With virtual tours, home showings are a click away

The Internet has revolutionized the way business is being conducted, real estate sales included. Your answer man, Chris Striefel, has extensive experience using the latest state-of-the-art virtual tour software. InteractiveProperties.com, a division of Mountain Estates, Inc., is the local leader in this realm.

Anyone can become a member of InteractiveProperties.com with an annual contract. The membership allows for members to schedule virtual tours on their listings. Other services include the land-based aerial photo, color-coded floor plans, automatic uploads to members’ Web sites as well as PicturePath® distribution.

Allow me to explain what all these services entail. The land-based aerial is a 360-degree showcase of your home and surrounding area from 50 feet above the ground. A one-of-a-kind custom, van-mounted camera boom is extended over the home to capture the image.

These images as well as several other 360-degree showcases are featured on the homes’ very own Web site that is linked to the member’s homepage.

Color-coded floor plans are generated from an onsite measurement of the dimensions of the house and colored by types of space, i.e. bedrooms, living, kitchen. All the data and images are automatically uploaded to the member’s site.

Additionally, the tour is distributed through PicturePath®, a network of real-estate-based Internet sites all connected together so that as a potential buyer is surfing the Web looking for homes they have several different ways in which they can link directly to your home’s Web site. This service exponentially increases the exposure of your home’s Web site.

Skeptical? I have personally proven this technology through selling one of our own listings using the virtual tour alone. The out-of-state buyers came to Colorado to buy the home they had seen from the virtual tour. These buyers stated that they knew the whole house inside and out from studying the floor plan and utilizing the many 360-degree images of all the rooms of the house. They did not even want to see any other homes in the area.

If you are considering selling your home, don’t consider a Realtor that does not utilize this technology. Virtual tours are a minor advertising expense that delivers maximum results and are typically included at no additional expense in most listing agreements.

Call or e-mail your answer man, Chris Striefel, for a list of local Realtor members who utilize the virtual tour technology: cstriefel@aol.com or 945-7300.

Chris Striefel is a licensed real estate broker with the Bob Fullerton Team, 716 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs.