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Lake Home Tour with Voiceover

Lake Home Tour with Voiceover

Weatherby Lake Waterfront!!!

Weatherby Lake, MO

 See The Story of This Home

This Spotlight Tour features the lakefront home of Marlin & Linda Cone.  Some of you may know Marlin, as he was one of the co-founders of FloorPlanOnline and performed a sales role for many years before going back to real estate.  It’s a special listing, in part because of the great memories the property has provided the Cone Family over the last 20+ years, but also because we customized the slideshow video with some video clips, text slides and a voice over that was generated from a text script. The base video is right out of the FloorPlanOnline video engine.  So things like the text explainer slides and video clips are something anyone can add in a few clicks.  The voice over is custom, but it is something we are looking to add in for automated voiceovers for any video.

Yes, the voice you hear narrating is all computer generated from a text script using an AI-based text to speech engine.  Our inspiration for this was the Val Kilmer documentary of his life – because of his throat cancer, Val was unable to clearly speak for the documentary, but as you can hear in the promo video, it’s his voice, which was synthesized specifically for the documentary.   Well, we took this text script that was created using Google Docs, shared with the Cone Team for edits, and then the voice over was generated and added to the video…again the base video media was generated from the built-in FloorPlanOnline video editor.

The question for you – is this feature something you would want and use on your virtual tour videos?  

We are contemplating providing a service to do this in phase I, and then provide a more integrated way to generate the voice over through the edit video tool in Phase II, if phase I is successful and desired from a customer perspective.  Please view the video and let us know your thoughts via our survey.  Your answers can help shape how we move forward with this voice over feature.

View the video & complete our short survey

Want different voices?

We could also allow you to select different voices.  Hear the description of our 3D Walkthrough Tour by Ava, one of the virtual voices.  She sounds pretty darn good.  Do you agree?

Embed on your Blog or Website

You can also view the whole tour through the embedded tour below.  Just click any media button to get started.

As a side note, if you have a blog, we highly recommend you do something similar each time you get a listing.  The listing and tour is great content for your blog or your social media channels, so leverage it.  Send an email to your base, directing them to your blog post.

All you need to do to embed the whole tour into your website is use this “iframe code” on your site. Most blogs allow you to embed youtube videos or other content.  Our tour can be just some of that content.   You can even just copy and paste this code – just replace the tour ID that is bolded with your tour ID.  Note it uses the TOUR format, which is a fixed frame.  replace the word tour with story and you embed the single property page version (although because you have to scroll it is not recommended for embedding).

<iframe name=”tour” src=”https://www.floorplanonline.com/tour/393546” frameborder=”1″ width=”100%” height=”675″></iframe>

You can also add a link or button to the full tour like we did below.

See the Story of this Home in a separate tab.

HomeDiary Helps when Disaster Strikes

HomeDiary Helps when Disaster Strikes

Wild Fires. Hurricanes. Tornados. Floods.  

These are every year occurrences, and it seems like they are getting more prevalent with global warming.  This has a direct impact on you and your clients, so how can you (and we) help?

Give the gift of HomeDiary.

HomeDiary is FloorPlanOnline’s homeowner management app that lets people plan and document what’s in their home and what they have done with it.  Snap a few photos of each room via the app, and you have a visual record of what is in the home.  It only takes a few minutes, but it can save hours, if not days, of work if something should happen and your client loses their home to a disaster.  This is a perfect opportunity to coach your clients on how to use technology, and our free app, to document their home.  It’s safe, private and secure and the best part is, it is free for them to use, compliments of you!

HomeDiary also includes our 3D Designer, the 2D/3D space planning tool that is included with our virtual tours, so your buyers and sellers can claim the home and get the photos and the 2D/3D floor plans automatically copied into their own private HomeDiary account.  It’s a great keepsake for your seller, and it’s a great management tool for your buyer.  Even if you did not work with the buyer, they can claim the home from the tour.

FREE Sponsorships!

HomeDiary can also be used by any homeowner.  And you can invite all of your clients via your free HomeDiary invite code.  It is part of your FloorPlanOnline account and it takes just a few seconds to sync your profile and get your invite code.  HomeDiary is free for your clients, and it is free for you to use as well.  When they sign up using your special invite code, you also become the sponsor on their HomeDiary account.

 

The sponsorship is on both our web version as well as our iOS app that works on iPhones and iPads (which makes up about 70% of mobile Internet users.  Android users can use our web app via an browser.

As homeowners log the Who Did What, Where, When and for How Much, you will be there, front and center as their site sponsor.  

 

We make it easy to get started:

  • Just login to your FloorPlanOnline account and go to the Main menu
  • Select HomeDiary Sponsorship
  • If you have not already created a HomeDiary account, select Sync Profile – this will sync your profile from FloorPlanOnline over into HomeDiary.   You are creating a HomeDiary account through this process, so you can not only use it for the sponsorship, you can use it on your own home too.

Sync your profile to get your personal invite code!

You can even use the invite code and post it to Facebook.  If you have a Facebook business page for you as a real estate agent (which you should – it is free and lets you advertise your services on Facebook), you can just click the Facebook share icon and it will pop a share window like you see below.  Add some text and post it to your Facebook business page.  Once it is posted, Boost the Post and create an ad for a target market area.   When people click and sign up, you become their sponsor!  Our initial tests created sponsored leads for around $3 a person.  So look at what your customer acquisition costs are and leverage the tool to get in front or more people as they manage their home.

With our free sponsorship, you are proving a multi-million home management app to your clients and prospective clients for free.   No other tour or home management platform has the robust tools we have, and it is yours, just for being part of the FloorPlanOnline family.

Zillow’s Consumer Report for 2021 Summary

Zillow’s Consumer Report for 2021 Summary

Zillow just released an update to their consumer report they do annually in the first part of September of 2021.  Here is a quick summary as it related to products and services FloorPlanOnline provides.

  • 81% of buyers were more likely to view a listing if it had a floor plan they liked
  • 56% stated they wasted their time with a floor plan layout of the home they did not like
  • 74% think dynamic floor plans (interactive plans like what we offer where you click to see the photo of the space) helps buyers screen homes.
  • 68% think 3D tours help them get a better feel for the space.
  • 61% wish more listings had 3D tours
  • 38% even said they prefer 3D tours over in-person visits and
  • up to 59% would buy sight unseen.  This closely matches what 1000Watt found with the Millennial buyer at 64% willing to buy sight unseen.

With covid, providing as much content as possible online really is in the best interests for your sellers as it is less hassle but more importantly, it is the safest way to show a home, and it can increase the demand pool, and therefore the price (by up to 9% more than market average according to Matterport). Matterport has done their own research – 88% of sellers want to work with agents that offer 3D tours, and 82% would switch agents.

Zillow in past research also found that 84% of buyers think having floor plans as part of an online listing is more important than photos and a video, by almost a 2 to 1 margin. This is why Zillow is pushing their 3D Home app as it attracts more and more users to their site.  Redfin understands this as well.  So, if you want to compete, you really need a 3D Walkthrough Tour, and you need to make sure it is on your website!
Millennial Renters and Homeownership

Millennial Renters and Homeownership

We are subscribers to 1000Watts’ Inside Real Estate service and they have provided several research pieces, the most recent one being a report on a survey of 600 Millennial renters and what they want as part of home ownership.  While we can’t provide the whole report, here is a summary of some of the key findings.

  • 9 out of 10 Millennials want to own their own home, which has only been cemented deeper during the pandemic
  • Millennial renters watch the market by watching homes online – 60% do this more than once per week
  • 57% are able to work remotely, 40% are willing to relocate to find an affordable home
  • 31% would buy a home without seeing it, another 34% might buy sight unseen if there was no a way to see it in person.  In total, 64% would buy sight unseen under the right circumstances!
  • Climate change impacts about half of how a buyer things about buying a home too

So the largest buying group (over 60% of buyers are Millennials) have high intent that is portable and not subject to a physical property visit.   It sounds like virtual selling tools can work wonderfully here, both for the potential buyer, and for you as the real estate agent that is waiting to be found by these people.

In terms of how often they search, over half search for a new home several times per week.

The report also revealed what features Millennial buyers are looking for, and surprisingly an office space is not at the top of their list:

When it comes time to hiring an agent, a feeling of trust is most important, but other factors include:

Finally social media is important, and the newest, shiniest platform, TikTok, is an opportunity for those that are ready to engage there.  Anecdotally, we have heard from a large online media provider that TikTok is killing it for leads as well. 

Appointment Dates in Manage Tours

Appointment Dates in Manage Tours

Now your confirmed appointment date and time will show up under Tour Status on the Manage Tours page.  In the past, it was only sent via email, and often, people could not find it.  When you place an order, your provider will call you to confirm a time and date.  If you have a specific time in mind when you place an order, you can add that time by selecting Other and then entering in the exact time for that day.  

This goes to the service provider as part of their work order, so they know exactly when you want the appointment.  This is not a Confirmed Time until the service provider contacts you to confirm your desired time.  Note, we also fixed a bug that did not display the time right on the work order, so we apologize for any past miscommunications as this was recently discovered!

When you and your service provider agree on the exact time and date, the service provider puts that info into our system and it now shows up on the Manage Tours page under Tour Status.If you have a change to the time, it is best to just forward the confirmation email back to support@floorplanonline.com and we can coordinate changes with the service provider.  Just provide your new desired time and date and reason for change.  Note, changes need to be made outside of 24 hrs of the confirmed appointment to avoid any change fees.  At times there may be different things to juggle around and just changing it in the system can be problematic so please reach out to care for changes. .

Virtual Showings in times of Covid, and beyond

Virtual Showings in times of Covid, and beyond

The real estate market continues to be on fire across the country.  In many cases homes are selling in days, if not hours.  So you might be asking…why do I need a virtual tour with advanced content in such a hot market?

Answer: It can help you Win the Listing & Win the Sale.

a video of the matterport and first person walk through.
Win the Listing

  • 99% of sellers think it makes their home more competitive
  • 88% of sellers want agents that offers 3D tours
  • 82% of sellers would switch agents too

Win the Sale

  • Sell for up to 9% more than the market average
  • 92% of buyers more likely to buy if it had this content
  • 84% of buyers think floor plans online are important 
  • 55% of all buyers (64% of Millennials) would buy sight unseen with the right 3D content

See all the Research here.

Win the Listing.

In order to have a listing, you need to get it in the first place.  As you see on our Research page, 88% of sellers want to work with agents that offer 3D tours because 99% of them think it makes their home more competitive. Futher, 82% of sellers would even switch agents to one that offered 3D tours. So it stands to reason, if you communicate how you will use technology to create this kind of content at the listing appointment, you will immediately differentiate yourself from most other agents that are only offering photos (and in many cases not very good ones), and get that listing, every time!

So if you’re looking for an edge to get that listing, use our customizable listing presentation template at your next appointment and walk away with the listing. You can even use our sample tour and show the seller in real-time a tour with all the content you can provide for their home.  You get a copy of this tour when you sign up to create your free account.  It has your branding, including logo, photo and our contact lead form, so you can show prospective sellers how it will work right from your iPad or laptop.  It even has an active Matterport 3D Walkthrough experience so you can show them the complete functionality and how it is the safest way to show their home, and much less hassle too.  If you have been with FloorPlanOnline for some time, you can add the active Matterport into the sample tour.  See our help doc on how to add Matterport to your sample tour. You can even use the sample tour as ad content – post this tour to social media, create an ad (boost the post on your Facebook business page, for example) and show people how you will market their home in real-time. 

The Tour can also help get you more listings online by getting you seen in more places, because our patent-pending Brandkeepr process converts the unbranded tour you put into the MLS back to a branded one on sites like Zillow and Realtor.com, for free. We recognize where the user is coming from and automatically convert it on select sites. It helps get you more business, just like it did with Valerie who parlayed one listing into 2 more deals with a gross commission income value of $2.5 million, or around $75,000 in ADDITIONAL commission. This is a FloorPlanOnline exclusive and only available with our tour.  

As I can attest, FloorPlanOnline can help you get more business.  

I received a call from a potential buyer who saw one of my listings online.  While the home sold quickly and she was too late, she was so impressed with my marketing presentation, powered by FloorPlanOnline, she not only hired me to sell her high-end home, but I helped her buy her new one, too. That one listing was responsible for an additional $2.5M in sales.

I would not have gotten the new client by providing just photos.  This buyer specifically called me based on my FloorPlanOnline presentation. That’s why the FloorPlanOnline platform is my go-to team for creating amazing content for my sellers, as well as a tool for new buyers through its HomeDiary integration, which can be a channel of new business too. 

Valerie MacKnight

Broker/Realtor, Windermere Real Estate

The bottom line is this – your listing gives you a free opportunity to not only market your listing, but yourself, IF you use the FloorPlanOnline Tour, because Brandkeepr shows your brand on the top sites people use most, and it leaves breadcrumbs back to you, just like Valerie experienced.

“Just uploading photos to the MLS does not maximize your potential to get free leads and advertising on sites people actually use most…namely Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin.”

You never know who might be looking at your listing.  It could be someone downsizing, as in Valerie’s case.  Or it could be something that lives in a multi million dollar mansion and it looking at rental properties.  Each of these touch points is an opportunity for you to showcase how you will market their home when it comes time to sell.   I can guarantee Zillow will be marketing to these same people with similar content – they are just going to want them to use the Zillow apps.  Look at Zillow’s research – floor plans and 3D tours are highly desired content by buyers, and they can flip that to benefits for the seller.  If you use our tour, you provide more and better content, and keep it out of the hands of Zillow.  

Win the Sale.

The FloorPlanOnline tour not only can help you differentiate at the listing appointment, it can help you differentiate online with our tour, which can also be a source for not only buyer leads, but seller leads, as Valerie experienced.  But remember, sellers were once buyers, so what resonates with buyers, also resondates with sellers. According to Zillow research, 84% of buyers think floor plans are important content to have as part of the online search process.

Unfortunately, covid appears to be with us for some time into the future.  Covid has shifted the dynamics of home marketing. Over 50% of buyers are leery of in-person home visits. Further, 55% of all buyers, and 64% of Millennial buyers (the largest buying group), say they would be willing to buy a property sight-unseen IF the listing had the right kind of 3D content and floor plans.  Let me repeat that:

“55% of all buyers, and 64% of Millennial buyers (the largest buying group), say they would be willing to buy a property sight-unseen IF the listing had the right kind of 3D content and floor plans.”

You can provide safe and effective virtual showing tools that can actually increase the number of people “touring” your listing.  All of this technology keeps your sellers safer and it is frankly a lot more convenient for them, and for you.  They don’t have to leave their house every time someone wants to see the home, and buyers can use it to tour a home anytime, or use it for potential remodeling projects: to measure for new carpet or hardwoods, to get estimates for painting or wall paper estimates, or to count the number of doorknobs, hinges or even light bulbs for updating.  The FloorPlanOnline tour is really the next best thing to being there, and it can pay for itself by capturing just one more deal for you.

Given more and more people are likely coming to your city from out of town, make your listing accessible anytime, anywhere with the 3D Walkthrough Tour. It can increase the demand base to anyone with an Internet connection, and per research, can it increase the final sales price by up to 9% MORE than the market average. So it pays for itself – as we all learned in economics, increased demand drives up prices, and this is how you do it for your listings! This is a win-win for you and your seller.

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