Interesting value-added differentiator for out of town clients

An idea was presented to me this morning that I feel may be a great value-added service for real estate agents and possibly a great real estate marketing tool for those that are looking to serve out of town clients. For those REALTORS that serve the vacation communities, or those that serve the relocation market, why not offer video tapes of prospective listings as a value added service? This would be in addition to any virtual tours or virtual audio tours that you may currently have on your site.

As a value-added service to your VIP clients that cannot visit the area to search for a specific home, offer to create a specific video tour for one or two of the listings that they are interested in. Charge a small recording fee to cover your time and expenses, and word your agency contract so that if your client buys a home through you, you will waive the fees. You would probably want to limit the number of recordings to one or two per client and make sure that they are marketed as external and much more comprehensive than your virtual tour. This way your client can get a really good idea about the home that they are going to buy before trekking across the country to see it.