

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Here’s a suggestion for taking photos of swimming pools when selling your house:  Stir up the water first.  A flat water pool looks boring.

This swimming pool looks much more inviting.  Now you can call it a sparkling clean pool.  I’ll admit when I first started in real estate, I took pictures of calm water.  But now I will take a pool brush or net pole and slap the water to create waves, then hurry and take the picture.

Waterfall features can add a lot to a pool’s appearance.  So be sure to turn them on for the real estate photo.  A trickle of water doesn’t count.

Doesn’t this look better?

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Please enjoy these four intriguing wallpaper patterns.

Shiny & viny in Goodyear, Arizona.

It looks brand new.  Phoenix bathroom.

Spring flowers in Missoula, Montana.

Country scene repeated a thousand times.  North Platte, Nebraska.

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What is this mosaic supposed to be?  Answer is in the comments section.  From a Wickenburg, Arizona home.  The pattern is available on Etsy?

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Let’s look at the layout of two kitchens.  Who designed these kitchens?

1953 Phoenix home.  Designed for people without stoves or refrigerators or storage needs.

Oh, the oven goes on the right wall.  There’s the gas line stub.  Neat idea.  No counters or cabinets near the stove/oven.  That’s not very handy.

Where does the refrigerator go?  On the left side of the sliding door?

This is another Phoenix home that was recently updated.  Let’s put the oven and refrigerator waaaay over there.  You can heat your milk on the stove when you put it down.

Could you put the refrigerator on the other wall?  It then creates that desired kitchen triangle pattern.

They kept the original cabinets, thank you.  But didn’t include a dishwasher.  We take back our thank you.

Here’s how the kitchen looked before renovation.  They had the stove on this wall all by itself.

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Today is our 4th year anniversary!!  Congratulations to UglyHousePhotos!

Since we started four years ago, there have been 147,585,500 hits, over 12 million page views, and over 5 million unique visitors.  We’ve been averaging over 6,400 unique visitors per day in 2011.  5,685 posts and 13,900 comments.

Thank you to Dru and Nik for inspiring me to start this blog in 2007.

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This blog frequently recommends removing old wallpaper and updating an outdated house before selling.  The reason is that the seller usually sells an outdated home for less money.
However, we have to admit we were wrong.  At least one time, that is.
This 1956 Phoenix home actually sold ABOVE asking price!

Same owners since 1958!!

Check out that original stove/oven!

They listed the house for $150,000.

It sold in 2 days for $180,000!  $30,000 above asking price!!

Wood paneling did not ruin the sale.

The reason this home probably sold so quickly and for more money is that it was designed by architect Ralph Haver.  There are several subdivisions from that era in Phoenix.  They rarely go up for sale and are quickly sold when listed.  Mid-Century Modern enthusiasts scour these subdivisions for new listings.  More info on Ralph Haver here.

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Those kids are at it again.  Hogging the spotlight in real estate photos.

Lakers fans.

“I helped Mommy stack the pillows.”

“Hurry up so I can watch TV!”

The photo’s caption reads, “Child does not convey” (with the house).

Mikey is auditioning for a Life cereal commercial.

“Is my Harry Potter invisibility cloak working?”

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Please help this sad bathroom.

Mom & Dad like their kids to stay close to them, 24/7.

She’s reflecting on why the sofa cushions don’t match.

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