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Virtual Tour Preparation

RISMEDIA, April 18, 2008-As more buyers are turning to the Web to begin their home search, sellers in today’s market are relying on virtual tours for that oh-so-important first impression. If you are selling your home this spring, take some time to get it virtual-tour and open-house ready. Your extra spring cleaning will pay off with more interested buyers and a faster sale.
“Realtors® have experience in staging virtual tours and can offer you tips to attract buyers,” said Virginia “Ginger” Downs, CEO of the 15,000-member Chicago Association of Realtors. “By following a few simple guidelines, you can make the changes necessary to help your home shine above the rest.”

Virtual tours show buyers a 360-degree view of the interior of a home and allow them to narrow their home search conveniently from their personal computer. Since potential buyers will be sorting through hundreds of photos and virtual tours throughout this process, it is important to understand that your home looks different through the lens of a camera than in person.
Just as you would prepare for an open house, prepare for your virtual tour shoot by removing clutter. Move personal belongings out of sight or use this as an opportunity to donate or throw away items that you no longer use. The goal is to maximize the space of your home and depersonalize it enough to allow potential buyers to imagine themselves living there.

Here are some tips to cut down the clutter:

  • Remove excess furniture to make rooms look larger.
  • Clear off the kitchen counter and hide everyday items, such as kitchen utensils, toasters, hand soap and magnets on the fridge.
  • Store children’s toys, bicycles, gardening tools and other clutter out of sight.
  • Place toiletries and cleaning products in cabinets or closets. Most virtual tours will only photograph the major rooms in your home.
  • Take family photos off of walls and shelves while the home is being shown.
  • Recycle old magazines and newspapers that take up extra space throughout the home.

“Realtors have photographed numerous virtual tours, and can act as sort of a producer for the shoot,” said Ginger Downs. “For example, think about the elements of your home that attracted you to it in the first place. Maybe it was the high ceilings or historic features? Work with your Realtor to ensure that the virtual tour really embodies the spirit of your home and shows off its finest characteristics.”

The next step is to give your home a good, thorough cleaning. Since cameras often capture more than the eye can see, it is important to spend some time cleaning your home from top to bottom. Areas that are often overlooked during the cleaning process include windows and stainless steel appliances. Be sure to keep them streak free and clean to ensure the best photo.

Another cheap way to prepare your home for buyers is to brighten it up by replacing old or dim light bulbs. Consider using a higher wattage light bulb in rooms or areas that don’t get direct sunlight. You can also add a brightly-colored throw or vase to lighten up a space that has dark flooring or furniture.

Some other tips to consider for the virtual tour include:

  • Take your own digital photographs to see how each room looks on camera.
  • Get layout and style ideas from home and design magazines.
  • Don’t forget about ceilings and floors. Most virtual tours today show all angles.
  • Limit seasonal decorations.
  • If exterior photos are included, park vehicles elsewhere and make sure your lawn is freshly mowed and garbage cans are out of sight.

The Chicago Association of Realtors has a variety of consumer resources available at www.YourIllinoisHome.com/Chicago.htm. Click on ‘Selling’ for ideas, including tips for sprucing up the home for sale.

This great article from RisMedia about virtual tour preparation has great advice for any virtual tour provider. Simple home cleanup prior to shooting a virtual tour is vital to getting a beautiful virtual tour. Prospective buyers usually want a home with clean, airy space, not clutter filled refrigerators and overflowing trash cans. Encourage your homeowners to clean up prior to their virtual tour shoot for best results!

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“Success with RTV from a Real Estate Agent’s Point of View
In early 2005 as the real estate market here in the Florida Keys started to slow, I could see I would have to brush up on my marketing skills and find better ways to expose my listings to potential buyers. With so many Florida Keys homes and condos sold as vacation homes, an online presence with great photos and virtual tours becomes essential. A few years earlier I was the first agent in our area to do virtual tours. I had tried the two-shot version but the results were not very good. Then the market got so hot, and properties were selling so fast, there was no real need to have tours. I could see the tide turning and I wanted to add virtual tours back to my listings so I started doing some research to find the best solution. After looking at a lot of low quality tours, I found RTV. Having taken some photography courses in college, and with over 30 years in the real estate business taking photos of houses, I decided to do the tours myself. My first RTV tour was of one of the highest priced homes in Key Largo. Shortly after submitting it, I received a call from a buyer who said his wife had seen a virtual tour on the Internet and she wanted him to take a look at the property while he was in the Keys. During the showing he called his wife at home and told her to look at the virtual tour again. They decided then and there to make an offer. They ended up buying the property. The wife never came to see it until closing. The selling price was $3.7 million.

Since then there have been other situations where a buyer’s partner or family member could not be present but the decision to go forward was based on the virtual tour. Many times in the course of showing one of my listings with an agent from another company, I hear the buyers talking about having seen the virtual tour on the Internet. It seems they find the listings and have their agent make the appointment which results in more showings and sales for my sellers. I have a contract pending on a property which is scheduled to close later this month. The buyers have never been inside the house. Asking price almost $3 million.

In spite of our market being down almost 50% in the number of sales, and the inventory being up almost 50% in the number of listings, this has been my best year ever in real estate with over $12 million in sales so far – and it is only April. Thank you RTV for helping take my career to a new level.”

Sharon Nyman

Virtual Tour Provider

Feature List

  • 100% Your Brand & White Label
  • Advanced Customer Storefront
  • Advanced Photo & 4K Streaming Video Delivery
  • Automated Weekly Traffic Reports
  • Built-in 360 Virtual Tour Software
  • Calendar Integration & Job Scheduling System
  • Create Interactive Floor Plans with Hot Spots
  • Custom 360 Virtual Tour Layouts
  • Discounted Virtual Staging Services
  • Easy-to-Use Secure Client Portal
  • Invoice, Prepay, & Pay-To-Download
  • Jobs from RTV’s National Hotel Accounts
  • Photographer Management System
  • Secure HTTPS Links
  • Six Elegant Property Website Layouts
  • Stripe, PayPal, Square, & QuickBooks Integration
  • Unlimited Hosting
  • Unlimited Phone Training & Technical Support
  • Works with ANY 3D–360 Camera
  • Zillow, Matterport, & iGuide Compatible

“RTV, Best Service, Great Products!!!
We opened Photos Sell, real estate photography in January 2015. I found RTV during a search for a portal site so I could send high res images over the internet to my customers. When I called this company I was greeted by the owner himself. Jason LaVanture. Jason explained what RTV was about and what they can do for my new business. Great customer service, training, high res Virtual Tours and much, much more. After I signed up I got all of the above and much, much more. I received excellent training on the system. Instant help from customer support almost never got a voice mail and when I did they always got right back to me ASAP. The product is like nothing else, it set me apart from my competition. Look if your pictures are not good, they will no look good on any medium. I now work for 35 agents and exclusive with two large Brokers in our area. I am busy as hell. I read the complaints on this company and my response to those who complained is: you can’t make a living off the leads you get for RTV. You need to market you self, have a great product and provide great customer service. Look, I am no one special to RTV, just a customer and I have received outstanding service, their web portal works flawlessly and is easy to use and navigate. I can pickup the phone and speak to the Owner any time, he is a great resource and can be depended upon should you have a problem!! Thank you RTV. I prefer not be anonymizes: George Pulizzano, Photos Sell, Tampa, Florida.”

George Pulizzano

George Pulizzano Photography

“I became a RTV Full Service Provider after I researched many different virtual tour software solutions and purchased several different packages from virtual tour companies in the industry. RTV wins hands down! Their tours are truly INTERACTIVE and professional quality. Unlike other software that can distort images and give the ‘fishbowl’ effect, RTV offers a superior software solution that forgives even the most amateur of photographers and allows professional photographers to REALLY show off their work. In the last year my company has produced more than 170 tours for both commercial and real estate applications and that number is growing daily. On top of our own marketing efforts, RTV has sent us MANY qualified leads! 95% of all the leads that they send us result in an immediate order! To top the cake, their support staff is ON THE BALL!! A BIG thank you to Torie, Jon, Jacque (tour track), Ben and especially Jason for all of their training, support and attention to detail. I have been known to be a little ‘fiery’ and passionate about my business, but they have always answered my support requests promptly and professionally! I highly recommend their software to anyone who is even considering doing their own tours in-house OR starting a virtual tour company. You simply CANNOT beat the level of support or quality of software.”

Cheryl Waller

Virtual Tour Provider

“Success with RTV from a Real Estate Agent’s Point of View
In early 2005 as the real estate market here in the Florida Keys started to slow, I could see I would have to brush up on my marketing skills and find better ways to expose my listings to potential buyers. With so many Florida Keys homes and condos sold as vacation homes, an online presence with great photos and virtual tours becomes essential. A few years earlier I was the first agent in our area to do virtual tours. I had tried the two-shot version but the results were not very good. Then the market got so hot, and properties were selling so fast, there was no real need to have tours. I could see the tide turning and I wanted to add virtual tours back to my listings so I started doing some research to find the best solution. After looking at a lot of low quality tours, I found RTV. Having taken some photography courses in college, and with over 30 years in the real estate business taking photos of houses, I decided to do the tours myself. My first RTV tour was of one of the highest priced homes in Key Largo. Shortly after submitting it, I received a call from a buyer who said his wife had seen a virtual tour on the Internet and she wanted him to take a look at the property while he was in the Keys. During the showing he called his wife at home and told her to look at the virtual tour again. They decided then and there to make an offer. They ended up buying the property. The wife never came to see it until closing. The selling price was $3.7 million.

Since then there have been other situations where a buyer’s partner or family member could not be present but the decision to go forward was based on the virtual tour. Many times in the course of showing one of my listings with an agent from another company, I hear the buyers talking about having seen the virtual tour on the Internet. It seems they find the listings and have their agent make the appointment which results in more showings and sales for my sellers. I have a contract pending on a property which is scheduled to close later this month. The buyers have never been inside the house. Asking price almost $3 million.

In spite of our market being down almost 50% in the number of sales, and the inventory being up almost 50% in the number of listings, this has been my best year ever in real estate with over $12 million in sales so far – and it is only April. Thank you RTV for helping take my career to a new level.”

Sharon Nyman

Virtual Tour Provider