Yesterday I received a call from a company that wanted me to photograph one of their client’s properties in Medellin. It turned out to be quite beautiful and the owners were very nice people.
Their spacious 3-bedroom apartment is available for rent and they’re also considering selling it – if the price is right.
Because they are considering selling the apartment, they made an appointment with one of the more reputable Colombian real estate companies in Medellin.
The owners told me that they liked the way that I worked and said that they would recommend me to the local agency to take their photos, if they decided to work with them.
I was flattered and grateful.
Later that day I received a personal message from the owner. Here it is:
Joel,
Just a follow up from yesterday. The other agency arrived, one with the realtor and another woman. When I queried what the other woman was there for she was to take the photographs. As we were meant to be deciding whether or not to list through them it was a little presumptuous on their part. The lady then pulled out a cheap compact camera and started taking photos. It was a point and shoot.
I pointed out that we wanted to work with an agency who took professional photographs and the agent responded that the other women had been on \’several\’ courses. At this point I asked her to stop taking photographs and that would only work with an agency that had a professional photographer. I was assured that I would get to see the photos before they were published. I assured them that if they were taken on a point and shoot, without any lighting or tripod I would reject them. I suggested that we would like to consider using you and would pay any difference. They had heard of you. Much shaking of heads.
That ended the photo part of the meeting. They didn\’t want to estimate a price until I pushed them into giving a number. I asked them what their expectation would be in the amount of time needed to sell at that price. They said \’up to a year\’.
At that point I asked them to leave.
Regards,
xyz
This experience may have shocked to the owners, but it is exactly what I expected.
Most colombian real estate agencies still don’t use professional real estate photography in their listings. One of the main reasons is that they don’t see the value in investing in pro photos. The ROI just isn’t there.
Why is that?
Well, the real estate market here isn’t like it is back in North America and Europe. Out here in Medellin it is the Wild Wild West – or should I say South.
If you see a property for rent or sale here, you won’t see just one agency’s sign in the windows. No – you’ll probably see anywhere from 2-6 agencies’ phone numbers stuck to the windows. There is generally no exclusive listing. The concept doesn’t exist.
I am not sure who is more to blame, the agencies or the property owners. The owners try to get their properties in front of as many potential renters/buyers as possible, so they list them with as many agencies as possible. This is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, they will have more agencies working for them, but on the other hand, less attention will be given to their property by each agency.
The agents show up, write down the property details, snap a few photos, list the property on their websites, and move on to the next one. Instead of being a real proactive real estate agency (a property marketing company per say), they serve more as a passive listing service.
To make things worse, they don’t invest in photos because they know that other agencies will find the photos and use them on their own listings. Hence they would be paying for photos that other companies would use to market the same properties they are selling.
This is the conundrum! Agencies are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
So what do I recommend? There are only two real solutions to this problem.
The obvious – Owners should stop listing with multiple agencies and offer exclusivity to one good agency.
Or the alternative – Agencies can use watermarks with their company logos, website addresses or phone numbers. This would deter other agencies from stealing photos.
Have you had a negative or positive experience with a Colombian real estate agency? Tell us about your experience in a comment below.
