Suzanne Roxburgh (803-802-9037) and Amazing Video Tours are proud to bring you this fantastic professional full motion video virtual tour of a beautifyl Sun City Carolina Lakes Home For Sale.

55+ Gated Golf Community //// 18 hole Championship Golf Course //// 8 Lighted Clay Tennis Courts //// 40,000 Square Foot Community Center with every imaginable feature //// Indoor and Outdoor Pools //// 75+ Organized Social Clubs //// 3 or 4 Bedrooms //// 3 Full Baths //// Approximately 2450 Heated Living Area //// Better than new with additional upgrades //// Rare, finished basement and greenbelt trees w/stream, for great privacy //// Stone & cedar shake front elevation //// Sunroom with large sliders leading to deck //// Deck w/retractable awning //// Stainless steel appliances //// Tile floor laundry //// Granite floor Master bath & foyer //// Lovely tiled back splash in kitchen //// Full security system //// Fans in most rooms //// Decorator paint //// Additional 599 sq.ft. very dry, unframed storage in basement //// 2 car Garage

(3/13/2009) – I can’t believe that Jon Stewart is getting publicity, ratings, and probably a raise for his broadcasts bashing CNBC and their on air personalities.

Why don’t we just blame the whole recession on CNBC? I mean, Jon went after Rick Santelli and now Jim Cramer. Give me any guy who is on TV every day (making predictions) and then let me pick and choose the clips I want to make him look bad. Hindsight is 20/20, you can use clips like that to make anyone look like a moron. Jon did have Cramer looking like a moron, and no question, he beat him up bad. The 2006 footage is probably something Cramer did not want aired. But I never saw the original footage (did you?) and wonder how out of context it was taken. But I digress…..

I am not sticking up for Jim Cramer. I’m not even a big fan of Jim, but I do occasionally watch his show. But I don’t just watch his show and trade what he tells me to trade without doing my OWN research. Anyone who does THAT and loses money – shame on THEM. That’s the laziest approach to investing I have ever seen. Jon purports to be the voice of “the average investor” who lost money on Jim’s show. Puhleeze! Mad Money is entertainment, purposely outrageous, you need to take it about as seriously as Jim does.

But Jon Stewart doesn’t stop at just Cramer. Jon digs harder at CNBC saying that only “a couple of guys on CNBC have it right”, and says [to CNBC], “You ALL knew” alledging that CNBC had inside information and could have predicted the financial meltdown and reported it ahead of time so that, “we could have done something”.

Hey Jon, you got it WRONG! Lay off CNBC. CNBC has some of the smartest, well spoken, diligent broadcasters on the planet. Case in point:

Becky Quick, Joe Kernen, Carl Quintanilla, Steve Leisman, David Faber, Charles Gasparino, Dylan Ratigan, Bob Pisani, Erin Burnett, Maria Bartiromo, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, the list goes on and on and on. And yes, Jim Cramer and Rick Santelli are very intelligent guys.

CNBC gets the best Economists, best legislators (both sides), and best investors (Warren Buffett. Donald Trump ….. heeeelllllllooooooo!) on their shows. CNBC had Barbara Corcoran and Suzi Orman on long before they became household names. They have guests on 8 at a time to represent every possible argument on a topic. Jon Stewert says they need to “do a better job of reporting the financial news”. HOW? Jon wasn’t watching CNBC when his 401K was going straight up. He’s a bandwagon jumper who’s looking for a scapegoat and chose to blame the folks that bring us bad news everyday. Hello? Don’t shoot the messenger.

If you watch CNBC regularly, then you know they are NOT like the other networks that glamorize the doomsday scenario for ratings. They do a great job of reporting the news in a nonpartisan, not overly dramatic fashion. That’s the reason I like them so much. Network news — don’t get me started.

Jon – If you don’t like CNBC, then watch Fox Business, or Bloomberg. But quit whining. Well ….. we all know that’s not going to happen. When Jon whines, he cries all the way to the bank! Interesting who’s profiting off of the recession now.

I just wanted to get out and test a new color setting on my camera.

————- Turn up your speakers —————–

©2009 – AmazingVideoTours.com – All Rights Reserved. Any use of this video, including reproduction, modification, distribution or republication, without the prior written consent of Amazing Video Tours, is strictly prohibited. Amazing Video Tours offers photography and full motion video marketing solutions to Realtors, and other individuals with property to sell, lease, or rent. A departure from the old fashion 360 Virtual Tour, Amazing Video Tours takes online property marketing to the next level.

Here’s my question to the NASCAR faithful. Am I the only one who feels this way, or is NASCAR just too darn………….well …………..NICE?

Perfectly polished corporate ready drivers who barely stray from the “Well our Impala SS DuPont Pepsi Frito Lay Nicorette Quaker State GMAC Chevrolet was running great today, I really gotta thank the guys back at the shop…. The engine guys and the fab guys really work hard and its nice to pull out a win for ‘em”.  I mean, I know that without sponsorship, there is no NASCAR, but without excitement, there ain’t no fans. If I really wanted stone chiseled men with supermodel looks, cant I just watch F1? Shutter the thought.

And what about the COT? I know the drivers say it’s a handful, but man! This last Las Vegas race aside, with the number of green flag laps run in recent memory, it sure looks like they have a handle on it. Sure put the squash on the bump and run, not that many are willing to get outside the box and do that anymore.

And while I’m on my soapbox ….. Since when is Bristol a track with 2 grooves? I remember when we used to look forward to Bristol weeks in advanced because it made the drivers so mad, caused animation, and was well….. exciting! Now it’s as exciting to watch as a conveyer belt (‘cept for the last 10 laps).

Trust me, I am not one to watch racing for the wrecks, I got into racing after rebuilding my first Chevy small block and got an appreciation for what 12:1 compression and 9000 RPMs for 500 miles really means.

But ….. gimme something……. Remember when Jeff Gordon pushed Matt Kenseth? They played that clip every week for the rest of the season.  It’s STILL fun to watch! This year, the Jr and Vickers saga continues, but where’s the excitement?

NASCAR — give these guys a break! Let em race, let em show some darn emotion.

Now there’s a LOT of whining in this post. I admit it, but I am having fun with this, most of my posts are much more serious and work related. Having said all that, I still LOVE the sport, watch every race, and try to go to between 2 and 4 a year. But please, someone disagree with me, call me names, say I’m an idiot, tell me Jr is lousy, or something! Cause some controversy! Cause I ain’t getting it on Sunday!

Oh, and by the way, this Amazing Video Tours blog post was brought to you by Nikon DSLRs, Canon Pro camcorders, Gatorade, GE Suprakey, and the National Association of Realtors. I’d like to thank all the Realtors that employ my services and allow me to put food on the table for my kids.

Long Live THE 3

Amazing Video Tours and Anne and Bertie from First Properties are proud to bring you this wonderful home in River Hills…….

TOTALLY RENOVATED. Golf course home. MUST SEE. Huge kitchen, antique glazed cabinets, granite counters. Beautiful matching buffet, Bosch dishwasher, Thermador gas cooktop, GE profile built-in oven & microwave. New master bath w/his and her vanity areas, built-in furniture in master closet. Beautiful views of golf course & pond from large deck. Breakfast room furniture to stay.

Agent Information:

Anne Fletcher and Bertie Terwilleger First Properties of the Carolinas (803) 831-5619(803) 831-5613

WellcomeMat’s founders made the decision to not allow future “videos” that are comprised of slide shows of photos that are merely panned and zoomed. This decision has sparked a heated debate over on their website.

There are dozens of places to host slide shows on the internet. Why shouldn’t they have the opportunity to differentiate themselves by raising the bar? After all, they are letting everyone with the slide shows keep them hosted on the site, and they allow you to host on their site for free.

Wellcomemat’s logo says, “Videos Connecting People and Places”. The mere use of the word “video” sets up an expectation – an expectation of full motion movement.

What if you went to the movies, expecting to see your favorite star in a film, and when the show came on – it was just still photos panning and zooming? Your expectations would be let down. Same for many people as it pertains to “video tours” when they end up being slide shows. I find absolutely nothing wrong with a slide show. But not when it is being delivered under the pretext as a video.

A lot of people are furious over WellcomeMat’s decision, stating that they have it all wrong and are missing the mark. WellcomeMat has not missed the mark. They are showing true vision towards the future. There are people on Wellcomemat (as well as other places) that have really raised the bar when it comes to full motion video.

As the public becomes more and more aware of what is possible when it comes to marketing their homes, they will start to demand full motion video – with appropriate music and appropriate audio voice overs. Especially at the higher price points. Full motion video represents the next logical evolution of marketing homes. About every 5 years – the cheese moves. You will either be ready for it, get left behind, or hire a professional full motion video company to do it for you.

I applaud WellcomeMat’s decision. They are entitled to run their show the way they want to.

Ok – I’m at it again. Doing research, talking to the public, and compiling the data for you! After speaking with many real estate agents about technology and online marketing (particularly their listings), I realize that there are a lot of misconceptions out there.

Remember the days of 2005 when all you had to do was throw a sign in the front yard and you had 5 competing offers? You didn’t even get a chance to take the photos and you got above asking price offers.

Welcome to the hangover! Those days are gone! But let’s not beat that dead horse. From my meetings with these agents, I have noticed that many of them have not changed their online marketing tactics at all.

I asked one agent who had a $900,000 listing with 2 lousy pictures (and no virtual tour) why he didn’t take advantage of Realtor.com’s full 25 photos. He said that he just wanted to put out enough info to tease the buyer and get them to call him to show the listing. I understand the fundamental concept of that approach. I also get what today’s consumers are looking for.

Here’s the hard facts. Times have changed and credit is tighter, inventories have skyrocketed, and Days on Market have elongated tremendously since 2005.

I took a survey of 50 potential home buyers in today’s market. Almost all, (47 of them) look for homes online. Most of them go to Realtor.com. The overarching sentiment is that, “There are so many homes to choose from now that if the agents pictures are few, bad, or missing completely – they are NOT thirsty to SEE MORE!” They DON’T take the time to call the listing agent and get more details. They simply go right on to the next listing. Period – end of story.

What makes this even more compelling is that the home sellers get aggravated when they go online and see how their homes are being marketed with lousy photos and no tours.

So, if you are a listing agent, the public is speaking and perhaps you should take notice. Price and condition IS #1 – no doubt. But the way you are presenting your homes online these days are what is going to generate showings, offers, contracts, and closings!

So please – get out there and take some great photos of your listings, and even better – make yourself stand out by doing a full motion video. And if you just don’t have the technical stomach or the patience for it all, hire a professional photography and full motion video virtual tour company to do it for you.

Take a look at the table below:

The table shows how many homes SOLD vs how many homes were ACTIVE on the market for the month of December, 2008 for the Charlotte Metropolitan Region*.

If you calculate the absorption rate:

1,350 x 12 (months) = 16,200
16,200 / 52 (weeks) = 311.5
25,335/311.5 = 81.33 weeks

Easier way is just 25,335/1350 = 18.76 months (x 4.33 to get weeks) = 81.23 weeks

So, at these numbers, it will take 81 weeks to absorb all the current inventory.

So why is a photographer / full motion video tour provider writing about absorption rates? Because it supports my theory in this blog post, that NOW more than ever (in distant memory) it is SO important to make sure your listings are marketed well on the internet.

86% of all buyers start their search on the internet and your listing is just one in a sea of listings. Make sure you price it right, have it in great condition, and MARKET it heads and shoulders above all the rest!

* Source: Realtor Reflections Magazine