In the past, finding your dream home relies heavily on in-person experience. However, given the unprecedented circumstance that swept the whole world freezing person-to-person contact, home tours seem impossible. The pandemic may immobilize human interaction but technology, once again, proved to us that finding your real home is possible through 3D virtual tours.
In the study made by the National Association of Realtors earlier this year, real estate agents reported that 64% of home sellers decided to stop holding open houses while 38% opted for virtual tours, 28% relied on virtual showing, and 20% counted on virtual open houses. Mandatory lockdowns and social distancing may be the new normal for a while, hence, real estate experts believe that virtual tours showings and open houses will be the new reality for people searching for their dream home.
The first step should always be finding a good realtor. What remains pivotal to kickstart your journey, whether it is an in-person open house or real estate virtual tour, is making sure that your realtor fully understands your basic criteria:
- Your budget
- The design of the house you want
- The location of the property
- The neighbourhood
Engaging with 3D Tour: What makes a good tour?
Seamless Navigation—A good tour will make sure that you as a buyer can easily find your way around the whole house with the ability to quickly navigate to specific rooms and zoom in on its features.
Panoramic and 360° View—Aside from the ability to inspect the nooks and crannies of the house, the tour should give you a full panoramic view to be fully immersed in the house as if you are there in person.
Floor Plan and Measurements—While virtual tours can provide you with a 360° view of the house, what is often overlooked is the actual size of space relative to another. A floor plan shows the view from above giving a clear perspective of how large or small a room or space is relative to another. The measurement feature, on the other hand, provides the actual size of the room, alley, or any physical feature.
Faster Load Time—A tour that doesn’t promptly load is simply infuriating. 3D virtual tours are supposed to be a pleasant and convenient experience.
What Virtual Tours Can’t Capture
Traditionally, an open house allows you to walk through the house and directly ask the realtor your concerns while making sure the property satisfies your checklist. While on-site, you can check the ambience of the whole neighbourhood or even meet some for your future neighbours, inspect the structural condition of the house first-hand, and foresee if you can really enjoy and find comfort in living in the property.
Real estate virtual tours can save you money, time and reduce your risk of contracting the virus, but the reality remains that virtual tours can only offer the visual aspect of the property while leaving you unaware of the other pertinent information crucial to finding the perfect home.
Questions To Ask Your Realtor
While you may find virtual tours tricky in some aspects of house hunting, your realtor should make sure to free you of those worries. You can even ask them to go on-site and get you more photographs of the property, if necessary. A house can only certify as a good investment if you are confident that it won’t ensure you with major problems that will eventually require costly repairs.
So, don’t be afraid to prepare a list to ask your realtor—remember, you should try to get as much information about the property that you can’t see in person. After all, you are in pursuit of finding YOUR dream home.
- How is the quality of the materials used and the condition of the following:
Structural Soundness
- Roof
- Gutter
- Siding
- Ceiling
- Foundation
- Floor
- Walls
- Windows
- Driveway
- Are there any cracks? Are any repairs necessary?
- Does the house have noticeable odours and stains?
- Do the windows and doors operate properly?
- Are the taps and showers working?
- Are the drains and gutters functioning?
- Is the area prone to flooding?
- What’s the neighbourhood like?
Real estate 3D virtual tours may be a novelty for some people. But if you are someone who just doesn’t have the time and availability to be on-site or if you think the pandemic halted your plan to finally purchase a house, a virtual tour is something to marvel at. So start looking for that dream house in the comfort of your home—or wherever you are.
