Entreprenuer Seeking Thoughts of Realtors

**Jewelled_One** · 01-23-2010, 06:08 PM

Hello Everyone,

I had a business idea that I think might be of use to Real Estate Agents, but, seeing that I am in a rural area, I'm not sure how useful it might currently be considering the state of the economy. I was hoping to run this past some experienced agents who might be able to provide me with some insight or further ideas.

One of the most frustrating things that my husband and I encountered as we were house hunting was the various problems with property pictures on website listings. By that I mean, there were no pictures, minimal pictures, bad quality pictures, etc. As a result of that, one of my ideas was to offer my services as a real estate photographer to real estate agents.

-- Is this a service that Realtors would find useful (even in this economy)?
-- If so, what sort of fees would you pay per job, per month, per year, for retainer, etc?
-- Is this a service by itself would be useful or would be more useful packaged with another service that I could provide?

Any thoughts anyone might have I would really appreciate!

Sincerely,

Julie

**BoiseRealEstateSoup** · 01-26-2010, 08:23 AM

I hire a photographer for nearly every listing that I have. It usually costs me about $45-$50 depending on the size of the house. At that point, it's my responsibility to make sure they get uploaded to the MLS and any other virtual tour software that I want.

You biggest barrier to entry will be justifying your price based on the quality of photos that you take.

The Photographer I use is professional, understands not only how to compose a good shot, but can use editing software to really make the photo sparkle.

It's not a bad idea for a business, but you may have some tough competition as far as quality goes, but there is always a chance that you could take some photography lessons.

I highly doubt someone would pay an annual or monthly fee. Its usually per home.

**TexasLeaseHouses** · 01-31-2010, 01:24 AM

There are definitely services like this already and if you're really good, you can certainly get some great referrals out of this. The only ones that would agree to monthly/annual fees are those that consistently do a certain # of transactions already - providing you offer a killer deal.

Good luck on this venture if you decide to take it!
P.S. You can also submit your photos to the stock photography places.