UGLY HOUSE METHOD

The method

It is not really ugly houses, it is ugly pictures. An ugly house is any property that is not being marketed to its full potential: dark photos, crooked framing, blown out windows, or no aerial shot at all. Those listings are the easiest doors to knock on, because you can add obvious value today.

What makes a listing a candidate

  • Low quality listing photos: dark, zoomed in too close, or poorly framed. Vertical lines should be straight.
  • No aerial shots. Properties with only ground level images are ripe for a drone makeover.
  • Blown out windows. Shot with a single exposure instead of bracketed frames, so the windows go pure white. A clear sign HDR and aerial work would transform the listing.
  • Been sitting on the market for a while without much attention.

Step 1: Search your area

  • Start close to your own house and grid outward, 10 to 20 miles.
  • Look at homes currently for sale on Zillow, Realtor.com, or your local MLS.
  • Beginners: work 5 to 10 listings a day. Volume sessions of 80 to 110 come later.

Step 2: Contact the listing agent

  • Listing platforms usually show the agent's phone or email. Their own site works too.
  • Introduce yourself and your business as a drone photography expert.
  • Offer a free photo shoot on the listing that is live right now, not their next one. A future shoot gets pocketed like a get out of jail free card and you may not hear back for months.
  • Never tell the agent their photos are bad. The score is for your targeting, not for the message.

Selling the free shoot

  • The hard part is convincing them there are no strings attached.
  • Give the reason: you allocated part of your marketing budget to free shoots this quarter instead of direct mail or Facebook and YouTube ads.
  • You live in the community and want to add real value to it.
  • You are confident enough in the work that they will use you again.
  • Add scarcity: first come first serve until the marketing budget is gone.
  • Close with: if you never use my services again, no harm, no foul.

Why agents say yes

  • Stand out from the competition. A must on higher end listings, and a game changer on lower priced ones.
  • Convert more listing appointments. Agents who bring aerial and professional HDR images into the listing presentation have gone from 2 listings out of 10 appointments to as many as 8.
  • Sell faster. Dynamic, eye catching imagery pulls more buyers in.
  • Increase perceived value. Good photography makes an older or smaller home look more valuable.
  • Give buyers a better perspective. Aerial shows proximity to parks, amenities, and views that ground level photos cannot.

Ready to work a list?

Beginners: five to ten listings a day is plenty. Consistency beats a single big session.

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