With the coronavirus pandemic looming over the country, people are following social distancing and stay-at-home recommendations. Yet, some are looking to shift base. Owing to career growth or job relocation, you may need to move to a different city. Or, maybe you are looking forward to resuming your travel vlogs and need a comfortable place for you and your crew to crash.
Finding the right house or apartment to move into is not a difficult task since you can view properties virtually from the safety of your home.
But before you set out to decide on a property that you toured virtually, let us see the key aspects that you need to focus on:
Types of Virtual Tours
There are 3 types of virtual home tours: pre-recorded virtual tours, live virtual tours, and 3D interactive virtual tours.
Pre-recorded virtual tours
- These type of virtual tours come in a packaged format, with heavy editing, music, and a sequence. It could also have the narrator’s voice over.
Live virtual tours
- These tours are a real-time tour of a property where you speak to an agent or the seller in an online meeting via apps like Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, or Facebook Messenger.
3D interactive virtual tours
- Interactive 3D tours are recorded with a specific camera or software (Matterport, Google AR & VR) to show you the 360-degree views of the home. You can navigate each room, again and again, walk through the home in any order you like, and view from different angles.
How to Make the Most of a Virtual Home Tour
The upside of a virtual home tour over photographs is that you can view the 3-dimensional aspects of the home, and walk through its length and breadth.
Go back and forth between the rooms any number of times, and take a closer look by zooming in. There is also no time constraint for your tour; stay as much time as you like.
Here are some actions you can take during a virtual tour:
- Explore every room in the house and look at the carpeting or hardwood floors. Are they per your liking?
- How many bedrooms are there? Does the closet space in the master bedroom suffice your requirements? Is it a walk-in closet? How much is the square footage?
- 3D tour allows you to feel the open space in the home. Get an idea about the dimensions, such as the wall thickness or height of a ceiling. Are they as described?
- Review the kitchen cabinetry, countertops, and lighting. See where the dining area is. Can it hold a large crowd, if you decide to host a gathering?
- Do the kitchen appliances come with the home?Do they match your tastes, or would you rather go for something more modern or urbane?
- The window views let you see the home exteriors as if you were standing in the home in real-time. Is there a pool and enough parking space, and what do the surroundings look like?
- Move the mouse or cursor over to the balcony and get a panoramic view of the street. Is this the right kind of neighborhood for you?
Tips to Enhance Your Virtual Tour Experience
- When watching the presentation on your phone, make sure to connect via your Wi-Fi network as it offers better quality in audio and video when compared to data connection from your cellphone operator.
- Rather than squinting at your phone, stream the video to a larger screen, like a TV or desktop, to help you see the space better.
- Schedule your online meeting in off-peak times, when there is not much load on the data bandwidth.
- Keep your mobile app, which you are using to view the video, updated.
Conclusion
Although for many, seeing a house for themselves may still be the final step in their decision-making process, the role of virtual home tours is undeniable. You can use a virtual tour to narrow down your options, instead of visiting every home personally. Based on your virtual tour, decide whether you need to make a visit or two, or drop the thought altogether.
