It’s Time for Listing Agents to Get on the Narrated Video Walk-Through Bandwagon
For 15 years Golden Real Estate has been almost the only brokerage which does live-action video tours of its listings. Other brokerages make use of the “virtual tour” field in the MLS for videos that are nothing more than slideshows with music or Matterport tours which are interactive but miss the vital ingredient of a live action video tour — narration such as you’d get if you were walking through the house with the listing agent.
points of each room. To get a feel for this kind of video tour, go online to www.GRElistings.com and click on any one of our listings to watch the narrated video tour.
Our video tours are designed to simulate a live showing. As such, the video starts on the street, with me (or a broker associate) introducing the listing and perhaps showing the street scene. “Now let’s go inside and check out this home.”
What makes this the right time for listing agents from other brokerages begin producing narrated video tours is the NAR settlement, which is likely to reduce the number of in-person showings at listed properties. If every listing had a narrated video tour, the number of showings would be reduced, because only those who watched the video tour and knew this listing might be a contender for them would go to the trouble of calling the listing agent or engaging a buyer agent to show them the listing.
listing agents from creating narrated video tours of their listings? I can only speculate, but here is my speculation. Listing agents like to farm out as many tasks as they can. They hire photographers (as we do) to shoot magazine quality photographs of their listings. Those vendors offer “videos” of the interior and drone videos of the exterior, and the listing agents think that’s sufficient. But there’s no narration of those videos, because the videographer would not know what to say. He only knows how to press “record” and “stop.”
The Matterport interactive tours are
Reader
Suggests
the
Cut to the foyer and a walk through of the home, speaking as we go. “Notice the hardwood floors…. That’s a woodburning fireplace…. See the skylight in the vaulted ceiling…. These are Corian countertops…. The high efficiency washer and dryer are included…. Notice the mountain view out the kitchen window….” You get the idea.
No slideshow with music can compete with a narrated walk-through with the listing agent pointing out the selling
By the way, narrated video tours are essential for attracting out-of-town buyers. More than once, an out-of-town buyer has gone under contract for one of our listings based solely on the narrated video tour, because they feel as if they have toured the home. The buyers still have the opportunity to terminate when they fly in for the inspection. None of those buyers terminated, however.
So, in this video age, what is keeping the majority — the vast majority — of
I Foresee a Surge in Buyer Activity This Summer
The primary outcome of the muchdiscussed NAR settlement announced in March is that buyers will now have to compensate agents representing them in the purchase of homes.
That change is scheduled to take effect on August 17th, so it makes sense that home buyers who have been “on the fence” are getting serious now about buying a home while they can still count on the seller, not them, paying their agent’s commission.
It doesn’t matter that their fear is unfounded. I fully expect sellers to keep offering to pay a “co-op” commission to the agents who bring them a buyer, even though that commission cannot be mentioned anywhere on the MLS.
Just this month, REcolorado, the Denver MLS, quietly introduced a new field for all listings. It’s a field to list another website, such as the websites we already create for every listing, and that website is allowed to mention the co-op commission for buyer agents since it does not derive its data from the MLS. If you want to see what that looks like, simply go to the website for my latest listing, www.ArvadaHome.info There on the home page of the website you will see the 2.8% co-op commission my seller is offering to buyer agents
under the headline, “Buyer Agent Commission Details.”
Nevertheless, the fear is very real among buyers that they will have to pony some serious money on top of their purchase price and loan expenses to pay for professional representation.
Another development in this regard is the introduction of new mobile software called LivePad, which facilitates the process of showing homes to buyers when the showing agent doesn’t yet have a signed compensation agreement. In addition to some fine features for setting up a tour of listings, the tabletbased software allows the showing agent to create that requisite agreement on the tablet where the buyer can sign it digitally before entering the first listing. If the compensation agreement is for just that one day, the buyer can avoid paying the specified fee to their showing agent by waiting until the next day to make an offer under a new agreement. There may also be a surge in sellers putting their homes on the market prior to the August 17 deadline. Broker associate Chuck Brown had a seller get “off the fence” this month and sell his home, because he feared reduced buyer interest once buyers face the prospect of paying for their own agents.
very popular, and we include those on our listings too, but only because they are included in the enhanced package which we purchase that includes floor plans, which are done by the Matterport software. The Matterport tours are cool because they are shot with 360-degree lenses, allowing the viewer to rotate the view and even look up at the ceiling, then click on the next marker to go from room to room. But, again, no narration about what you are seeing. To call it a “video” is deceptive. It’s just a link that is inserted in one of the three “virtual tour” fields.
Pooling of Insured Homes as
a
Way to Reduce the Risks Causing Higher Insurance Premiums
One reader, Andrew Burt, recently responded to my request for creative solutions to the home insurance crisis caused primarily by the multiple natural and man-made disasters resulting in profit-crushing insurance claims.
His suggestion: the pooling of multiple homes so that the loss sustained by any one home is spread across the pool.
My first reaction was that this is how insurance works already. Insurance companies have thousands or millions of insured properties in the expectation that only a small percentage will file catastrophic claims.
Nevertheless, here is Andrew’s proposal, which he supported with some serious mathematical formulae not for publication in this lay publication.
“If I'm in a pool with, say, nine other properties, and one of them gets damaged, the insurer pays a claim but then distributes the cost of that claim over all 10 properties in next year's premium calculation — instead of raising just mine to cover all of it. (Or I cover all of it over an amortized number of years, which is what they seem to do rather than lumping their cost all into year one. It doesn't change the math of the idea. Spread the new premium costs over multiple people instead of just me.)”
Andrew compared his proposal to the Affordable Care Act, which insures everyone without regard to pre-existing
conditions, but requires everyone to be insured. (Wildfire risk is a “pre-existing condition.”) He suggested that widely separated properties within the state could be pooled to further spread the risk of multiple claims within the pool.
Mike Nelson was one of six featured speakers at the annual fundraiser for New Energy Colorado, held on June 20th at The Retreat at Solterra in Lakewood.
Viewers of Mike’s weather forecasts on Channel 7 know that he is passionate about climate change. In addition to addressing the topic, he gave away free copies of his 2020 booklet, “The World’s Littlest Book on Climate: 10 Facts in 10 Minutes About CO2.”
Also speaking at the well-attended event was U.S. Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen, State Sen. Lisa Cutter, Jeffco Commissioner Andy Kerr, State Rep. Brianna Titone, and Will Toor, director of the Colorado Energy Office. New Energy Colorado is best known for its annual Metro Denver Green Homes Tour on the first Saturday in October. This year it is on Oct. 5. Golden Real Estate is one of its sponsors.
Jim Smith
Broker/Owner, 303-525-1851
Jim@GoldenRealEstate.com 1214 Washington Ave., Golden 80401
Broker Associates:
JIM SWANSON, 303-929-2727
CHUCK BROWN, 303-885-7855
DAVID DLUGASCH, 303-908-4835
GREG KRAFT, 720-353-1922
AUSTIN POTTORFF, 970-281-9071
Channel 7’s Mike Nelson Speaks at ‘Summer Solstice’ Fundraiser
MIERA Mariana Josephine (Pinard) Miera
July 25, 1942 - June 14, 2024
Mariana Josephine Miera (Pinard) was born July 25, 1942 in Raton, New Mexico, and passed on June 14, 2024. Her family moved to Plainview, Colorado in 1949. She attended a one-room schoolhouse in Plainview, and junior and senior high in Arvada. e family moved to Brighton in 1959 and she attended Brighton High School.
to be near her sons. She led a coloring and craft group for seniors at Mountain Park Church. She moved back to Brighton in 2022.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Lazaro Miera and her daughter, Linda Marie Castaneda; parents Tobias and Delia Pinard; a brother David Pinard; granddaughter Olivia Miera and grandson Dominick Chacon.
She married Tom Castaneda and had six children. She returned to nish high school in 1976 and later earned an Associate of Arts degree. She worked in 27J Schools in nutrition services, in Fort Lupton schools and in local daycare centers.
In 1990 Mariana married Lazaro Miera. roughout her life, she loved shing and camping in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Hobbies were ceramics, crochet and Trichem. In 2019, Mariana moved to Phoenix
She is survived by sons Tom (Debbie) Castaneda; Robert Castaneda, Kenny (Tonja) Castaneda; David (Michelle) Castaneda; daughter DeAnna Castaneda; stepdaughter Roxane (Juan) Chacon; stepson Gabriel Miera; 16 grandchildren and ve great grandchildren with two on the way. She is also survived by a sister, Rosanna Vigil of Brighton, two nieces and a nephew.
Burial was at Fairview Cemetery.
SERVICE DIRECTORY
Careers
Help Wanted
Outrider seeks Sr Prcptn
Eng in Brighton, CO to dev & implmnt algos for auto navig.
Reqs MS in CS, CE, EE or rel plus 2 yrs exp as Comp Eng. Reqs 2+ yrs exp bldng prod level sw in C++: C, C++, Matlab/Octave, Python. Reqs exp or dmnstrtd knwldg of: lin algebra, geo, & stat; robotic concpts incl rigid body transform & Lie Group; Robotics lib & tools: ROS, Eigen, OpenCV, PCL, Gazebo, OpenGL, CUDA; Nonlin optmztn. Also reqs exp w/: Lidar, camera, GNSS or IMU; Kalman filter, bundle adj or pose graph optmztn; old school image proc; computational geo, e.g. polygons, line strings, rasters; C++ intgrtn 3D Obj Recog Corres Grpng w/ 3D Gnrlzd Hough Transform. Sal rng $98,051-158,100 plus ISO. Bnfts incl hlth cr ben, sick lv, parental lv, brvmnt, PTO, 401k (no match). Apply to othman@outrider.ai. Apps acptd ongoing basis, no deadline.
Garage and Estate Sales
Garage Sales
Multi-Family Sale
Fri. & Sat., 6/28 & 6/129
8 am - 4 pm. Household, exercise, Holiday and misc. items. 403 - 415 Badger Creek Drive, Brighton.
Merchandise
Lawn & Garden
Professional lawn service: Fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration & mosquito control. Call now for a free quote. Ask about our first application special! 1-833606-6777
Health & Beauty
VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS!
50 Generic Pills SPECIAL $99.00
100% guaranteed. 24/7 CALL NOW! 888-445-5928 Hablamos Espanol
Dental insurance from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 400+ procedures. Real dental insurance - not just a discount plan. Get your free Information Kit with details! 1-855-526-1060 www.dental50plus.com/ads #6258
Medical
Attention oxygen therapy users! Discover oxygen therapy that moves with you with Inogen Portable Oxygen Concentrators. Free information kit. 1-866-4779045
Miscellaneous
Don’t let the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today! 1-833399-3595
DIRECTV Stream - Carries the most local MLB Games! Choice Package $89.99/ mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once. HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/ Choice Package or higher.) No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS 1-866-859-0405
Diagnosed with lung cancer & 65+?
You may qualify for a substantial cash award. No obligation! We’ve recovered millions. Let us help! Call 24/7 1-877-707-5707
Become a published author We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920. Consultation, production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author`s guide 1-877-7294998 or visit dorranceinfo. com/ads
Home break-ins take less than 60 seconds. Don’t wait! Protect your family, your home, your assets now for as little as 70¢/day! 1-844-591-7951 Miscellaneous
Water damage cleanup: A small amount of water can cause major damage to your home. Our trusted professionals dry out wet areas & repair to protect your family & your home value! Call 24/7: 1-888-872-2809. Have zip code!
Pets
