FirstHomeTour News & Features

More than just Virtual Tours

Browsing Posts published by kate

FirstHomeTour.com is proud to announce the newest member on our team – Heather Babcock.  Heather recently joined our company to help develop new business.  Heather brings and incredible amount of  talent and experience tour our team and we are looking forward to working with her.  With over 10 years of sales experience we know that Heather will flourish with our company and we are lucky to have found her!

Please help us in welcoming Heather and look forward to seeing her out and about in Southern California. If you would like to invite Heather into your office to learn more about FirstHomeTour.com and creating impressive virtual tours for your clients please contact Heather@FirstHomeTour.com.  If you are located outside of  San Diego County, Heather can setup Webinar for you and your office! Send Heather an email today to find out more information about creating virtual tours, property syndication, social networking and so much more!

FirstHomeTour.com Sales - Heather Babcock

How to Add Virtual Tours on Twitter Automatically

Would you like your virtual tours to automatically show on Twitter? Now they can SIMPLY! Just create your virtual tour account and begin creating your custom virtual tours instantly! Once you have created your virtual tour on FirstHomeTour.com upon clicking the finish button your virtual tour will automatically be tweeted to Twitter.com/FirstHomeTour!

When you see your tour come through you can either Retweet your virtual tour link or view the virtual tour and using the ShareThis link – tweet to your own Twitter Account! We are just trying to make your social networking job just a little easier!

FirstHomeTour.com Virtual Tours on Twitter

FirstHomeTour.com Virtual Tours on Twitter

Questions? Contact your support team at FirstHomeTour.com today!

888-675-4528

You have asked and now you shall receive!  Below you will find answers to common FirstHomeTour.com questions and helpful tips.

Customizing the Images in your Virtual Tour - Yes you can customize the images within your virtual tour.  In addition to adding text to any image in your tour you have the ability to change the color, position, size, and visibility of the text.  The maximum number of characters allowable on each image is 80 characters.  You also have the ability to increase the time each image is shown while the tour is playing, you can change the panning direction of any image and you can adjust the zoom of any image.

*Tip: If you have an HD Tour you can customize both the Standard and the HD Tour Images separately.  The default for the Image Edit tab is All Image Types.  However, if you would like larger text or different customizations on your HD/Standard tour, just select the tour you would like to customize and make your selections.  For example: I have a panoramic image that moves very quickly during the HD tour.  I select Image Options For: High Definition Tour and change the Time Image Shown to: 20 Seconds.  This will maintain the settings I have for the Standard Tour and slow down the image during the HD Tour.

*Tip: Don’t be afraid to enhance the zooming effect of your tour. Take a look  at the first image in this Tour Example.  This image has been set to zoom from 100% to 190% and as you can see totally changes the dynamics of the image shown.

Custom Domain Names - You can purchase custom domain names for your virtual tours for $9.95 per domain name.  Once you have ordered your custom domain name the virtual tour will automatically be linked to the new domain within 48 hours.

Here is an example of a domain purchased through FirstHomeTour.com: www.mytour1.com

Panoramic Images - Yes, you can add Panoramic Images to your virtual tour.  Just upload the image like any of your other images.

*Tip: The panoramic image is much longer than an average image.  Because of this you will need to change the panning direction of the image and increase the time the image is show.  For an average panoramic image, we recommend panning Left to Right and increasing the image showing time to at least 15 seconds.

High Definition (HD) Full Screen Tours – Yes, you can create HD Tours. Before you can upload your images to create an HD tour select HD Tour at the image upload screen then upload your images.  By uploading HD image you will create both the HD Tour and the Standard Tour.

*Tip: The quality of your full screen tour will depend on the resolution of your images.  In our image upload section you will see a green bar on each image.  If the green bar is below the half-way mark, your image is not high enough quality for a full screen tour and will result in a blurry picture.

Downloading your Virtual Tours – Yes you can download your tours free of charge.  While logged into your account select the download link for the tour you would like to download.  Next select the branded 0r non-branded tour and select download.  You will then arrive at a series of prompts – select RUN – RUN – UNZIP – CLOSE.  The virtual tour will be downloaded to your C drive and be located in a folder with the name of the tour number.  Next, if you would like to burn the virtual tour to a CD you will need to burn the entire contents of the downloaded folder to the CD.  Open up your burning software and move all the files to the CD to burn – normally there are over 50 files.

*Tip: Only use a CD-R to burn to. If you burn to a DVD the tour will not play.

Professional Narration – Professional Narration is available upon request for a small fee. When you request a professional narration, your information will be provided to our narration specialist who will contact you for more details.  The narrator will also be able to provide you with pricing. Professional Narration Sample

Music – Yes, music is included with your virtual tour – we have over 65 songs available for you to choose from. We are proud to feature local San Diego Area Artists such as Mark Lessman, Douglas Stephens and Javid & Naoko.  While we were in Orlando for the National Association of Realtors conference, we also had the pleasure of meeting Clifton deMarks.

*Tip: Some of our users opt not to have a music selection.  If you have previously chosen a song but wish for no music to play simply select “No Music Selected” in your music selections list.

Realtor.com Uploads – No, we do not charge you to upload your virtual tours to Realtor.com if you are Showcase Account Holder with Realtor.com.  If you do not have the Realtor.com Showcase account you will be billed a fee of $20 per virtual tour uploaded.

*Tip: If your MLS number changes and your virtual tour has already been uploaded to Realtor.com call us.  We will have to manually re-upload the tour for you, it cannot be done on your end or by calling Realtor.com.

Corporate Accounts – Yes, we do offer discounted pricing for multiple agents in the same office who would like unlimited virtual tour accounts.  The minimum sign-up is only 2 agents.

*Tip: Take advantage of our Corporate Offer there are no contracts required and no setup fees.

Marketing Affiliates – We are proud to have an incredible amount of marketing affiliates that your listing is submitted to by the click ONE button.  Here are just some of the syndications we offer – Google, Yahoo ($49.95 – Free for FirstHomeTour.com Customers), Trulia, Vast, Oodle, RealtyFeedSearch, Lycos, CLR, Probot, Hotpads, Military, Landwatch and more.  FirstHomeTour.com can effectively market your home using out TotalListingSystem®!

Video Uploads - Yes, you can upload your pre-created videos to your virtual tour and we do not charge any additional fees to do so.  We currently accept videos from YouTube, WellcomeMat, Yahoo, Google and Blip.  Uploading a video can be a complimentary addition to your virtual tour – especially if you have a video of the listings surrounding area or of your brokerage.  FirstHomeTour.com Video Example

FirstHomeTour.com Pricing – We DO NOT charge hosting or setup fees.  We DO NOT believe in contracts or nickle-and-diming you so we offer you two very simple account types.  Choose from our Monthly Account Type (Unlimited Virtual Tours) or our Pay as you Go Account Type (Only pay for what you create).  Of course we DO believe in discounts so we offer Corporate Accounts – for those who have more than two agents to sign up or Re-Seller Accounts – for Real Estate Industry Professionals who need to create branded tours for other agents. We also offer you a hassle free trial.  Create a Virtual Tour from Beginning to End during your trial period and never enter in a credit card number until you are ready to choose an account type!

*Tip: Need Proof? Check out our Virtual Tour Vendor Comparison Chart to see who is charging what and what you get!

We Thank your For your Interest in FirstHomeTour.com.

Let us know if you have any other questions, we will be happy to answer them for you.

See What our Customers Have to Say About Us

Social networking isn’t just for yourself anymore! You now need to start networking your listings! Now it is even easier to share a listing with your friends in your networks!  FirstHomeTour.com has included a send to a friend feature which allows viewers to send the virtual tour to websites like: Facebook, Buzz Up, Digg, Twitter, Delicious, Stumbleupon, Reddit, Blogger, Wordpress, MySpace, FriendFeed and SO many more! Share your virtual tour today to try it out!

We have also included the functionality on your Finish Tour page to send your newly created virtual tour to Facebook!

Social Networking

FirstHomeTour.com has made it even easier for you to keep track of your listing duties!  Now check what you have already done with your tours just by viewing the “Finish Tour” Tab.  From flyer printing and property syndication to image uploading you will be able to view all the options for your listing in one convenient place! A check box will appear next to the option you have already completed.  FirstHomeTour.com Tip: For optimal distribution and help selling your property faster in a slower market make sure all your boxes are checked! We have also updated your branded and non-branded virtual tour links for even easier copying to add to your MLS, website or any of your other online marketing avenues. FirstHomeTour.com Tip: When pasting the non-branded virtual tour link into your MLS, make sure there are not two sets of the http:// included.  Some MLS companies add their own for you.  If you have two sets, the virtual tour link will not work properly.
New Features from FirstHomeTour.com

 

FirstHomeTour.com has moved into the future of Real Estate Marketing with our TotalListingSystem®! Using our TotalListingSystem® you can now access your property options even faster with our new Property Centric Interface! With the single click of a mouse you can Edit your Virtual Tour, Copy Your Virtual Tour, Download your Virtual Tour, Mange the Domain Names of your Properties Custom Website, Mange the Floorplans for your Property, Manage your Properties Images, Mange Videos, Market Your Property, Order Print Materials for your Property and of course View and Delete the Virtual Tour created for your Property.

We look forward to growing with you as we continue on this journey of new and exciting releases! If you are new to FirstHomeTour.com and haven’t tried us out yet start creating your free virtual tours today!  You will enjoy full use of FirstHomeTour.com during your free trial period. We are so certain that you will like FirstHomeTour.com a credit card is not needed unless you would like to join after your free trial period.  For questions please do not hesitate to email, call, facebook, twitter, chat or find us on linkedin!

- Your FirstHomeTour.com Team

www.FirstHomeTour.com

Support@FirstHomeTour.com

Toll Free: 888-675-4528 TwitterLinkedInFacebook

FirstHomeTour.com is excited to announce that we will be attending the SDAR Expo and Member Appreciation day April 2, 2009! 

Visit us to not only enter yourself into multiple drawings for free give aways but also to be the first to know about our incredible new release.

Or just stop by to say Hi and meet our team!  Look forward to seeing you there!

FirstHomeTour.com SDAR Booth

For More information and Driving Instructions to the Expo Location Visit: http://www.sdarexpo.com/

 

We are aware of our tough economic times and are pleased to introduce a new pricing structure for new Re-Sellers for all of 2009.  Let FirstHomeTour.com grow your Real Estate Photography business – Contact Us today for our updated pricing and details! The virtual tours will be free during your trial period and as always and no credit card is needed to begin your FREE TRIAL.  Click the following link to begin your Free Trial today!

Have a floorplan and not sure what to do with it?  We can help!  Our TotalListingSystem® now provides you with the ability to upload your floorplans at no additional charge! Once the floorplan has been added, you can use the pictures already uploaded for your virtual tour and place them on the actual floorplan!

View a Free Floorplan

Need to market the videos you have already created? Now you can add your custom videos to your virtual tour!  We support videos from YouTube, WellcomeMat, Google, Blip.tv & Yahoo! Add up to 12 custom videos to your virtual tours.   You will then have the option to submit the virtual tour to our marketing affiliates to market yourself, the listing and the area even more effectively!

FirstHomeTour Free Video Example