With the advent of internet, almost everything is available on net. Ebay added to the popularity and actually paved way for online selling/buying. However, real estate is still considered something which is difficult to imagine being sold and bought through the internet. This is because: real estate is immovable- we have always gone to see the house and have then decided whether to buy it or not. In such a scenario, attracting serious real estate buyers could be a big challenge.
However, you can overcome this challenge by being innovative and thoughtful. What would a person look for when buying a home? The feeling, the experience and the comfort that yes this can be his/her ideal nest. Then why not show your buyers not just a glimpse of the house but actually a video of the home. Yes, take them on a video tour- any actual video paying attention to every detail in the house. Capture every details like the window positioning, the sunlight coming into the rooms, the view from the balcony, the parking space available etc. You just need a handy-cam and an eye for detail. While making the video, think from the perspective of the buyer- what would an ideal buyer look for when going for buying real estate? Take your time, you can always edit (shorten) the length of the video later using some inexpensive and easily available video cutting tools. To start with, capture the photos of the property from all directions, inside and outside. Rotate the camera after every shot to get pictures from all the angles. Focus on steady shots and try and take 4-5 shots for each area so that you have the best shot available for display on the website for your potential client.
When making the video, try to shoot without any obstacles. Make the video with just the house, no cars in the driveways, no plates on the dining table and no clothes lying on the bed. Show as much empty space as possible; let the buyer imagine what he/she can place their. Tidy up the house and garden before you start making the video. Try to complete the video in the day-time and allow as much sunlight as possible to fall inside the house. Minimize the use of artificial lightings except when necessary.
You can also consider using help from the web to create virtual tour of your property/real estate. (Mapwing.com and flyinside.com are 2 such sites which help you to create virtual tours-they are free). Paid software are also available which would guide you to create a virtual tour of your real estate. However, the most important thing to remember is that you need to be honest when creating the photos/video. You should never show that which is not included in the real estate. Virtual real estate business is something which is run completely on faith, one wrong move and the complete industry would suffer.