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An Essential Tool for Real Estate Investors

Posted by Tina Merritt on 10/14/2009 at 5:31 PM
Posted in Real Estate Investing

Blog Image Have you ever purchased something that made your life so easy that you wondered how you were ever efficient without it?

That's how I feel (and my real estate investors feel) about our pocket video cameras. Offered by many manufacturers, these cameras are often called by their brand names, Flip, Vado, Webbie as well as others.

These inexpensive, easy to use tools have made us more efficient in more ways than we can list in a reasonable-length post. Here are a few examples:

As soon as we acquire a property, the contractor shoots a video to document what is there for insurance and draw purposes.
When the contractors run into a problem with the renovations (maybe they cannot move a wall as intended), they will often email me a quick video to refresh my memory of the property and allow me to make a quick decision/solution without having to wait for me to drive out and see everything in person.
Marketing - buyers and renters love seeing property videos that aren't commercially enhanced.
We will video properties before attending an auction to allow us to quickly review necessary repairs in case our bidding numbers are getting too close to our bottom line.
Here's a recent example: at the walk-thru inspection, the garbage disposal didn't work. The buyer was pressed for time and would have to delay closing in order for us to get a contractor out to repair and then schedule a re-inspection. Instead, the buyer went to closing as scheduled, we took a video of the recently-repaired garbage disposal as well as a demonstration of it operating properly and emailed it to the buyer to view at the closing table. No delay!

Pocket video cameras are very affordable and now offer HD versions. Starting prices are about $60 with HD cameras starting about $100.

Tina Merritt is an 11 year veteran Real Estate Agent and Trainer based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She holds a degree in economics from Virginia Tech and post-baccalaureate from Virginia Commonwealth in real estate and land development. As an avid social networker and internet marketer, Tina helps real estate agents, loan officers and affiliated industries embrace technology. As a real estate agent, Tina primarily deals with marketing and selling properties deemed "hard to sell" and also works with real estate investors helping them build and/or liquidate their portfolios for maximum profit.

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5 Comments

Posted by member11021888 on 10/14/2009 9:00 PM

I make videos of houses, then upload them to YouTube and send the link to out-of-town clients. They love it, but the more you give people the more they seem to want, so it can be a pain keeping up with demand. -Aaron C., http://gilberthomes.com/

Posted by member1982261 on 10/15/2009 11:25 AM

I recently bought Sanyo Xacti HD and I'm amazed at the quality of the video produced by this little camera. I never though about using it when looking for real estate, but now when I think of it, this is a great idea!

John,
http://www.canadabanks.net/Mortgages.aspx

Posted by member11026582 on 10/15/2009 11:37 AM

Great tip Tina! And for buyers, its easy to forget a layout of something, and make it more attractive in your head, only to go back and realize the layout was NOT how you remembered it!

Posted by user28112 on 10/15/2009 11:59 AM

Hi terrific, together Tina. Success, happiness and love will continue to come you and yours.

Your advise is excellent as usual. Pocket video cameras (Flip, Vado, Webbie, etc.) are extremely good money-making tools. You are a great real estate agent and trainer.

Sam Nazarian a real estate mogul here said that in real estate they say "You’re only as good as the deals you didn’t do." I disagreed. I say that you’re only as good as the "bad" deals you didn’t do. Those are the deals that will sink your yacht. Or to put it another way, you are only as good as the "good" deals you do. Those are the deals that will upgrade your yacht. What say you Tina?

Sincerely, your friend and "Revolutionary Entrepreneur"
Nimrod (means "Valiant, Strong")

Dr. Nimrod Erech M. Christ Nimrod,
President, Co-founder
Self-Esteem & World Peace Association
Nimrodworldpeace@aol.com.

Posted by member11002657 on 10/17/2009 6:22 AM

Commercial advertisement could help products be known by people very well.
I still want to contact Trump blog and receive much information from you.Thank you.

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