About Liberty's Parkview Meadows

The Open House went GREAT yesterday! ....Right up until I'm packing up and the heavens open! Rain. Hail. An I've got a showing in 10 minutes, so I can't wait for it to subside.

Oh no. The pointer signs... Do you mean I have to go out there in THIS to grab them?? At this point, I was really weighing the cost of those signs vs my sanity. And which would the Realtor choose? Yep. I got the signs.

Four pointers later, I am DRENCHED I like just rode a barrel over Niagara Falls. AND have little sore places where the hail pelted me. All for these DANG signs!

After a quick call to my buyers to let them know I had to run home to change clothes (hail-damaged bandages will have to happen later) and to assure them that "a little rain never hurt anyone, so lets go see some houses!" I grabbed new clothes, shoes and back out into the deluge.

Yes, we saw 7 homes in that mess. Yes, it was worth it because they found one the love. Yes, this business has some unexpected hazards, but at least we're not handling nuclear material or having to work on one of those TV cooking shows. (Danger! splattering oil!!).

I'll take it. A little hail never hurt anyone. Too much.

---

What's YOUR real estate DANGER story? Fallen down those stairs? Ice on the driveway? Knock heads on kitchen cabinets? Let me know with a comment so we can laugh WITH YOU... not at you. ;)

Video is the hot new medium to get the message out. If you don't have a YouTube channel yet, then what are ya waiting for?!?!

There are two ways to approach a listing video: HOLLYWOOD and B-MOVIE. The first is great for those higher priced listings because people expect to be dazzled. But what about those low to mid range homes? B-MOVIE is the way to go, because it fits with the vibe and expectations of the YouTube generation.

Have you seen any viral videos lately? How have they been shot? HOME MADE. They are all about the content: funny, informative, useful. Production value isn't all it's cracked up to be these days.

With that being said, there is one tool that will make your B-MOVIE a step better and easier to watch. Enter the STEADI-CAM.

This cool little device has been used in Hollywood when you can't make a rail system for the camera to move along. Basically it counter-balances the camera weight and avoids the jitters and bouncing of a standard hand-held camera.

Check out this video for a recent listing and see how smooth the shot is, even when walking up steps and around corners. (Your eye may not know WHY it's more pleasing to watch, but will appreciate the ability to better SEE the home, not get sea-sick.)

Rigs like this can start under $200 and can even be home-made for much less. They adapt to any camera and even work with the iPhone or FlipCams. Here is one for the iPhone: http://bit.ly/dNoT97

So get out there and start shooting!