A buyer decides within seconds whether to click on your listing or scroll past it. The first thing they see is a photo and a title, and only then do they read the description. The good news is that you don’t need a professional photographer: with a cell phone, a little planning, and a well-organized description, your lot can stand out from listings with blurry photos and just three lines of text.
Before taking photos: prep the area
- Mow the tall grass in the areas you’re going to photograph and remove trash, debris, or loose materials.
- Mark the corners of the lot with visible stakes or colored tape if there’s no fence.
- Open the gate and clear the driveway: first impressions start at the entrance.
- Choose a clear day. In the south, check the forecast and take advantage of the first window of good weather.
Light: The Factor That Most Affects a Photo
The best times are early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when the light is warmest and the shadows are soft. At midday, the sun flattens the landscape and washes out the sky. Position yourself with the sun at your back or to the side—never directly in front of you.
A cloudy day isn’t a disaster: it works well for forests and undergrowth because it avoids harsh contrasts. What you should avoid, however, is rain, thick fog, and photos with trampled, muddy grass—unless you want to honestly show what the trail looks like in winter.
Cell Phone Photos: The Basics That Make a Difference
- Clean the lens before you start. It seems obvious, but a lens with fingerprints is a very common cause of blurry photos.
- Take photos in landscape orientation: they look better on websites.
- Keep the horizon straight. Turn on the camera’s grid.
- Don’t use digital zoom—walk closer instead.
- Use HDR mode for landscapes that include both sky and land.
- Don’t overdo it with filters or saturation. If the buyer shows up and the grass isn’t neon green, you’ll lose their trust.
What to Show (and in What Order)
The first photo is the one that appears in the listing, so use your best one: usually the main view or a panoramic shot of the property. After that, follow a logical order, as if the buyer were walking through the property:
- Main view: lake, volcano, mountain range, river, or forest.
- General panoramic view of the property.
- Access: road, gate, and condition of the entrance.
- Boundaries: fences, stakes, or markers at the corners.
- Water: well, stream, spring, water main connection, or pond.
- Electricity: nearest utility pole or grid connection.
- Structures, if any: house, cellar, shed, fence.
- Details of the surroundings: native vegetation, flat area suitable for building, nearby neighbors.
As a guideline, a dozen or twenty well-chosen photos are enough to show everything without being boring. Remove any duplicates.
Drone: the view the buyer can’t imagine
On a plot of land, an aerial photo reveals what can’t be seen from the ground: the shape of the terrain, how flat it is, where the forest is, and how far away the lake or road is. If you have a drone, take advantage of the same morning or afternoon light and capture shots from different heights.
Before flying, check the current DGAC regulations for drones, especially if there are houses nearby or you’re in an urban area. If you don’t have the equipment, you can hire a local operator; many offer photo and video packages for properties.
Video: A short tour is worth more than many photos
A one- to two-minute video helps a buyer from another city or abroad understand the property without having to travel there. Film in landscape orientation, walk slowly, avoid sudden movements, and show the access point, the main view, and the boundaries. For social media, you can create a shorter portrait-oriented version.
The title: a simple formula
A good title explains in a single line what the property is, its size, what makes it special, and where it’s located. The formula:
Type + area + main feature + location
- 5,000 m² lot with a lake view, Villarrica
- 2-hectare lot with a stream and native forest, Panguipulli
- 1-hectare lot with electricity and water, 10 minutes from Puerto Varas
Avoid all-caps headlines, repeated exclamation marks like “OPPORTUNITY!!,” or empty words like “spectacular.” The attribute must be specific and verifiable.
The description: a checklist of what must be included
Start with two or three sentences that summarize the best features of the property. Then, provide the details in an organized manner. Here’s the list a serious buyer wants to see:
- Area: in square meters or hectares, and how much of it is usable if there are streams or steep slopes.
- Property ID: whether it has its own property tax ID (rol) or is in the process of being assigned one.
- Water: well, public water supply (APR), stream, or spring, and whether there are registered water rights.
- Electricity: grid connection installed or approximate distance to the nearest utility pole.
- Access: public road or right-of-way, type of surface (asphalt, gravel, dirt), and whether it is accessible by car year-round.
- Distances: to the nearest city, supermarket, school, health center, lake, or beach.
- Topography and vegetation: flat, undulating, or sloped; grassland, native forest, or plantation.
- Regulations: whether it is part of a subdivision or gated community with rules, common expenses, or a shared gate.
- Documents: whether the paperwork is up to date. Check which documents are required to sell a plot of land.
- Price and payment terms: whether you accept a mortgage or offer installment payments.
Write in short paragraphs and simple sentences. Do not copy text from other listings or make promises you cannot back up, such as “guaranteed water availability” without a document to support it.
The price is also part of the listing
A perfect listing with an off-market price won’t sell. Before posting, use our free price estimator, check lot prices by area, and compare with similar properties in published listings.
Draw the boundaries on the map
On Parcelas Patagonia, you can draw the polygon of your property on a satellite map. For the buyer, this makes a huge difference: they can see the actual shape, orientation, neighbors, access road, and distance to the lake or town—without you having to provide an exact address over the phone.
Use the plot plan as a guide and mark the vertices as carefully as possible. The drawing is for reference only, so indicate this in the description and have the official plot plan available for anyone who wants to verify it.
Common Mistakes That Scare Off Buyers
- Dark, vertical, or photos taken from a car.
- Posting without a price or with “price negotiable.”
- Failing to mention water or electricity: the buyer assumes they aren’t available.
- One-line descriptions or, conversely, unorganized blocks of text.
- Using photos from a different time of year without mentioning it, or images of a different property.
- Different information on each listing site.
An honest and complete listing also protects you: it attracts informed buyers and reduces the risk of misunderstandings and scams. If you want to know where to advertise it, check out where to list a plot of land for free in Chile; and if you’re selling without an agent, see our guide to selling a plot of land without a real estate agent. For the entire process, you have the complete guide for property owners.
Post your listing for free
With your photos and description ready, post your plot for free on Parcelas Patagonia. You mark the property on the map; the listing is automatically translated into English; the price is displayed in UF, pesos, dollars, euros, and Argentine pesos; and you receive inquiries via WhatsApp. You’ll also get a PDF file with a QR code for your sign and visitor statistics to track how your listing is performing.