The New Realty: Using Video to Sell Homes

When my husband and I were looking for a house shortly after moving to North Carolina, I just had a few criteria: a fenced backyard for our dog and maybe sidewalks so we could walk him. We ended up in a home with a great backyard and a huge master bedroom so I count myself lucky. I could live with the lack of sidewalks – besides, I got to meet my first blue-tailed skinks (interesting…), palmetto bugs (yikes) and argiopes (there’s no way I can hate a spider that writes)!

Thinking back, we must have looked at close to 20 houses before finding the one. Fortunately, we had a patient Realtor who didn’t get too upset with my 19 “I don’t like this one at all,” pronouncements. Now, I know that a lot of that disappointment could have been avoided if I’d been able to see something more than a few carefully staged pictures. It would have been great to get video of different properties to look at before trekking out to them – like Hersh did here:

Along those lines, mailVU is a useful tool for Realtors looking for a new, creative way to show off all a home’s features to prospective buyers. Here are some ways that video email will help a house get sold faster:

• Video is the best way to show off a home’s best attributes – Pools, fireplaces, shiny new appliances, gardens, backyards, bedrooms – just a few things people tend to gravitate to in a new home!
• Film the neighborhood – Take a few quick shots of the street your prospective homeowner will live on. This is particularly easy with mailVU’s app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Check out any playgrounds and other recreational offerings in the neighborhood for your client. If you’re a really intrepid, determined home seller, try talking to some of the current residents of the neighborhood and video their opinion on where they live – this could later serve as the new homeowner’s first introduction!
• Save your client travel time – Since it’s so easy to shoot video with mailVU, you can ‘show’ several homes at once and your buyer can view them right from their email inbox. This is especially helpful for buyers who are moving from outside the area; video email will give them a head start on their search.
• Answer prospective buyer questions – Go above your client’s expectations by taking the time to send them a video email answering any questions they might have about a property. Your client wants to know how far the air conditioning unit is from the deck or how much space is between their future home and the neighbor’s? Show them with a video message! They will be impressed.

mailVU’s Business Plan provides a great marketing/advertising opportunity with each message your agency sends. With the business account, your video messages are branded with your company’s logo, which will be seen each time a video mail is sent to a prospective buyer (and that buyer’s friends and family whom they’ll look to for opinions on the home!) You may upload pre-recorded videos and your account includes a video testimonial widget that allows you to collect customer video testimonials to place on your website.

Contact us at info@mailVU.com to find out how your agency can benefit from mailVU for Business. It’s okay if you want to check out the video again too – Hersh and his Realtor demonstrate just how simple it is to use mailVU to find a great home. It’s really that easy!

-Kamilla