by Kris Cone | Apr 7, 2010 | Common FAQs, Real Estate Info
It is that time of the year again when we dust off our expense receipts and try to collect things for our tax returns!
Regarding your FloorPlanOnline virtual tours, each tour has an invoice online that you can print as a receipt. Just login, go to Manage Orders, and then click the “view” link under Marketing Materials. The last button on the page is View Invoice. Click that and you can see the charges (there is a date stamp next to each charge) and print the invoice for your records (note a link to the invoice is also in the email we send you for reviewing the draft tour, as well as under Edit Order from the Manage Order page).
If you have an older tour, you can always see the invoice, even if the tour has been archived because it is older than 1 year. You can either go to one of your more recent tour invoices and replace the order_id= with the older ID for the older tour, or use this link and replace the order_id= and the member_id= with your information (where the red x’s are in the link below).
http://vifp.com/order_invoice.php?order_id=xxxxx&member_id=xxxxx
The invoice should then show on the web page. You can then print it for your records.
Hopefully this helps the pain of filing your taxes!
by Kris Cone | Dec 14, 2009 | Common FAQs
We have become aware of an issue with using the upload tool for photos that is specific to users who have an Apple computer and are using the Safari browser. It appears that Safari is not letting the Java application install, which then freezes the browser window. It appears to only impact Apple users – Safari on a PC works….go figure.
We have reported this error both the Apple and the developer of the upload tool. In the meantime, if you have Firefox on your computer, use it. Firefox is another browser, and is #2 in popularity (#1 being Internet Explorer by Microsoft). The uploader works fine on an Apple computer using Firefox. You can download Firefox for free at www.firefox.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
by Kris Cone | Oct 7, 2009 | Common FAQs, Listing Tools
Based on a recent survey, we received several comments about the video. So, I thought I would share some ideas on how to make a really effective video. We will also work to change how we do some things in production so what you get as a draft has some of these things taken into account. So please look at the tips below and try to incorporate them into your next video. You can see an example of a video by clicking here.
Edit Transition tool
1. Try to keep the video under 2 minutes. 1-2 minutes is ideal. This means if you have a video with 5 seconds for each photo, a 2 minute video will be 24 photos. Most people will not sit through a 4 minute video.
2. Adjust the time sequence of photos. Did you know you can change how long a photo shows during the video? Just go to Edit Video from the Tour Editor menu (Manage orders>Tour Editor>Edit Video) and then select Edit Transition on a photo. The default time period is 5 seconds per photo. If you want a faster, more upbeat video, change it to 2 or 3 seconds. You can even apply the time sequence to All Photos and then adjust a few more important photos to show for a longer period (see screen shot at right). For an example of a video that speeds it up, click here.
3. Add text to each photo to help explain the scene. Just select the Edit Text button at the bottom of each photo to add a photo name and add a text description. The name shows in the photo gallery view, the description shows on the video itself.
4. Select Different Music. We have over 200 song choices across different genres. We are working to add more music with some vocals/more Indie type feel. You can change the music under the Music Selection section on the Edit Video page. Stay tuned for more music …
Can I use my own music from CDs I own? Short Answer: NO. Long Answer: We currently do not allow you to upload your own music – the reason is copyright issues. All songs are copyright protected. ANY use of a song in a real estate “For Sale” tour would be considered for a “commercial purpose” and therefore subject to copyright laws. If you have not properly licensed music, then you would be in violation. EACH violation can have both actual and statutory damages….statutory damages run $750 PER occurrence. Read more at the US Copyright Office. So, it is not worth the legal risk…to you or us. Also, to license a top artist’s song is prohibitively expensive – thousands of dollars. Therefore, we have to license music from stock music libraries and royalty free sites. ALL of our music on the tours has been properly licensed. At some point we may allow you to find and license your own music and upload it to your account…but we will require proof of a valid license.
We are working to add more improvements to the video part of the tour, including larger/crisper photos, ways to create a real video file with uploads to YouTube, and some new music. We welcome any comments you have by sending us an email using the form below.
Thanks for reading…
Kris Cone
by Kris Cone | Sep 18, 2009 | Common FAQs
At FloorPlanOnline, we create cool real estate oriented tools to help you succeed, and we provide multiple account and tour options to meet every budget. We provide 3 basic types of listing options – FloorPlan Tours, photo-based Video Tours, and FloorPlan Only (not a tour). We offer full service floor plan and photography in many markets throughout the United States, and self service options anywhere in the world. Pricing starts at a low $35.00 a tour, or $29.99 a month for our subscription plan. Sign up for the annual subscription plan for $299.99 and save $60, which is almost 2 months FREE! See our Full Service Coverage Areas for more details on where we can take photos and draw floor plans for you.
FloorPlan Website Tours
The Interactive Floor Plan Tour is a single property website tour that combines the floor plan & photos of the property into an amazing interactive online presentation of the property. Additional features include the 2d RoomPlanner included for free, with 3D RoomPlanner available as an optional upgrade. Other built-in features include the Virtual WalkThru™ Video, QR codes, mobile optimized tour versions, your brand and other buyer tools. Click here to see more features.
Video Website Tours
The Interactive Photo Tour is an online virtual tour featuring still photos as an Interactive Photo Tour, the Virtual WalkThru™ Video Tour, your brand and buyer tools. We also provide Full Service where one of our authorized Service Providers visits the property and takes photos for you. Full service coverage not available in all areas. Service options will be provided at the time you place an order.
Floor Plan Clean-up or Creation (NOT a Virtual Tour)
We take your raw floor plan sketch from any source (graph paper, marketing brochure, PDF) and clean-up and redraw the floor plan and provide a PDF and jpeg versions for download. We also provide Full Service where one of our authorized Service Providers visits the property and creates a floor plan for you. Full service coverage not available in all areas. Service options will be provided at the time you place an order.
by Kris Cone | Sep 17, 2009 | Common FAQs
Follow FloorPlanOnline on your favorite social media site. We have sites set up on Facebook, Twitter, ActiveRain, LinkedIn and YouTube. Just select your favorite to start following us, be a Fan or subscribe!
Thanks for your support!
Become a fan on Facebook
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Subscribe to FloorPlan Tours on YouTube
by Kris Cone | Sep 15, 2009 | Common FAQs
Enter the tour ID of use our search tool to find a tour in your area. This page shows different examples of how you can use FloorPlanOnline. It is an also an example of the Featured Listing Page that comes with every account! You can easily add a link to all your tours just by copying/pasting the link on your website!
