Have you ever given a client a tour using FaceTime or other video chat app? The results can be frustrating when it freezes mid-frame or the client doesn’t answer your video chat — even though you have arranged your schedule to show them the property.
RealLync offers a solution, and some extra features to go along with it.
What RealLync does
RealLync is a virtual home tour app. Its features include the ability to:
- pre-record a home tour;
- stream a live home tour with individual clients;
- stream a virtual “open house” where you provide tours to multiple clients at once;
- search for potential clients who are signed up on RealLync;
- send tour invitations, including links to the tour;
- create a property profile;
- create a RealLync agent profile; and
- chat and send messages with clients via RealLync.
For pre-recorded videos, agents can add notes and commentary to the presentation that pop up during the tour, giving this app an edge in terms of increasing the production value of your videos. This is a particularly helpful feature when a client has to cancel their live tour, as you can record the full tour and include helpful commentary for them to view later. Or, if you are the seller’s agent, you can link to the recorded tour on the listing site, providing prospective buyers an attractive and dynamic way of becoming more familiar with the property.
RealLync will soon be offering marketing materials, though this is still “coming soon” as of this writing. Details are short on what marketing materials they will offer, but if it’s included in the price, it could be a bonus.
RealLync pricing options
RealLync is free for your buyer and renter clients to sign up.
After a 30-day free trial, the cost for real estate agents is:
- $9.99 per month for the Basic plan, which includes up to 50 minutes per month of real-time video tours;
- $39.99 per month for the Plus plan, which includes up to 225 minutes per month; and
- $89.99 per month for the Premium plan, which includes up to 600 minutes per month.
Under all pricing tiers, there is a 10% discount if you sign up for an annual plan versus a monthly option, and there is no time limit for pre-recorded videos.
Our RealLync review
If you specialize in long-distance relocations, RealLync is a must for your real estate toolbox. And with the relatively low starting price of $9.99 per month, it’s a steal. You likely won’t need more than 50 minutes each month, as most of your tours can be shot and stored for later. Thus, you can show several clients the same listing without deducting from your total allocated minutes.
RealLync is also great for seller’s agents. Including a virtual tour with your listing is a sure way to elicit more interest from potential homebuyers, and can help sell your client’s home faster. Static pictures can only do so much to communicate the attributes of a property — a virtual tour makes the property vivid and enables viewers to easily imagine themselves living there.
The only downside is that you will probably have to educate clients on how to sign up and use RealLync, since chances are you are the first one in their real estate circles to use it. There’s no reason for a buyer or renter to use RealLync on their own, since there isn’t a feature for buyers/renters to search for home tours recorded in their search area, which would be helpful.
However, on the plus side, using a virtual home tour service such as RealLync highlights your technological prowess and visionary thinking, setting you apart from agents who rely on more outdated home tour methods.
