As a real estate agent, one of the things I get to notice is what happens when people like a house. Almost every time, there is a moment of realization… and then the need for a tape measure… and six more visits.
I had a client that had one piece of furniture that they were literally ready to buy the house around. It was a Dining Room cabinet that was 9′ tall and 13′ long… and 100 years old. It was a seriously cool item. For them, the tape measure came out first.
But, usually during the walk around of a strong candidate house, there is a bit pacing, and then arms out. At home, they start measuring things… occasionally a notebook of measurements is created. And on the second visit, we start measuring.
photo credit: G & A Sattler
But there is another nifty new tool…
It is called SpaceDesigner. You can play with it here. Down at the bottom of the tour, there is a little icon that is a couple of chairs viewed from above, sitting on a rug… you really can’t tell until you put your mouse over it, but that is what it is.
It will open up a floor plan of the house. And over on the left, there are a bunch of options for furniture and “stuff” that you can drag into the floor plan. Resize it to exactly match your furniture, and try out different arrangements to see how things fit.
The lofty goal
We set out to build a site that is not only fun, but that engages potential buyers. We want people to play with the features. Tell your friends. SpaceDesigner is another tool in the arsenal, like StyleDesigner (chronicled yesterday). The virtual tour, with the panorama and other pictures, is a great way to really see the house. If that weren’t enough, there is the video tour. The goal is to help potential buyers see themselves in the house… and find out if it is a good fit.
Take a look at the site. If you are interested, give me a shout.