15 Oct DO EXAGERATED PHOTOGRAPHS CAUSE DISAPPOINTMENT IN POTENTIAL BUYERS?

A portal says many buyers feel disappointed when viewing a property because it is typically smaller than agents’ photographs suggest.

MoveStreets claims 33 per cent of buyers in a survey said the property they viewed didn’t live up to expectations, with size – or lack of it – the cause of most disappointment.

And almost as many felt the quality of the property they saw in person was less impressive than photos led them to believe.

Many also found that the general area wasn’t as good as described with some also disappointed to find small rooms being passed off as additional bedrooms.

In total some 71 per cent of viewers felt some level of disappointment at a viewing.

Portal founder Adam Kamani says: “House hunting can be as stressful as it is exciting and it can take a considerable amount of time and effort to find your ideal home. So it’s understandably disappointing when you turn up to a home that could be ideal but turns out to be far from what was advertised online.”

He tells consumers: “Any worthwhile agent will invest in making sure the property photos are top-notch and the description does a great job of selling both a property and the wider area – even if they do have to exaggerate the truth a little.

“The best way to avoid disappointment is to check out the floor plan … all too often we overlook this when surfing online property listings.

“Utilising other resources on a local area can also help you build a better, slightly less biased opinion to the one portrayed on a listing and if possible, go and get a feel for a certain area yourself, as there’s no substitute for personal experience.”