Hello all, I was curious if anybody out there shoots video tours of their homes when they list them?With all of the listing competition in Phoenix and the explosion of You Tube I thought I would give it a try.My response over the past few months has been HUGE.It seems that the average web surfer does not want to click around on some "Virtual Tour" but rather watch a short 2 to 4 minute video tour of the home.I have read some articles on the net stating that “Virtual Tours” were dying, plus for starving agents like me, the cost is too high.Shooting a quick video tour with a “Flip” Camcorder works great!I have made up a system and I can shoot, edit and publish a tour in less than 1 hour..I also make up a cool looking flyer, with the MLS info, a couple pics of the home and put a picture of the video player linked to my short tour and post to CraigsList, Backpage.com, etc.I actually have agents call me and thank me as they can send this to their client to preview the home from the comfort of their home or office.I don't "brand" the video with my contact info, just a quick blurb at the end in the credits stating I made it.I actually receive offers from folks that have not went to the home, just watched the tour.I also receive a lot of calls from buyers WITHOUT agents who see me as some kind of "expert". This has really helped my buyer side of the business grow.I am shooting 3 homes later today and will post links to my CraigsList ads as a response to this reply for your previewing pleasure or critique :)I am curious to hear any comments about this type of “Out-Of-The-Box” advertising.Cheers!Mark

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  • Wonderfull job,
    Mark!
  • We do videos for all of our REO's but not so much for marketing but for the AM's. It gives them a better depiction of the property than just the pictures especially for the damage. We did have one AM ask us to remove a video because it was a short sale and they didn't want any issues with the current owner. We have caught some funny moments especially doing CFK's. Here's one from our CFK agent. Thanks to him we have about a 95% success rate. He's an animal when it comes to CFK's.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEIG5l-KomA
    • Nice job George. Is it ok to poist the address of the home on U-Tube? Also when I started, I carried the camera around with me and was told it should be more steady as whipping the camera around makes some people sick :)
      Just a thought. Video is the future, or actually the "right now" and agents who are utilizing it are becoming "rock stars" in their areas.

      I just sold 2 homes over the past 8 weeks to buyers who NEVER went to the home. They watched my tour and had their RE agent go to the home to verify condition was as shown in the video, which it was. One buyer was in Iowa the other in Scotland. Crazy huh?

      As the REO listings have all but dried up out here in Phoenix, I have moved to listing short sales which is driving our market now.

      Easy to find people to help. I purchase a list of 60 day late people from a,list broker and mail them a letter.
      I just sent out 500 letters and will let you know what happens.

      Cheers!
      Mark
      • Thanks for the tips Mark. I'm not sure if it's ok to post the address on youtube but I guess we'll find out soon enough. I don't see it really causing a problem though but you never know.
  • You need a steady tripod on wheels and motorized rotator. If you want is be continuous then shoot static at different positions and stitch them together though a post processing.

    You only need to rotate once. The interview with the Asian couple is quite good. I am surprised they did not mind to be filmed. Get as much of a wide angle and use multiple flashes watching for lighting, mirror... Keep the film short
    as most viewers are just curious.

    With any listings you should get a few thousand viewers. If after awhile you are not getting much traffic, it is time to drop the price.....

    Good job.
    • Thanks for the reply Sam. I am hoping to move up to a tripod on wheels and motorized rotator at some point.

      I agree with your thoughts to keep the video tour short, 2 to 4 minutes as most internet users have a very short attention span, Wide angle lens is a must if you shoot tours on a regular basis like I do.

      Great comments and ideas.

      Thanks!
      Mark
      1hourhomevideotour.com
  • Yes, On my more expensive waterfront/pool homes I do a video, virtual, photo gallery and floor plan... On REO's they are typically gone before you could do any of this. Almost nobody does a floor plan, and I get great response particularly from people from thousands of miles away.. they really like seeing how the home is laid out... you can check out at www.mastercape.com
    • Hi Joe,

      Hey VERY nice video tour. That is one of the better ones I have seen in awhile. Great job! I am surprised you do a video tour AND a virtual tour....

      I did a lot of research when I was starting out and discovered that virtual tours were kind of becoming extinct as people prefer to watch a video and not have to interact with their mouse on a virtual tour.

      I am curious where you get the floor plans from? I like that a lot!

      Thank you for the response!

      Mark
  • I love my Flip camera! I shoot a video and put it on YouTube, Twitter, my blog, and my Facebook page whenever I get a new listing. It's not professional quality, it's very casual, but they get tons of hits.
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