Archive for the ‘Tips and Tricks’ Category

Selling Dos and Don’ts – Tips from HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010


Get out that sold sign — these selling tips will make your property a hot commodity

This article from HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate offers 8 helpful hints for making your home more attractive to buyers.  Whether you are working with a Realtor or going FSBO, these are some great tips to help your home really shine.

Do market your home in different ways

Do market your home in different ways.

Almost 80 percent of home searches start on the Internet, so why not finish them there too? In lieu of the traditional method of selling through a real estate agent, some home sellers are turning to the Web to sell their homes. If you choose to sell with a Realtor, make sure their marketing plan extends to the Internet with virtual tours, photos and more.

Read more of this article at the link below.  Or contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours to learn more about our online marketing services for both real estate agents and For Sale By Owners.

Slide Show: Selling Dos and Don’ts : HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate

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Real Estate Photo Tips: The Most Important Picture

Friday, July 2nd, 2010


In today’s real estate market, approximately 90% of home buyers start their search online, looking at dozens of photos of homes.

The photo of the front of the home is the single most important photo on the listing.  This photo is the buyers very first impression of the home.  It is the one that helps determine if the buyer will continue to look further into the listing or move on to the next one.  It is important to spend the extra time and energy to get the “perfect” shot of the exterior of the home.

Front of Home Photo
Whether you do your photos yourself or hire a professional photographer, here are some important things to consider in photographing the front of the home:

  • Straight on is not always the best option.  Try photographing from one side, especially if there are interesting architectural features.  Also be certain to include all of the home in the frame.Front of Home Photo
  • Choose your time of day.  Photograph when the sun is on the front of the home, not behind it.
  • Choose your day.  Don’t photograph on dreary, gray, overcast days.  Bright and sunny is preferable.
  • Properly expose the photo.  Make sure the color balance is correct – a strange blue or gray cast is not good.  Make sure the photo is bright and cheerful and competitive.

Remember that your photo will be compared to other homes of similar size and price.  If your photo is dark, awkwardly colored or generally uninviting, then it may leave the buyer feeling less than impressed with your listing.  Possibly for reasons they can not even identify, they will just know that the house seems dreary.

Great photos should help bring buyers to the property.  If you do not have the time in your busy day to take competitive photos, you might consider hiring a professional photographer.  This is a small expense that can be recouped in freeing your time to actively sell homes.  Not to mention that your seller will be very impressed with how their home is being marketed.


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A Good Time to Buy a Home?

Thursday, June 24th, 2010


With the end of the first time homebuyers tax credit, the real estate market has slowed by all accounts.  But maybe there is new incentive to buy.  Mortgage rates have hit a record low.  They have sunk to 4.69 percent.  The lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.  The article below from msnbc tells more.

Mortgage rates sink to record low – Real estate- msnbc.com

New Bossier City Home


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7 Home Improvements NOT to Make | Shreveport Real Estate

Thursday, June 10th, 2010


Are you thinking of making improvements on your home before selling?  While fresh paint and clean carpets are always a good idea, some major improvements may not get you the return on investment you were hoping for.  Check out this article for some tips on what improvements may not be worth it…

7 Home Improvements NOT to Make | Shreveport Real Estate

Some inexpensive things that can be done which could regain your investment and then some:

  • Fresh paint – covering up faded or scuffed up paint gives your home a fresh and well maintained look.  Choose neutral colors to enable buyers to envision themselves in the home.
  • Clean carpets – Dirty and stained carpets can have buyers thinking in terms of dollars it will cost to replace.  Have the carpets cleaned.  It is inexpensive and will have buyers seeing an asset rather than a hindrance.
  • Remove clutter – Clear table tops, under the beds, and bathroom and kitchen counters.  Maximize and show off the space available.  Leave only a decorative item or two on tables and remove all toiletries from the bathroom counters and that basket of mail from the kitchen counter.
  • Remove oversize or extra pieces of furniture – Rooms which are packed with furniture give the impression of being too small.  Remove extra furniture to storage.  Choose pieces that fit the size of the room and keep only enough to make a warm and inviting space.

These few simple and inexpensive things can increase what a buyer may be willing to offer for your home.  Get some tips for staging your home for real estate photos by clicking on the “Preparing for a Virtual Tour” tab to the right.Living Room Photo

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How to Hold a Digital Camera

Saturday, June 5th, 2010


Working as a real estate photographer, one thing I often see is blurry photos.  Blur can be caused by several factors, but often the culprit in real estate photos is camera shake.  This is the result of the slow shutter speeds necessary to photograph home interiors.  The longer the shutter is open, the more likely it is to record every little movement, no matter how small. 

The best answer for eliminating camera shake is a tripod.   But when that is just not a feasible answer, there are some other things you can do.  This article from Darren Rowse at DPS has several tips for reducing camera shake when shooting hand held photos.

How to Hold a Digital Camera

One little trick I use when I don’t have a tripod available is to place the camera on a firm and level surface such as a table top.  Just be careful not to move the camera when you press the shutter button.

Living Room Photo

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Media is located in Shreveport/Bossier City, La and provides real estate photography, virtual tours and website design to real estate and commercial clients.

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Home Selling Tips

Monday, May 31st, 2010


It’s summertime here in the Shreveport / Bossier City area and people are beginning to think about moving.  Are you getting your home ready to sell?  Below are a few tips to help you get top dollar for your home.  This article includes tips on everything from pricing your home correctly, to choosing the right real estate agent, to home staging.

10 Best-Kept Secrets for Selling Your Home : Real Estate : Home & Garden Television

If you are thinking about having your home professionally photographed, these tips are great for getting your home into picture perfect condition.  Remember, the photos or virtual tour used to advertise your home are the buyers very first impression.  The photos can often determine whether a potential buyer decides to visit your home in person.  Too see a few more tips about preparing your home for photographing visit our “Preparing for a Virtual Tour” page.

Front of Home Photo

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Virtual Tour Tips and Tricks

Friday, April 23rd, 2010


On Demand Hit Statistics

Did you know that you can run an INSTANT on demand hit report by clicking on the little “Eye” at the bottom of any of your virtual tours?  That’s right!  Information like who your virtual tour is reaching, how many people have viewed it or where those viewers are coming from is right at your finger tips.

Click here to view your On Demand Hit Stats

Click here to view your On Demand Hit Stats

And in addition to On Demand hit stats, you can also receive this information via email each week.  Making it easy for you to stay up to date on how your online marketing is doing.  And your clients can see how often their home is being viewed.  Weekly reports ensure that everyone involved is kept informed and up to date!

Simply put, you will be amazed at the traffic you are getting on your virtual tour when your weekly hit reports come in.

Want more tips and tricks? Sign up for our newsletter at www.TheVirtualTourPeople.com/signup.php

Do you need a virtual tour of your Shreveport or Bossier City lisitng?  Contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours today to learn more about the online marketing options we can offer you!

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How To Build a FaceBook Fan Page

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010


We all know how popular FaceBook has become.  Everyone seems to be talking about the latest post or information they shared or learned through this site.  So how do you tap into this social media popularity to promote your Shreveport business or latest real estate listing?  This is a great article that comes to us from a member of our virtual tour network.  It shows you how to easily set up your FaceBook Fan Page so you can get in on all the buzz!

How To Build A FaceBook Fan Page

You either love it or hate it, regardless, Facebook has become a necessary evil. I knew it was time this Nova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider got to “the bottom of it” when a google search for my company name Supernova Studios, turned up a fan page on facebook with the same name for a tattoo company in Istanbul!

The fan page, like everything in social media, can be built and done in a matter of minutes. That is, if you are not planning on having anyone look at it, connect to it, or like it. If you are, in fact, trying to give personality to your brand and connect with your customers, your Facebook fan page will take you substantially longer to create and will need to be maintained regularly.

Today, I’ll give you the basics, to help get you started.

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours on FaceBook

Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours on FaceBook

Think wisely when creating the name for you page. It is written in stone and can not be changed! I recommend using “geo keywords” in your title. Example: Supernova Studios, Nova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider

1. It can be a little difficult finding on Facebook where to begin a fan page, so you’ll have to go to the main (login) page for creating a fan page. You will see it at the bottom below “sign up”.
2. You then have to select what kind of business you are, sign that you are authorized to be representing that business, and then create the page.
3. First things first, you’ll want to get your basic info on there. Click “edit the page” and scroll down to the information section. Click on the pencil and hit “edit”. They don’t give you a whole lot of room to be creative with this basic info. You’ll just enter info such as: website, address, and hours you are open. Nothing exciting.
4. Now you need a profile image. Yes, you can use your logo, but if your logo is a little boring and/or corporate, I’d recommend against it. Instead, I’d choose an image that represents your company or service. It’ll make the page a little more user friendly.
5. Add apps. Apps are the best way you can show your company’s personality. I’d start with the extended info app, as this allows you to create categories ie : favorite websites, blogs, interests, travel, etc and then fill out your answers. What’s neat about this is that you can customize your categories to fit your virtual tour business and your goals. A couple that I really like are: the “You Tube Box” where you can showcase your favorite You Tube videos, the “Favorite Pages” where you can show other Facebook fan pages that you like, and “Networked Blogs“, where you can feed in your latest blog posts into your fan page.
6. Check your publishing settings. Some people may disagree with me on this, but I don’t think you should send an update to all of your fans every time you do anything on Facebook. True, that’s a good way to get your name repeatedly in front of them, but it’s also a good way to annoy them and, possibly, have them un-fan you. Again, look at your goals for the page and choose the updates that you think are most relevant to your fans. Do your fans care if you made an update to your extended info app. Probably not. What about a new event? Yes, maybe.
7. Add photos. I wouldn’t recommend doing a whole bunch of product shots, or building shots, or logos. If you want to have one “about us album” go for it. But since this is Facebook and it’s all about people and interacting, I’d recommend your pictures be people too. Whip out the camera at an event, take pictures of your employees, or pictures with your virtual tour clients. Best of all, if you are able to have an event that your fans would come to, take pictures of your fans and then tag them. It will give your fan page added value.
8. Once you’ve got all this set up, go ahead and hit “publish” (it’ll be at the very top). Keep in mind that for the page to be effective, publishing it doesn’t mean your done. You are going to want to make status updates, upkeep event info, add new images when they become available, start discussion threads, respond to people who comment on your wall, suggest your fan page to your friends, and plenty more. It’s all fun though. I promise.

Please visit my fan page: Supernova StudiosNova Scotia Virtual Tour Provider. I have “iframed” my entire www.supernovastudios.ca site. Very cool. I have also incorporated a “Welcome Page” with a call to action for new visitors.

Nancy Bain
Supernova Studios
Nova Scotia Virtual Tours
Order a virtual tour: 902-543-2185

Hey!  Don’t forget to join the Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours Fan Page to keep tabs on all that is going on here and to see new virtual tours!

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Photo Tip of the Month

Monday, March 1st, 2010


This month’s photo tip is about White Balance.  If you have ever taken a picture that turned out orange or blue or some other strange color, then you have experienced the effects of white balance.

null White balance compensates for the different colors emitted by different types of light sources and adjusting your white balance accordingly will make your pictures into powerful marketing tools.

White balance controls should be easily accessed from you camera’s menu.  If you are unsure how to get to it, consult your manual.  Here is what you need to know.  White balance controls include settings for sun, shade, overcast, incandescent light, fluorescent light, and flash.  Some cameras will include others as well, but these are the most important for real estate photography.

Chose the setting that most closely matches your light source.  If you are shooting on a sunny day, choose the sun setting; if you are shooting on an overcast day, chose overcast; etc.  Now, here’s the super secret tip: if you are shooting inside with mixed light (lamps and window light) choose the overcast setting.  This will give your images a warm and inviting look.

That’s it!  Have photo questions?  Email your pictures or questions to Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours.  You may even see your tips turn up here!

Kitchen

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Virtual Staging Has Arrived in Shreveport / Bossier City

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010


Virtual Staging has arrived in the Shreveport / Bossier City area!  New from Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours!  In today’s real estate market with more and more homes being vacant due to foreclosures virtual staging is now more in demand than ever.

Before

Before

Are you a Real Estate Agent? Are you looking for additional property marketing services to make you and your listing stand out from the crowd? If you answered yes to both of these questions then look no further. A powerful property marketing tool packing a dramatic eye-catching punch is here!

After

After

Everyone is aware of the cost of home staging.  But now, Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours in conjunction with RTV is able to offer real estate agents and FSBOs this new virtual home staging product at an extremely low price.  As low as $50.00 per room, you can turn that empty, hard to sell home into eye-catching marketing.  Contact us today to learn more about virtual staging and virtual tour options for your home!

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