How Real Estate Photography Started My Wholesaling Career...
It was 2008 and the real estate market collapsed which brought my lucrative career as a mortgage banker to a grinding halt. Over the course of a few months I went from living a pretty great life to losing my home and scrambling for a way to feed my family. (no joke)
We were living in Florida at the time and I borrowed some money so we could limp our way back to Michigan, being closer to family made sense at that time.
Once we got back it was time to figure out a way to make some money. Mortgages weren't an option and the economy was struggling so I hopped on Craigslist one night to see what I could find.
As I scrolled down through the posts I spotted an ad that jumped out at me "Occupancy Inspector"
It sounded pretty easy... Go to a list of houses every month that were behind on their mortgage and take a couple pictures of the house to determine if anyone was living there. So I clicked reply and within days I was snapping pictures of houses.
The pay wasn't great, only $4.00 per house... But I was literally taking pictures of 1,000 houses a month. It's not as bad as it seems because at the time there were so many houses in foreclosure I could drive up one street and down the next taking pictures. it see like there were two-three houses on every block I needed to take pictures of back then.
I worked this job for several months trying to get back on my feet and always had the same thought creep into my head... if I could just find someone to pay me more per house, I wouldn't have to do so many houses every month.
It was 2008 and the real estate market collapsed which brought my lucrative career as a mortgage banker to a grinding halt. Over the course of a few months I went from living a pretty great life to losing my home and scrambling for a way to feed my family. (no joke)
We were living in Florida at the time and I borrowed some money so we could limp our way back to Michigan, being closer to family made sense at that time.
Once we got back it was time to figure out a way to make some money. Mortgages weren't an option and the economy was struggling so I hopped on Craigslist one night to see what I could find.
As I scrolled down through the posts I spotted an ad that jumped out at me "Occupancy Inspector"
It sounded pretty easy... Go to a list of houses every month that were behind on their mortgage and take a couple pictures of the house to determine if anyone was living there. So I clicked reply and within days I was snapping pictures of houses.
The pay wasn't great, only $4.00 per house... But I was literally taking pictures of 1,000 houses a month. It's not as bad as it seems because at the time there were so many houses in foreclosure I could drive up one street and down the next taking pictures. it see like there were two-three houses on every block I needed to take pictures of back then.
I worked this job for several months trying to get back on my feet and always had the same thought creep into my head... if I could just find someone to pay me more per house, I wouldn't have to do so many houses every month.
Onto Bigger & Better Things
So back to Craigslist I went looking for a "better" photography opportunity.
And there is was... an ad looking for someone to inspect houses for a real estate investment company. I immediately replied to them and after a few emails back and forth they asked me to come to talk.
I went into meet with the owner and he explained they bought houses in Detroit and they needed someone to go out and take pictures of properties they were interested in so they could determine how much repair the property needed. This job was right up my alley!!! but I was trying to play it cool...
He went on to say they would need me not only to take pictures so they could make their purchasing decision, but also go back to take photos on properties they purchased during the renovation process, and then again when the property was complete to take marketing photos.
Then we came to the topic of money and what was a fair price for taking pictures for them. I asked him what he was willing to pay per houses and his response was this "I know you probably charge more than this but I was hoping to get the pre-purchase phots for $150 per house, and then an additional $75 per visit to take rehab and final marketing pictures.
It took every fiber of my being not to yell out HELL YES!!!
I stayed cool, calm and collect... rubbing my hand on my face pretending to be contemplating his offer, and after a few moments of silence I asked home many houses a week he thought the could send me. His reply was at least 10 houses a week and I replied, I suppose I could do it for that as long as it was at the minimum 10 per week.
We shook hands and the next day the houses started rolling in!
So back to Craigslist I went looking for a "better" photography opportunity.
And there is was... an ad looking for someone to inspect houses for a real estate investment company. I immediately replied to them and after a few emails back and forth they asked me to come to talk.
I went into meet with the owner and he explained they bought houses in Detroit and they needed someone to go out and take pictures of properties they were interested in so they could determine how much repair the property needed. This job was right up my alley!!! but I was trying to play it cool...
He went on to say they would need me not only to take pictures so they could make their purchasing decision, but also go back to take photos on properties they purchased during the renovation process, and then again when the property was complete to take marketing photos.
Then we came to the topic of money and what was a fair price for taking pictures for them. I asked him what he was willing to pay per houses and his response was this "I know you probably charge more than this but I was hoping to get the pre-purchase phots for $150 per house, and then an additional $75 per visit to take rehab and final marketing pictures.
It took every fiber of my being not to yell out HELL YES!!!
I stayed cool, calm and collect... rubbing my hand on my face pretending to be contemplating his offer, and after a few moments of silence I asked home many houses a week he thought the could send me. His reply was at least 10 houses a week and I replied, I suppose I could do it for that as long as it was at the minimum 10 per week.
We shook hands and the next day the houses started rolling in!
Welcome to the world of Real Estate Investing!
Although, I'd years ago I'd had a real estate license and spent years in the mortgage industry I'd never had exposure to the real estate investment world. Taking photos of houses instantly changed that. On a daily basis I was going into their office building relationships with realtors. At the houses I was meeting contractors and owners of rehab companies.
After a few months I was speaking to many local and overseas investors and started doing a lot of additional work for them. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was more business than I could possibly handle.
Then one day I was sent out to take picture marketing pictures of a house and like always when taking the photos I noticed a lot of things that weren't finished. Broken trim here, smoke detector missing here, paint messed up here...
So when I sent the pictures to them I called and said "this house isn't even close to done" and the investors reply was "David, why don't you just rehab houses for us?" LOL because I know nothing about houses I said.
He told me it's not that hard, just find some good crews and contractors and oversee the project.
Although, I'd years ago I'd had a real estate license and spent years in the mortgage industry I'd never had exposure to the real estate investment world. Taking photos of houses instantly changed that. On a daily basis I was going into their office building relationships with realtors. At the houses I was meeting contractors and owners of rehab companies.
After a few months I was speaking to many local and overseas investors and started doing a lot of additional work for them. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was more business than I could possibly handle.
Then one day I was sent out to take picture marketing pictures of a house and like always when taking the photos I noticed a lot of things that weren't finished. Broken trim here, smoke detector missing here, paint messed up here...
So when I sent the pictures to them I called and said "this house isn't even close to done" and the investors reply was "David, why don't you just rehab houses for us?" LOL because I know nothing about houses I said.
He told me it's not that hard, just find some good crews and contractors and oversee the project.
Why you need to learn Real Estate Photography?For many, it would be a DREAM to be able to do something that they love full-time, and to get PAID for it. How many people have jobs that are creative, fun, and allow them to see new places & meet different people each and every day?
(Speedboating champions, artists, & music producers are just some example of the people we've met by shooting their houses!)
Real estate photography allows you to do just that. It's an EVER-GROWING industry with loads of opportunities. Our course will show you how to start getting paid jobs WITHIN WEEKS & to be a photography professional.
(Speedboating champions, artists, & music producers are just some example of the people we've met by shooting their houses!)
Real estate photography allows you to do just that. It's an EVER-GROWING industry with loads of opportunities. Our course will show you how to start getting paid jobs WITHIN WEEKS & to be a photography professional.
