Listing Photos and Showings With Our Crown Point Shop

Your listing photos are the first showing. In the National Association of Realtors 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 81 percent of buyers who used the internet in their search rated photos very useful. No other website feature ranked higher. At our Crown Point shop we treat photo day like a showing. Then we run real showings on a plan you agree to before the sign goes up.

We’re the shop on South Main in Crown Point. Love Thy Neighbor. Call (219) 801-0432.

This is the Suite B walk-through of listing photos and showings for sellers in Crown Point and the Northwest Indiana towns we work. We cover how to get the house ready for the camera, how photo day runs, and how showings work once you are live. Start the seller path on Sell. The wider shelf is on Learn: Selling. Short questions go to Ask Realest. Want to see how homes near yours look online? Search homes on Realest.com. It has search and sold homes for Indiana and Illinois.

Why photos come before everything else

The same NAR report found that 52 percent of buyers found the home they bought on the internet. Buyers who searched online also rated detailed property information (77 percent) and floor plans (57 percent) very useful. Open houses were rated very useful by 43 percent of buyers. You can read the highlights on NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers page.

Most buyers meet your house on a screen first. If the photos are dark, crowded, or out of order, many buyers never book the tour. We will not promise that photos add a dollar figure to your price. Price comes from the market and the comparable sales. Photos decide whether buyers come see it.

Pricing is its own conversation. Read How to Read a CMA Before You List and Real Estate USA’s How do you price a home for sale in Northwest Indiana? This post picks up after the price is set.

A week before photos at Suite B

Most sellers sit down with Pam or Sash about a week before photo day. We walk the house room by room with a notepad. The question in every room is the same. What would a buyer see first on a phone screen? Usually it is the counters, the floor, and the light. Rarely is it the thing the seller is most worried about.

Small repairs come first. A burned-out bulb, a dripping faucet, or a cracked outlet cover shows up in photos and on inspection day. Our What to Fix Before You List page and our DIY Home Inspection Checklist cover what is worth doing and what is not.

The photo-day checklist we hand sellers

Outside

• Cars out of the driveway and off the street in front, if you can
• Trash and recycling bins out of sight
• Leaves raked, gutters clear, and the front walk swept. Fall in Northwest Indiana makes this a weekly job
• Hoses coiled, toys and tools put away, porch light bulbs working

Inside

• Every light on, and every bulb the same color in each room
• Blinds open to the same height, ceiling fans off
• Kitchen counters cleared down to one or two items
• Bathroom counters cleared, toilet lids down, fresh towels hung
• Family photos, mail, and anything with your name or address put away
• Pet bowls, beds, and litter boxes out of the frame
• Beds made with plain bedding

On the day

• Plan to be out of the house while the photographer works, with pets
• Leave room for floor plans and measurements if your agent orders them
• Review the full set with us before anything goes live

How showings run once you are live

1. We set the rules before the sign goes up. How much notice you need, which hours work, and whether anyone at home needs extra time. We write it down so every buyer’s agent sees the same instructions.

2. You leave during showings. Buyers talk more and stay longer when the owner is not in the next room. Take pets with you if you can. If you cannot, tell us so the instructions say where they are.

3. You lock up what matters. Put away prescriptions, jewelry, cash, keys, mail, and anything with account numbers. Do this before the first showing, not the morning of.

4. The house looks like photo day. Lights on, blinds open, counters clear, thermostat at a comfortable setting. Buyers notice when the house does not match the pictures.

5. We chase feedback. After showings we ask the buyer’s agent what their buyers said. We bring it back to you in plain words, good and bad. If the same comment comes up three times, we talk about it.

6. We decide on open houses together. NAR’s 2025 report found that agents hosted open houses for 59 percent of sellers who used an agent. Some sellers want one. Some do not want strangers walking through. Either way, the decision is yours, and we plan it like a showing. Real Estate USA’s fall open house guide shows what buyers look for when they walk in.

Listing photos and showings by town

The checklist is the same everywhere. What buyers notice first is not. A Cedar Lake buyer may want the lake shot. A Munster buyer may care about the yard and the street. We sell homes in Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Merrillville, Cedar Lake, Hobart, Valparaiso, Munster, Dyer, and Highland.

Real Estate USA keeps living guides that buyers read before they tour, for Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Merrillville, Cedar Lake, Valparaiso, Munster, Dyer, and Highland. Knowing what those guides say about your town helps us pick which rooms and views to lead with.

Honest tradeoffs

Living in it vs staging it. A cleared counter is hard to keep on a school morning. We help you pick the few rooms that matter most and keep those ready.

More showings vs more notice. Short notice lets more buyers in. Longer notice is easier on your family. We set it together and change it if it is not working.

Open house vs private showings only. An open house brings in neighbors and early lookers along with serious buyers. Private showings keep traffic to buyers with agents. Both work. Pick what you can live with.

Selling and buying at once. Showings get harder when you are also packing and touring. Read Buying and Selling at the Same Time before you set the schedule. If you are moving to something smaller, read Downsizing in Northwest Indiana.

What Pam and Sash will ask you back

Expect questions about your move date, who lives in the house, pets, work schedules, the rooms you are proudest of, and the ones you worry about. Expect an honest read on what shows up in photos. We will also run a seller net sheet so you know what you walk away with, and talk through seller concessions before a buyer asks.

Why do listing photos matter so much when selling in Crown Point?

Most buyers see your house online first. In NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 81 percent of buyers who searched online rated photos very useful, the top website feature. Strong photos get the tour booked. Call Suite B at (219) 801-0432 to plan photo day.

How should I get my house ready for listing photos?

Fix small things first, like bulbs and drips. Clear counters, open blinds, turn every light on, and put away personal photos, mail, and pet items. Outside, move cars and bins, rake, and sweep the walk.

Should I be home during showings?

We ask sellers to leave. Buyers stay longer and talk more openly when the owner is not there. Take pets if you can, and tell us if you cannot so the showing instructions cover it.

What should I lock up before showings start?

Prescriptions, jewelry, cash, spare keys, mail, and any papers with account numbers. Do it before the first showing so you are not rushing on the day.

Do I have to hold an open house?

No. It is your choice. NAR’s 2025 report found agents hosted open houses for 59 percent of sellers who used an agent. We plan an open house like a showing, with the same prep and the same follow-up.

How do I start a listing conversation with Realest?

Call (219) 801-0432 or email saso@realest.com. Visit us at 112 S. Main St. Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307. Bring your move date, your questions, and a list of the repairs you already know about. Love Thy Neighbor.

Talk to the shop

Realest, 112 S. Main St. Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307

(219) 801-0432 | saso@realest.com

Love Thy Neighbor

Next reads: Sell, Learn: Selling, Ask Realest, What to Fix Before You List, How to Read a CMA, Crown Point hub. Homes for sale and sold homes in Indiana and Illinois: Search homes on Realest.com.

Source: National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. This page is shop process, not legal advice.