ChitownLiving | Chicago Real Estate + Life

Working with buyers and sellers, I often find myself online sifting through listings.  This act brings me face to face with the dreaded spinning room virtual tour.  After viewing many of these, I often feel dizzy when getting up from my chair.  They distort and can misrepresent room sizes.  A friend of mine jokingly thinks virtual tours are the secret weapon of the real estate agent to make even the smallest room look spacious. I don’t know about being a secret weapon, but what I do know is that to me many virtual tours are like a bait and switch.  What you see online isn’t always what you get in person.  Having reviewed a virtual tour I often arrive at a property with clients and once inside ask myself, “Is this the same property I saw online, it couldn’t be?  Do I have the correct address?”  As a listing agent during showings, I’ve heard from other agents such comments as, “Wow, this shows so differently online.”  As a service professional, elevating expectations and then under performing is not a ticket to success in my opinion. So I’m going to try something new for some of my listings.  Vis-Home, Inc. has something they call a PicturePlanâ„¢.  This is a combination of a floorplan, which I find is one of the most common requests from buyers, and high-quality photos taken from different vantage points around the floorplan.  The result is a very accurate representation of the interior of the home.  Will let you know how it goes as I get a couple under my belt. Image Source: http://www.dribbleglass.com