With stay-at-home orders in place across the country, real estate professionals are conducting more video home tours so clients can view properties from their couch. Agents find these video chats make buyers feel more confident, but the process does take some preparation.
The brokerage Redfin provided a list of tips to help guide a video chat tour based on common questions that real estate pros will likely be asked from buyers. Here’s how you can prepare:
Offer a floor plan prior to the call. The floor plan can help the buyer get a better sense of the size and layout of the home as you walk them through it over video.
Comment on its condition. Buyers likely will ask you if any features or surfaces appear worn or damaged. It’s not easy to tell from video. Zoom in and let them know the condition of areas that they can’t readily see from a screen. Also, make them aware whether there is a floor creak or other sound as you walk around from the home.
Location. Comment on how the area surrounding the home. For example, what is the noise level inside or outside of the home? Is it near a busy street or other noisy areas? Also, how close is the home to neighboring houses?
Check out the views. Besides just offering an interior view, be sure to show them the outside too, including what they will see when looking out the curtains or blinds. Show off the landscaping to help them determine whether it’s been well-maintained.
Light flow. Be ready to respond to what direction the natural light is coming in from. That can help a buyer get a better sense of how much light they’d get in certain rooms during the day.
Smell. Your buyers won’t be able to get a sense of this from video so comment on whether you notice any lingering odors inside or outside of the home.
Differences from the listing photos. Is there anything that looks different in person versus the listing photos? This is important as buyers try to judge a home from afar. Are the photos an accurate portrayal of the home?
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