Mr. Cooper Weighs In: The Benefits of Virtual Home Tours
Given the state of the world currently, many realtors and homeowners are wary of scheduling showings and open houses. Plus, we all find showings tedious and time-consuming, especially considering the effort involved in staging your home. Completing a showing only to realize the buyer isn’t interested is both disappointing and frustrating. It can feel like a waste of time.
However, creating a virtual home tour can solve many of these issues. Mr. Cooper mortgage borrowers often take advantage of the virtual home tours, going as far as to utilize a variety of virtual staging and upgrade tools to make it easy for potential buyers to imagine what their future looks like in your home. Below, we’ve explained in detail the benefits associated with virtual home tours.
What is a Virtual Tour?
There are plenty of ways to stage your home and provide a tour virtually. However, typically speaking, a virtual tour utilizes 360-degree photography or realistic 3D modeling to allow potential buyers to view your home without being physically present.
Depending upon the type of software you use to create your virtual tour, you may also have the ability to virtually stage and upgrade your home, as well. Mr. Cooper mortgage borrowers often take advantage of these tools to visualize how they’d arrange their furniture throughout the house.
Virtual tours allow potential buyers to experience your property from the comfort of their homes and on their own time. These tours effectively enable them to preview your home, explore the layout and size, and ultimately determine if the property fits their needs.
Buyers Start Their Search Online
These days, traveling comes at a relatively high cost and often accompanies some associated risks. Your buyer might live in a different city, state, or country. Many people aren’t willing to travel to view a property unless they’re sure the home has a decent chance of meeting their needs.
Therefore, many individuals start their search for their next home online. In some cases, buyers even request a mortgage with Mr. Cooper after they’ve already found their dream home. Many people go as far as to ask for virtual tours or 360-degree photographs before viewing the property in person, even if they live nearby.
Another reason many buyers start their search online, at least recently, is due to safety concerns associated with the pandemic. As we’ve previously mentioned, potential buyers are less willing to travel currently. Virtual tours allow potential buyers to follow social distancing protocol and view the property from the comfort of their own homes and at their convenience.
Ultimately, a virtual tour available increases your visibility to potential buyers when they start their search. Finding the right buyer early in the shopping process simplifies the processes of all involved parties, making virtual tours highly beneficial to selling your home.
Interest Means Less Time on the Market
For some people, selling a home is overwhelming at best. We’ve likely all heard horror stories from homeowners whose homes stayed on the market for close to a year. No one wants to spend time showing a home to dozens of leads, only to find out later that they’re not interested in the property or unqualified. After all, the longer your property is on the market, the more likely you are to miss out on potential earnings.
Most buyers know what they’re looking for when shopping for a new place to call home. Typically, a potential buyer goes to their real estate agent with a few lists. They’ll explain what the home needs to have, what the home ideally has to offer, and what would be nice to have from their future home. For instance, they might want a spacious kitchen with plenty of open light or a cozy dining room with just enough space for settings for four.
Typically, these buyers only know the home meets their criteria when they’ve visited. For you, this means frequent showings of your home and more time on the market waiting to find an interested and qualified buyer. However, having a virtual tour of your home available online generates interest from individuals who feel your home may fit their needs, which can significantly decrease the time your home is on the market overall.
Interaction and Customization
Mr. Cooper mortgage lenders often recommend potential buyers take advantage of the many different tools available for customizing properties within virtual tours. One of the most significant benefits of having a virtual showing is that it allows buyers to interact with your home. Buyers can visualize themselves in the house and even simulate future upgrades.
As we previously mentioned, many buyers go into the market perfectly aware of their unique needs. Some buyers want to find a home that accommodates these needs as-is, while others consider making upgrades to pre-existing properties to create their dream home. And, realistically, who hasn’t looked at a property and thought, “Oh, this would be perfect, but I’d probably want to repaint this room. Would it look good in this color?” Alternatively, buyers can choose to change the flooring or even change countertops and cabinets. They can even stage the house as they see fit.
Because virtual tours allow potential buyers to essentially “walk through” your home, they can get a feeling for the layout without needing to visit the property. Some of these virtual showings allow you to open cabinets, inspect floorboards, and more. They enable individuals to experience your home as though they were there, saving you both time and energy.
Why Should You Consider A Virtual Tour?
Ultimately, whether or not you offer a virtual tour is up to you. However, the benefits often outweigh the costs associated with hiring a professional to shoot a virtual tour. Overall, there are very few reasons not to consider setting up a virtual tour for your property listing.