New Photo Policy

Thursday 24 January 2008

Making Sure All Listings Have Photos

Missing photos consistently rank as one of the top-five listing violations each month. Our subscribers often tell us that, of all common listing errors, a missing photo is the most detrimental when it comes to presenting a property to a client.

To eliminate fines for missing photos, and to ensure all listings on MLXchange have a photograph, the Board of Directors voted to institute a new photo policy as of February 20, 2008. Under the new policy, no listing can be activated without a photo. Listings submitted without a photo will be placed in a temporary holding area, giving the listing agent time to secure a photo and upload it to MLXchange.

This policy represents a significant change in two ways:

The previous policy allowed up to 7 business days for a listing agent to upload a photo; the new policy requires a photo before the listing can be made active.

The previous policy also afforded an Association Loaded option, whereby a photographer hired by MFRMLS would provide a photo within 7 business days. Because the new policy requires a frontal exterior photo immediately, the Association Loaded option is no longer practical, and it will not be available as of March 1, 2008.

Savvy Realtors® already know that a good photograph can make a big difference when trying to market a home, and the best photos are often the photos you take yourself. Here are a couple of points to remember when uploading your photos:

• All properties require a photo except vacant land.
• The first photo must be a frontal exterior of the property.
• Photos cannot contain names, phone numbers, or logos.