Moving Into a Video Era - Real Estate Video Tours

Welcome to the REVOLUTION!!!
I recently attended a seminar that was quite an eye opener.
The majority of the seminar was on Social Media, (see link below) but there was also a section on technology and the future of Real Estate. The National Association of Realtors found out that 70% of Sellers would list with an agent if they were doing video walk-through tours...and yet fewer than 1% of agents were using video tours...
Well, our clients deserve the very best so that is what Carl and I are bringing to them. Gone is the day requiring lots of equipment and editing time... these days most of the news feeds on TV are shot on cell phone cameras, not news teams with camera men and reporters. Today's consumer is used to the grainy video of user submitted video. Our video tours are available in HD, but it is also viewable in lower resolutions for quicker viewing, or for those with screens that can't work with HD video.
Our youTube channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarlandKurtRE
Subscribe to be alerted whenever we post a new video.

From now on, all of our listings will get their own video tour, as well as the 360 panoramic virtual tour, stills, and the property's own website that we have always provided to stand out from the rest.

When you list your home with us, we want you to feel like you are dealing with the top 1%, and this is one more way that Carl and I can help you feel that way.
Viva la Revolution!

Proud to be your Real Estate Resource,

Kurt Engel
Carl Engel

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How's your Whole Foods?

OK, I'm the first to admit it...Whole foods is coming to Novato...big deal.
I thought it. What will one more grocery store do? Ok, I'll also admit it...I was an idiot. The new Whole Foods Market nestled in the new Millworks building is a great store. Not because the food is exceptional. Not because the prices are better than I feared they might be. No. What makes the new Novato Whole Foods Market exceptional is the service provided by the people working there. Everyone I have passed by has had a big genuine smile ready to offer. The knowledge of everyone I have ever asked a question of there has astounded me. The willingness of every employee I have encountered to go that extra mile to make sure your shopping experience is satisfying and complete has blown me away.

Real Estate is a service industry. What we have to offer is our skill, service, and market knowledge. When we are provided with outstanding skill, service and knowledge in return, we stand up and take note. Trust me, I never thought I'd be singing the praises of Whole Foods...but the praise is well deserved.

If you have children, be sure to join the kids club, your kids will be treated to healthy snacks courtesy of Whole Foods. Since there are so many foods to sample as you go through the store (and if you have a question about something not available for sample, they will cut one open for you!), we usually decide to get the snack as we are checking out to snack on on the way home.

I welcome the addition of Whole Foods to Novato. I appreciate their service and kind attitude. Carl and I always strive to provide the same with our service to you in Real Estate...
Top rate skill, knowledge and attitude. It makes a huge difference!
We look forward to serving you as your Real Estate Resource, and we are never too busy for your referrals!

Extra info and related articles:

The 124 condominiums turned apartments in the Millworks mixed-use project were completed last year, but the Whole Foods Market grocery store is set to open on Earth Day, April 22.

The City Council approved the project, rated for green-building features by the GreenPoint standard, in 2006 and construction started in 2008.

The project is breathing new life into historical downtown Novato, according to Ron Gerber, who is in charge of city redevelopment and economic development. The store is doubling the amount of shop and restaurant space among the 84 properties in the seven blocks of Grant Avenue, and the store will be open 90 hours a week instead of the typical 40 at many existing shops.

“It will double the square footage and be open more than twice as many hours,” Mr. Gerber said.

The store will employ about 130 and is becoming actively involved with the Downtown Novato Business Association. There could be up to 300 residents in the units when fully leased.

The units were advertised for sale before the strategy shifted in July to leasing after only two units sold. So far 60 percent are leased, at a rate of about 15 a month, according to Signature Properties President Mike Ghielmetti.

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Bumps in the Road

Well I hate for the first blog entry here to be a downer, so I'll do my best to give you the silver lining...

With every Real Estate transaction there are an amazing number of snags you can hit along the way that can bring your transaction to a grinding halt. The key to overcoming them, is to have a competent and knowledgeable agent (or agents in our case) that can help you successfully navigate through the pitfalls, and come out the other side with a successful close of escrow.

Over the years, we have seen deals try to tear themselves apart for a myriad of reasons...from the silly and outrageous ("this room is just too bright...we want out of the deal [never heard of drapes I guess]) to the sad and unfortunate (2 weeks before closing escrow the Buyer lost their job, so they also lost their dream home). These things are par for the course in Real Estate, it is how we deal with the problems that set us apart from the rest. We do our best not to let a deal fall apart (provided that that is what our client wants, mind you).

We have a deal currently in peril that if it should fall apart will also mean the Seller will lose the home that they are trying to buy as well. This is common in today's market. The Buyer's agent informed us that the deal was off, and that the Buyer was walking. Carl and I have been through this enough times that we know there is often a light at the end of the tunnel...it often just takes a little elbow grease and a lot of creative thinking to overcome the differences in what the Seller and Buyer want. It often just comes down to motivation. The Seller wants to sell, the Buyer wants to buy...there is just a gulf between the two parties happiness and we need to build them a bridge.

Carl and I will be meeting with the other agent, the Buyer and the Seller, and hopefully, with all of those people together that want the same thing in the long run, we will all be able to arrive at a meeting of the minds, and a satisfactory agreement to keep the deal alive. There are no guarantees...but with us, there is always hope.

There will always be Bumps in the Road in Real Estate deals...but Carl and I will always try to be the best shock absorbers possible, and get you HOME in the end.

We look forward to talking to you soon, and we are NEVER too busy for any of your referrals.

All our best,

Kurt and Carl Engel