Blah, Blah, Blah. Does anyone read REALTOR's testimonials?

As a potential real estate buyer or seller, which would you find more effective and believable?


With Aspen's challenging real estate, you need help from a professional you can trust. A helper who goes the extra mile.
Peter Kelley is that Realtor. Below are excerpts from a few of the many thankful notes Peter has received from
satisfied clients. (Complete copies available on request from qualified buyers and sellers.)

"...Took a tour on your website of the Gant E-20 with great interest. You do a very professional job of
presenting the place and, as I've committed to you, whenever I decide to sell my unit...it's yours.
Save this e-mail and let the record show my unequivocal commitment! Thanks."
WFH, New Jersey

Dear Peter,
"We truly appreciate all the hard work you put in to helping us locate, research and purchase our property.
The exceptional personal service provided by you and your team certainly should be commended.
You can definitely count on our recommendations for your services to our friends..."
Sincerely,
D.S., Snowmass, Colorado

Most realtors have a page of testimonials on their website.

Why not? It gives you credibility. That is, IF....

• A viewer is willing to slog through a laundry list of puff.
• A viewer actually believes that John F. is a real person
• A viewer actually believes that the endless praise was not just made up - I mean, it's not difficult.

• A video testimonial is extremely powerful. Two minutes of a quality testimonial from a real, live customer can say more than 10 pages of 'fluff' culled from surveys automatically sent out by your broker to elicit testimonials.
• A picture is worth a thousand words.
• A VIDEO? Priceless.

Real estate video tours & photography by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com

4 Spring Hill Road | Merrimac, Massachusetts real estate & homes

http://www.DoloresPerson.com - Located on the southeastern border of New Hampshire, approximately 34 miles northeast of Boston, lies Merrimac, Massachusetts.  A town situated along the north bank of the Merrimack River, Merrimac has a population of just under 7,000 residents. By the 1800's, the principal industry was carriage making, with as many as thirty-one different carriage factories operating in Merrimac at one point. The late nineteenth century left its mark with charming red brick buildings that now house a number of contemporary businesses - service, retail and restaurants.  Today, Merrimac is largely a residential community, it is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area.

This home at 4 Spring Hill Road is a  nature lovers’ paradise set on 2.24 acres in desirable Little Pond. 

This gambrel has a quiet Zen like quality, with a large kitchen adjacent to a family room, with a wall of glass overlooking an ever changing woodland view. It also offers one of two ways to access the deck, a perfect private outdoor space to enjoy the warmer months.

The Japanese inspired first floor master suite has a wonderful attention to detail. It features a spa like bath, which opens to a private area with a hot tub.  It has a wonderful attention to detail in addition to a walk in closet.

The second level boasts 3 additional bedrooms, one with an adjacent bathroom.

The lower level is "entertainment central" and will certainly be a place for the entire family to gather.  This finished walk out lower level offers a media room - a great place to snuggle up and watch a movie on the projection TV, an exercise room and wood stove along with an additional bathroom.

View full size photo gallery of 4 Spring Hill Road, Merrimac Massachusetts

Real estate video tours & photography by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com

Do you have problems getting it up?

A great way to make your "money shot" exterior photo stand out from the competition is to change your perspective! Every distinguishing factor helps. Using our SkyPod, we're able to capture your exterior from 10' - 30' up in the air, enabling us to capture a bird’s eye view of the home and its surroundings by hovering above them, which is a perspective rarely seen in real estate photos.

It allows you to clearly view the landscaping, and in the case of homes with a view of water or mountains behind the home, we can elevate the camera so you can see the view from the front of the home!

There are additional benefits of getting the camera up in the air....

Getting the camera up in the air when taking photos of homes on a hilly terrain allows you to photograph the home from a level height. Taking photos of high buildings that are close to the street (such as a 3 family home in the city) allows you to get the correct perspective - otherwise the home appears to be falling over into the street if photographed "looking up" from the sidewalk.

Real estate video tours and real estate photography

206 & 208 North Main Street | Andover, Massachusetts condos

http://wwww.CocoEarly.com -  Beautiful renovation of these sleek contemporary 3 bedroom, 2 bath Townhouses. European galley kitchen w/ granite, stainless appliances. gracious 9 ft ceilings make the space very appealing. Enjoy your new pet friendly home just a short walk away from public transportation, shopping and much more.

Real estate video tours by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com

How come the snow is gray on your real estate listing photos?

Taking real estate photographs and video in the winter present many unique challenges.

1) High contrast scenes and bright snow throw off auto exposure and turn the snow gray.
2) Cold weather and condensation can fog up your equipment and batteries will drain much faster.
3) The sun seems like it's always in your eyes.
4) There are no leaves on the trees to cut the sunlight.

At this time of year, the sun is very low on the horizon. That presents unique problems when the sun is directly behind the house and low in the sky as you're trying to shoot the front. Before choosing a time to take photographs of a new listing, pay particular attention to when the sun is either facing directly on the front of the house, or at least at a 90 degree angle to the front of the house so you're not shooting directly into the bright sun.

It also can present problems inside if that low sun is shooting directly through a large window, effectively washing out all of the colors and detail inside. It's especially difficult in new construction with no window treatments are available to cut the bright sun.

Since the sun is never directly overhead at this time of year, this presents problems throughout the day as the sun will be blowing right through various windows, depending on the time of day.

One of the easiest and most effective ways of dealing with this low, extremely bright sun reflecting off the white snow is to shoot on an overcast day, or when the sun is out of the sky. The "Golden Hour" or "Magic Hour" - the time before and after the sunrise and sunset is now a bit longer - maybe an hour an a half! This is always a magical time of the day to shoot homes, but with the low sun issues in the winter, sometimes this can be the only real solution.

Winter scenes often have a tremendous dynamic range which exceeds the capabilities of your camera. The bright white snow sometimes will confuse your cameras automatic exposure modes. Newer digital cameras are generally very "intelligent", but a camera is only as good as the person behind it. The light meter will evaluate the light reflected from the entire scene and try and make it an average brightness. The result is your beautiful, snowy landscapes turn gray. The easiest way to compensate is to use your cameras exposure compensation to "overexpose the photo" a bit to get that bright snow actually white!

We deal with the sun and snow issues in several ways - using polarizing filters to remove the glare off the snow and to darken the sky to bring in more color into the (generally) colorless scene and shooting  multiple exposures. We also have a special program that will precisely show the position and angle of the sun at any given location, helping us to determine the correct time of day to take the best photos and video of your listing. You can usually avoid problems by planning ahead!

Real estate video tours by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com

Share your knowledge and the secrets of your hometown!

When most buyers and sellers are searching online - especially early in their search - the last thing they are interested in is a house salesperson!

What they are looking for is education, information, listings, and generally learning the process of home buying or selling as they casually sift through and absorb the seemingly endless amounts of information available online.

If you want to learn about cities such as Boston or Chicago or any other major city, it's very easy to find plenty of that online. But if you're interested in a small, residential community or a small neighborhood in a major city, it can be very difficult to find out ANYTHING about these small communities. (generally it's a short paragraph that came from the Chamber of Commerce site that every Realtor lifted for their site!)

One of the single best ways to make your website "sticky", to showcase a small neighborhood and it's quirky shops, neighborhoods and residents is to do a community video tour! Not only that, at the same time you are selling yourself... your knowledge of the community. Inotherwords, you're giving people what they want (information on the community) and at the same time, giving them an opportunity to meet and see you (what they don't want!).

The shelf life of a community video is essentially - forever! Over time, building a library of community videos can provide a rich addition to your website, separate you from virtually all of your competitors and at the same time showcase you as the community "expert".

It's a "win-win"!
















Real estate video tours by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com

8 Cristy Road | Windham, New Hampshire real estate & homes

http://www.SpanosRealty.com - Custom Designed Colonial with many upgrades features Grand Open Foyer,Formal Living and Dining Rooms-Study with French Doors-Open Cherry Kitchen w/Blue Pearl Granite/Stone Faced Gas Fireplaced Family Room,2nd floor laundry-Master Suite with Sitting Room & Whirlpool Bath,Balcony overlooks Family Room-3 Car Garage set on Private 2.69 acre lot.


Real estate video tours by http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com