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virtual tours: What you Hear and what you See - 06/30/08 08:23 PM
What you hear is "We decided to take the house off the market over the holidays." What you see is that property being listed with someone else within a week.
As soon as the sign is in the yard, every perceived promise you made at the listing appointment is going to be under the microscope. Homeowners are on realtor.com or your local MLS in a New York minute comparing the marketing done on their own home versus that on the same-floor-plan neighbor's house.
"The house across the street looks much better." "They have a *real* virtual tour, not a slide show like we were given."
It's not all about getting homeowners to sign. That's … (4 comments)
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virtual tours: Who are you trying to reach? - 06/07/08 08:26 PM
At any given time, when spending precious gas combing the neighborhood we've decided to move to,
Five homes have For Sale signs, 3 of whose flyer boxes are empty.
One of the remaining 2 homes has a property-specific website such as www.MettlerManor dot info which directs viewers to your stellar 360° virtual tour (or your 4 best still photos).
These potential clients/buyers come away with
2 flyers on one of the flyers is simply www.MettlerManor dot info, from which they can download the flyer. Who pays attention to your marketing?
The homeowner (if the flyer box is empty, you're going to hear about it in a New York minute) Neighbors who … (0 comments)
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virtual tours: Jack of All Trades? Not me! - 03/04/08 08:09 PM
Today, I met with a Paula Short, graphic artist/web designer and am happy to say I am adding her to my Resources page (cough -- it will be up in a couple of days!) on my web site. She's local (Portland, Oregon), and that's really important to those who want to have a face-to-face meeting with people before they do business. Now I will be able to refer them to someone local who has 20+ years varied experience. Her sister is a real estate agent, and Paula designed her website as well. Here is Paula's website.
What I liked about Paula is that … (2 comments)
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virtual tours: Daves View in Kalama - 02/23/08 07:16 PM
Daves View in Kalama, Washington, is known for homes that knock your socks off. The Columbia river separates Oregon and Washington from east to west almost the entire length of the state, then takes an approximate 90 degree turn north at the southwest corner. Follow it north a ways, and Kalama overlooks it.
I've been blessed to be asked to do countless virtual tours of homes overlooking the Columbia. I thought you'd enjoy this one in Kalama. Walls almost 30 feet tall in the great room are just the beginning. I can't even describe it. If you're a real estate professional in the area, you … (0 comments)
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virtual tours: Lost Listings - 11/15/07 09:06 AM
I have a few thoughts you may not have considered, and you want every edge you can get.
Picture yourself driving to your next (or last) listing appointment. You've gone over the "main points to cover" a zillion times. Your agency rocks because, you rock because, yada yada. Well, your client's going to fall asleep as fast as you do when someone tries to sell you something you have heard a million times.
Still with me?
All the homeowner cares about is that you're going to make her home look better online than the guy across the street's house. She will be online when she can't sleep … (7 comments)
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virtual tours: Personal Shopper (THERE is a word that turns ladies' heads!) - 11/12/07 07:30 AM
The ladies are nodding. Guys, ask the ladies if you don't get it!
I don't really know how to choose clothes, but I know who does! That's what life's all about. I don't have to know everything, I just have to know the professionals to call. (I'm not sure if I should mention the name of the store so I'll let you fill in your favorite oh-so-worth it store with a personal shopper)
I bought the *sweetest* jacket, camisole and slacks. I left the slacks 2 days to be shortened.
When I picked them up, there was a coupon on the counter, something about their huge … (8 comments)
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virtual tours: Where's an arborist when you need her? - 10/29/07 09:02 AM
In the Northwest, we're blessed with lots of rain. I love it up here. We have seasons (unlike where I grew up, in SoCal). Landscaping looks mature in no time at all, and it's a pleasure to photograph real estate because of it.
Homeowners put their homes on the market and do all they can to prepare for photos and virtual tours. Perhaps they have the luxury of a gardener!
Then I show up to do the virtual tour and can't do the home justice because the front of the house is behind those beautiful, mature trees. It's almost as though the house … (1 comments)
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virtual tours: The Proof's in the Pudding - 09/26/07 06:44 PM
That's what my grandma used to say.
In our market (Portland/Vancouver), sales are slowing down. Two years ago, the for sale sign was barely in the ground when the offers came in. You know the drill, the pendulum swings.
I advise "my realtors" when they go on listing interviews (homeowners are taking their time and choosing) to recommend that the homeowner visit the webpage of each realtor they're interviewing. "Take a look at the photos my competition feels are suitable to sell homes."
See dishes in the sink? Shoes in the entryway? The photographer in the mirror? Are the photos too dark? (you get the … (11 comments)
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virtual tours: Can you Break It? - 08/09/07 12:22 PM
A client builds custom homes, and we were chatting about "how much is too much" on a virtual tour.
He remembers being told years ago by an art teacher that it's important to know when to stop. He said time and time again, the teacher would be heard whispering that it was time to stop...it was perfect the way it was. He'd be sure that he could improve on it if he just tried this, or added that. And often, he would "break" it. Once you break it, it's difficult to go back.
Can the same can be said of virtual tours? Is … (10 comments)
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virtual tours: Homeowners - Something to Consider - 08/09/07 11:45 AM
Your buyer will not be able to get financing if your house is overpriced. It's that simple. Would you buy your next house if the appraisal came in $40,000 higher than you offered? Probably not.
Most realtors know someone who has been fired for "nonperformance" and are hesitant to invest in quality marketing such as virtual tours when forced to overprice.
When the third agent is successful (because the you agree dropped the price), is it because she's a genius, or would it have been better to to price the house realistically at the start, have quality marketing, and move on?
You hired a professional. Don't tie her … (0 comments)
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virtual tours: Slide Show on 1.1 million listing in Vancouver, WA - 06/24/07 11:16 AM
One of our clients prefers RTV slide shows on her listings to virtual tours, and when she put her 1.1 million house on the market, it was with a supersized slide show. Take a peek! http://www.realtourvision.com/tour/RE/tour.view.new.php?utl=RE-2563-RBXSK4-04 Dawn
www.allaboutvirtualtours.com
… (1 comments)
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virtual tours: Realtors are not all Photographers. - 06/10/07 03:59 PM
Who do you trust to photograph your listings? Perhaps the agency employs an assistant who takes photos and assembles slide shows for the entire office. (So, you must get in line.) You're relieved not to be required to invest in camera equipment, tripods, flashes, etc ... until you see the photos on MLS!
"It didn't look that dark when you took the listing.""Someone's shoes are on the floor in the entry.""The kitchen looks so tiny.... there's no "clear space" on the counters."Is that someone's thumb in the corner?""The car's in the driveway."Realtors tell me the work begins when they get the listing. Quality … (8 comments)
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virtual tours: Virtual Tours and Staging - 06/10/07 10:17 AM
I am particularly sensitive to some things when looking at other company's work. I recently visited a stager's website, looking forward to seeing a professional appearance. Some of the things I look for in a stagers' photography are:
Lighting should be proper.Refrigerators clear of magnets, sports schedules, photos, everything.Walls need to be vertical (not bowed).Garbage cans removed.White balance correct.Rooms need to be *DE*cluttered, not rearranged clutter. There are no people milling about in photos.Craig Schiller, The Staging Adonis (my hero, lol), has always instructed that before-and-after photos should be taken from the same angle so that viewers have an accurate feel. Whether you're … (1 comments)
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virtual tours: Nicotine-Tinge Half Bathrooms - 06/09/07 11:53 AM
It's frustrating to retake photos because they have that telltale "nicotine tinge" (half baths are notorious for this, at least for me). White balance can be your new best friend. Take some time to get to know this setting. It's easy to use, and because the results are so rewarding, you'll use it all the time.
My Olympus camera's owners manual recommends using a white piece of paper to set white balance. This works fine if you don't have your hands full with tripods, monopod, camera cases, etc. :)
Try googling ExpoDisc and consider adding one of these to your "camera toolkit." It's certainly worth the investment.
When creating … (8 comments)
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virtual tours: Virtual Tours Help Narrow Down Choices - 06/09/07 11:00 AM
Homebuyers like viewing virtual tours because they help narrow down choices. They naturally gravitate online to view them and many begin their search at www.realtor.com, because it's the National Association of Realtor's public site.
Try going to www.realtor.com and inputting the city (or specific zip code) and a price range. You'll be asked if you want to see the results "on a map" (a new beta feature) or "in a list." Pretty slick!
If you see something you're interested in, simply press the Send to a Realtor button at the right. She will be happy to send you a link to more photos and a virtual tour (or slide … (2 comments)
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virtual tours: Give FSBOs Some Credit for Using Virtual Tours - 06/07/07 03:14 PM
A lady called me recently who had signed up with a discount broker to attempt to sell her home on her own. Out of respect for the flat fee, she began researching quality virtual tours and was told to call us if she wants the best.
We sent her our virtual tour preparation tips (the same ole list, it just keeps getting longer and longer) created a simple website for the tour (www.98642401.info) and created a Youtube tour for her using the photos we'd taken that day.The discount broker was very gracious and linked the virtual tour to the listing on our local MLS. If … (0 comments)
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virtual tours: "Not all homes are suitable for virtual tours." - 05/18/07 06:59 PM
But this one sure was.
The realtor and the homeowners waited for some time to have the virtual tour done of this home until it was perfect, and we never rush.
We are not stagers; I don't know that there is a stager in our area, actually. As our business has grown, we've compiled a list which we send out before each photo shoot/slide show/virtual tour. I don't mean to be the "bad guy." We just realize that this is probably the most hectic time of homeowners' lives and they need a list to follow. Realtors appreciate that they are able to maintain their comfy relationship.
If … (4 comments)
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virtual tours: We all need a vacation (rental), but where to go? - 05/18/07 06:23 PM
I recently completed a virtual tour of a vacation property owned by one of "my" realtors. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it! ;)
http://www.realtourvision.com/tour/RS/tour.view.new.php?utl=RS-9386-D4PTHI-01 - check it out :)
The home faces east. If you're in the living room, you have windows 270 degrees around you. Both mornings, we watched the sun come up (with a name like Dawn I guess I *have* to be a morning person). It was great.
A virtual tour is a necessity to "teleport" viewers in, to help decide if Gary's vacation home is where they will choose to spend their vacation. There are many other vacation rentals in … (0 comments)
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virtual tours: Quality Listing Photographs - 05/14/07 01:58 PM
Realtors have a bazillion things to do once they get the listing. They realize the importance of listing with photos, so they rush to get photos on MLS and flyers.
Unless you understand what needs to be done to make a property "show ready," the listing will go on MLS with poorly-taken photos (too dark, or windows which are blown out/overexposed and don't show the view) which do not help the home stand out from other listings. The flagship of your marketing is not the best arena to practice photography. If you haven't got the property equipment (or know how to adjust settings) .. and "eye for the … (5 comments)
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virtual tours: ActiveRain Works in Round-About Ways! - 04/22/07 03:40 PM
On March 18 we received a contact through ActiveRain from a lady in Seattle. She and her husband were moving to the Vancouver, WA area .. and she needed a real estate agent.
I gave her the name of a real estate professional who calls us for all of her photography, slide show and virtual tour needs and ...
this couple bought a house using my referral!
It feels so good to be able to "give back" to the ActiveRain community.
Our business has taken OFF .... and I don't have much time to do anything but work, but I wanted to … (1 comments)
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Dawn Shaffer Life is good!
Battle Ground,
WA
More about me…
Address: Battle Ground, WA, 98604
Office Phone: (360) 635-0111
Cell Phone: (360) 606-0555
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