Social distancing to protect ourselves and the people around us is so important in todays times. It also means we are spending more time at home than ever before so listing your home for sale can be a bit tricky if physical viewings are off limits in your area. Virtual viewings can help you gain exposure when selling your home in a safe and efficient way!
Speak to your estate agent
Before you create your tour, speak to your estate agent on video call first to understand exactly what they need you to record and highlight. Find out what technology you need to record your tour, do they think the quality of the footage is up to standard? Or how they want you to send them the footage, via WeTransfer or other cloud storage like Google Drive? Do they want you to speak during the video? If so, is there any new terminology you should learn? Will their team be able to edit the video so that if you make any mistakes, you can restart only a small section of the tour?
Prepare
Treat this exactly the same as if you were having a physical viewing of your home. In fact, you should probably prepare more since this viewing will be done online and could reach a lot more people than usual! Think about which areas of the house you'll be focusing on, plan the best route to walk through your home. Focus on where you'll start and where you'll end since you want to make a good first impression as well as leave them on a high note. Make sure your home is neat, tidy and well lit! More on that further on this guide! Write notes if you need to about important things you need to mention around specific parts of your home and practice before recording.
First impressions count
Start from the kerb outside your home to give people the full viewing experience. This also allows people to get a feel for the neighbourhood and the size and style of your home. Plant some flowers, rake up leaves or power wash your driveway to make everything look neat and welcoming! Washing your windows is a great way to make your home look clean and inviting!
Open Up
Open all the doors that you'll need to walk through to avoid fumbling while filming, it also allows viewers to look through your home into other sections as they watch.
Clean Up!
Make sure your house is clean as if it were a physical viewing, remove clutter from counter tops and unusual artworks or personal items.
Lighting
Open blinds and curtains and switch on lights! Nobody likes a viewing in a dark home, and with this being on camera, we need all the light we can get to ensure viewers can see properly and feel positive about your space! Turn on any lamps and LED lights around the house to give the impression of an airy, light and modern home!
Clear away toys
Prospective buyers are usually looking for a fresh start. If they don't have children especially, seeing children's toys creating clutter will be especially off putting. Again, make sure your house is tidy and personal items are packed away to show potential buyers a clean slate and allow them to imagine themselves living there.
Balance
You want to allow their imagination to place themselves in your home, so do make it inviting. Think about plants, cozy blankets, fruit bowls and candles.
Set The Table
Setting your table allows your dining room to feel inviting and less bare to the viewers. Don't go too overboard and create clutter or a distraction, but keep in mind you want to show them how they would be able to use this room in future.
Freshen up your garden
You'll want your garden to showcase how it can be used during the warmer months. Of course do the basics like mowing the lawn, cleaning the patio, weeding and trimming hedges but don't forget other things that can be an eye sore like a visible dustbin, a bare patch of garden or tools or bikes lying around. If you have furniture or a seating area, make sure its clean and well staged with flowers or candles to create another living space for the viewer to enjoy.
Filming
When filming, remember to avoid background noise like the television, or even blender or someone watching a video on their cell phone. Filming in landscape from chest height is best for property portals and social media. Remember to hold the camera steady or get a mount if you're not happy with the stability of the footage. When showing a room, consider standing in the corner of the room rather than the middle to get the widest view possible for the viewer.
JP Harll in association with
