My agent's listing photos are worse than the ones I took on my phone. Do I pay someone $350 to fix it?

Ask the agent to redo it. That's not telling her she's bad at her job, that's the job. I've had this exact conversation four or five times and it goes fine every time, because most of them know the photos are rushed and they're waiting to see if you care. Say it plainly: eleven photos with a basket in one of them, and the copy doesn't mention HVAC or the school. Send her a shot list. If she pushes back or takes a week, then spend the $350 and note it for next time.

In my markets, low price points and rural, the photos matter less than the price and the response time. Tenants at the bottom of the market message eight listings and rent from whoever answers first. Yours at $1,650 in a suburban pocket is a different animal, families do compare, and the school line is worth more than the video is. I'd write that sentence myself into the description tonight for free.

The vacancy math is doing a lot of work here and I don't think it holds up the way you've written it. One extra week costs $380, sure, but the $350 package doesn't reliably buy you a week. It might buy you two days and more applicants, which is worth something different, better selection rather than faster lease-up. If more applicants is what you want then say that's what you're buying and judge it on that.

kestrel's point about selection is the real one. Coming from the build side I always undervalued this. The photos determine who applies, and who applies determines who you're choosing from. A clean floor plan sketch on a two bed filters out people who tour it and then discover the second bedroom is tiny, which saves you showings. $350 for a floor plan and honest photos with no wide angle lie is a fair price if the samples are actually straight.

Before spending, check what the agent is contractually obliged to provide, because listing agreements vary a lot and some spell out photo count and marketing scope. Read what you signed. If marketing is in there, you're paying twice and you should say so. If it isn't in there, that's useful to know for the next agreement you sign, and it makes the $350 an obvious yes rather than a grievance.

Vacant now is the number that matters. Every day of arguing about who owes you photos costs $54. Ask the agent tonight, give her 48 hours, book the $350 person for the day after if nothing lands. You can figure out whose job it was after it's leased.