It has been a year filled with many new challenges, experiences, long nights… and fun! Most of all, it has been a year filled with gracious support, from those willing to try a new way to rent to friends and family sharing the word and passing on our name to others. We’re so grateful to all of you that have supported us this year.
So, our gift to you. If you have a rental property, all you have to do is create your listing by Christmas. Keep it as a draft until you’re ready to publish it. Whenever that may be, you’ll have two months of free listing credits added to your account!
That’s it. No obligation, tricks, payment information, or anything else required. What kind of gift would that be?! You don’t even have to celebrate Christmas; it’s just a gift from us this season.
When it comes to finding rentals, our belief is that the internet provides the best tools for your search. Not only can you search from your desk, but you can use Anikio’s great search filters to only show properties that meet your criteria. Plus, you can see high-resolution photos inside and even take a virtual tour. But we also believe in serendipity – being in the right place at the right time for fate to intervene. The parent driving down the street that is thinking they really could use an extra bedroom. Driving across town to work and seeing a sign for a nice-looking home available to rent closer to the office. Or someone that happened to see a sign and then talks a friend looking for somewhere to live. Plus, not everybody has the quick, easy internet access that we take for granted. So with that in mind, we asked Darren – our graphical wizard – to whip up a design of For Rent signs for us.
We’re really happy with how it looks! We can’t wait to see it on the side of the road. We had some other ideas that we kicked around – we wanted a really unique sign. Could we have a QR code that would bring you right to the listing when you point your smartphone camera? Unfortunately for bulk printing, that’s not an option but we do have an idea to potentially make this work. Should we forgo the space for the phone number and instead have a few basic stats? Number of beds/baths? But then the sign might be too cluttered. In the end, as you can see, we stuck with a basic, clear (we hope) sign since people are more likely to be driving by than walking.
There was some internal debate. It’s really important as a startup that landlords know that Anikio helped them find a tenant. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful and those recommendations that “I found a great tenant on Anikio” are SO important. A phone call from a street sign is not likely to link back to Anikio. But we also let landlords post their phone numbers on the listing, and it’s the same issue there. At the end of the day, our job is to help connect great landlords and tenants, though, however that may be.
So, this morning, we just placed our first order for a small batch of For Rent signs to see how they look on the front lawns of rentals. And to get some feedback and real-world use out of them in case we need to make some tweaks. They should be here in a couple weeks and maybe, just maybe, you’ll pass one in your travels. Let us know what you think!
When it comes to renting property, there are two things that can turn a good investment bad fastest: inadequate tenant screening and vacancy. A month without rent can easily cost $1000 or more in lost rent. Not only that, there’s also the time and money doing showings, interviews, screening and processing applications. And of course advertising your rental. At Anikio, our mission is to make renting as painless as possible when it comes to finding that tenant. One of the best tools that we have is good photos – they do help find tenants faster. In fact, that’s why we offer rental photography service in the first place! We know it makes a difference and we want the best experience not just for landlords, but also tenants trying to decide where to live.
We’ve seen it time and again with landlords that we work with. One landlord went from little to no interest over a 3-week span to having it rented in just days when we took new photos. Another thought she’d have to reduce the rent due to lack of interest at the price point. After replacing her photos with ours, she had multiple qualified applicants to choose from. But it’s one thing to have stories… we wanted hard data to quantify what we were seeing. We wanted to have an unbiased, data-backed answer for your question: Do good photos find tenants faster? How much faster?
The Experiment – One Property, Two Sets of Photos
So how to get this data? The key to any experiment is to isolate the variable, in this case, the quality of the photos, while keep everything else the same. So, we need to list the exact same property at the same time with the only difference being the photos. Thanks to our advanced searching capabilities, it’s too likely that on Anikio both properties would show up side by side (which might spoil the experiment). So we used an online listing site notorious for re-posts and burying listings quickly. One listing used photos taken by us. The other listing used photos that are typical of what we see in the marketplace today, taken by cell phone.
In the interest of full disclosure, we did also have to vary the title enough to ensure people wouldn’t know it was the same listing with a different photo (and thus choose not to open the second listing they saw). But to minimize the impact of that variable, we used the same words in both titles, just in a different order. Stonebridge Townhouse – 3 Bedroom vs. 3-Bed Townhouse in Stonebridge. Both posts were made the same day only a couple hours apart from different accounts to also minimize any variation for timing by day of week or week of year. Here is the day-by-day comparison with screenshots and analysis. Or if you don’t have time, you can skip right to the conclusion.
Day 1: Anikio Photos Take An Early Lead
Less than 24 hours in, we’re already several pages deep – a problem common to traditional listing sites. But the professional photos are off to a good start with almost twice as many views. Do good photos find tenants faster? So far, yes they sure do! It’s also worth noting that the ad directs users to Anikio to take a virtual tour and contact the landlord there, so we can count these replies as people that haven’t read the ad before reaching out. As well, a low number of replies may speak to other factors beyond the photos, so for those two reasons we’re not focused on that as a metric for the photography here.
One other note. We almost always advocate not to use the exterior photo as the feature photo (or thumbnail). Especially for apartments. We made an exception with this property for a couple reasons: First of all, the exterior photo is gorgeous. From the little Christmas tree to the dusk sky and warm lighting, the exterior does more than just show a building, it shows a home. The warm lighting and night sky trigger an innate response to our need for shelter. Secondly, we digitally staged an interior photo showing the living and dining room and kitchen, which would be our first choice for the feature photo. But it didn’t feel like a fair comparison to put up a fully staged AND professional photo against the landlord photo here. It would be a second variable.
Rest assured, we’ll be testing the difference of using an exterior vs interior photo soon. And the difference digital staging makes (about 73% according to one study). Oh, we’re going to have fun!
Photo Comparison Results – Day 1
Day 2: Results Stabilizing
The Anikio photos continue to maintain a healthy lead for professional photos but of course as the listings continue to get buried deeper down (already on page 19!) there are fewer views every day. Where the professional photo listing had a 97% lead in Day 1, that difference has averaged down to 75%. Somewhere between 2/3 – 3/4 is what we would have guessed as a difference the photos make, so it is nice to have our intuition validated.
On the other hand, while the purpose of this test is to talk about photos, we can’t help but point out that thanks to how fast the listings are buried, on Day 2 we only see 38-43% as many views as on Day 1. We’ll keep track of this also going forward.
Photo Comparison Results – Day 2
Day 3: Differential Growing Again in Favour of Professional Photos
While we expected the drop from Day 1’s 97% increase in views for professional photos, what we didn’t expect is a bounce back upwards. But day 3, we did see movement as the professional Anikio photos took an 81% increase in views over the three days. On the views standpoint, that’s only 9 more views for the professional photos and 3 more for the standard ones, so the difference is more pronounced but the numbers are small. We only have 8-13% of the views we got on Day 1.
Photo Comparison Results – Day 3
Day 4: Back to the 90’s
Again the differential is creeping back up towards the differential we saw on day 1. As we dive into the numbers, it’s worth stepping back for a second. Consider how significant a 90% increase in views can be for a landlord. Almost twice as many people. Almost twice as many chances that you not only find a tenant but find a good tenant that will want to stay for a long time. Less risk of choosing someone your gut says no to because you don’t want to miss out on another month’s rent. And less pressure psychologically to reduce the rent unnecessarily. As for views, we’re 4 days in and on page 25 now.
Photo Comparison Results – Day 4
Day 5: Standard Photos Finally Get As Many Views as Professional Photos Had Day 1
The title says it all. Day 5, the standard photo listing views has just crossed the number of views we saw Day 1 with the Anikio photos. Wow! While we’re seeing twice as many views, we’re seeing if, for example, viewer number 65 was the future tenant in both listings, we got to her 5 days sooner with better photos. Do good photos find tenants faster? Five days later, the answer is an even more responding yes.We’re going to skip Day 6 here and go right to Day 7 – one week in – for our conclusion.
Photo Comparison Results – Day 5
Conclusion – Professional Photos Make a Huge Difference!
You may not be surprised to find that more people looked at the property with nice photos. However, you may be surprised – as we were – to see how much of a difference it made. Nearly twice as many views over the course of a week! Do good photos find tenants faster? Yes, about twice as fast by that metric. Here’s another metric – it took 5 days for the standard photos to have as many views as we got day 1 with the professional photos. Looking at things that way, it could be argued that good photos find a tenant about 5 times faster.
What About Replies?
I said earlier that we aren’t using replies as a way to measure results. The quantity of replies may have more to do with non-photo factors such as the price vs. offering, market conditions, etc. Also, since we also wanted this test to benefit our landlord (this is a real, live property), we directed users on the listing with the professional photos to take the virtual tour and contact the landlord via Anikio. Since the standard photos didn’t show the property in its best light (literally), we didn’t include that message on that listing but decided to handle any replies personally. So quantity of replies, not relevant.
But the difference in quantity between the two? Absolutely relevant since regardless of those other factors, the only real difference between the two listings is the photos. Especially since we redirected the professional photo inquiries elsewhere, skewing the results in favour of standard photos. This test showed 5 times more responses in the same amount of time. We still ended up with 5 replies for professional (plus an untold more that went on to contact the landlord via Anikio) vs. 1 reply for the standard photos. And the only reply for the standard photos was from someone interested in using the home as a cannabis grow-op. Really!
Why More Replies with Professional Photos?
Photos affect the perceived value of the property and also the landlord’s pride of ownership. $1800 is a fair price for this rental regardless of photos. But more people felt the property with good photos looked worth $1800 rent. And THAT is how photos can also make a difference in how much a property rents for. If, as is the case here, nobody serious contacts the landlord with the standard photos, they may unnecessarily reduce their rent to attract more interest. Let’s say after one more week, putting us at Dec 2, the landlord with the standard photos lowers the rent $100 to get some interest. They also missed getting a tenant for November, which costs them $1800. So total cost for using poor photos assuming a one-year tenancy? $3000! Plus $1200/year every year after that it rents at the reduced rate. Total cost for photos on this property? $180. The photos paid for themselves in less than 2 months.
Conclusion – Professional Rental Real Estate Photos Result in 94% More Views at End of Week 1
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Besides this test, we have plenty of experience seeing the difference that good photos make. There’s also plenty of evidence from the world of real estate sales to lean on. Analysis from VHT Studios found that in the real estate world, homes with high quality photography sell 32 percent faster thanks to not only getting more attention but also to higher perceived value reducing haggling and pressure on the home owner to reduce price due to lack of interest. We had a more dramatic result, because decisions on renting are made much faster than purchasing. Not only that, but homes with more photos sell faster, too. A home with one photo spends almost twice as long on the market as a home with 20 photos. And here’s maybe the most important one to consider: homes that include high-quality photography in their listings sell for $3,000-$11,000 more.
The Same Home with Better Photos Sells for More???
Think about that. The same home with better photos sells for a higher price. Doesn’t seem logical, does it? After all, you don’t live in the photos once you purchase the place! But the same is true for rental property, just at a different scale. The same home with better photos rents for a higher price. Why?
The perceived value from the tenant is higher. So the property attracts people willing or able to pay a higher amount for their housing out of the gate.
Less pressure on the landlord. A property with lots of interest is less likely to have the asking rent reduced or rental incentives added
We’ve all been there, especially with the high vacancy rates of the past few years. When it’s hard to find tenants, the first question landlords ask themselves is: “Should I lower the rent?” Dropping the rent $100/month unnecessarily costs $1200 in lost revenue assuming a one-year tenancy – more for a longer term tenant. On the other hand, hiring Anikio or another professional to take great photos generally costs about 10x less than that! And when the tenant moves out, you can use those photos again, compunding your savings.
Book Your Photos Now
Professional photos are an investment in the success of your property. Like any investment, it’s important to ask what the return is. This testing shows that there is a high likelihood that your property will generate more interest.
You will find a tenant faster by simple virtue of being seen by more potential candidates in a shorter amount of time. We had to wait 5 days to get as many views with the standard photos as we got in 1 day with professional photos. We got at least 5x more replies. That gives a better chance of minimizing vacancy.
Thanks to more interest, you’ll be under less pressure to accept an under-qualified applicant. You may save a month or more of vacancy and be less likely to unnecessarily lower the rent. And you can use the photos again and again until you make a significant change to the property, so these advantages go forward year after year.
Today is election day and we just got back in from a nice stroll through one of the linear parks in Evergreen to our voting station at the Sylvia Fedoruk school. If you haven’t yet, stop reading this and go vote! We’ll still be here when you get back.
In the spirit of election giveaways (or maybe as an early Halloween treat), we have some exciting updates and new features on the site that we want to share with you. Maybe you’ve noticed them already? Either way, we’re always looking at ways to improve so keep that feedback coming!
What’s New
1) Recently Rented Property – Starting more or less now, we’re recording the date that property is marked as rented. That way, we can show you what properties have recently gone off the market and are no longer available (in case you’re wondering where that beautiful 4-bedroom house you were looking at has gone). Once there’s been enough time passed to populate the recently rented properties page (i.e. new and current property has been rented out) then you’ll see this appear on the home page next to the For You section. Don’t worry landlords, once the property is rented, anyone looking at the listing will see a big red banner letting them know that this listing is no longer available… and we take off the contact section (just don’t put the contact info in your listing description).
2) Apply Preferred Search Filters – You may have noticed that the main page search box allows you to instantly enable your preferred search filters so you can see the places that match your criteria on the map. If you haven’t done so yet, go ahead and Register and then, under your Profile, you can modify your Preferred Search to only show properties that would meet your needs. Still too many? Maybe not yet, but when there are, then go ahead and start adding your wants in, too. Once you’ve done that, then number three on this list gets a lot more useful:
3) Improved “For You” Section – On the main page there is a section where you can see our Featured listings, the Newest listings, and a section called “For You.” Up until now, it wasn’t all that helpful but if you’ve created a Preferred Search in your profile, this will show you the best matches based on what you’re looking for. Eventually we will be applying some algorithms to make even better recommendations for places that we think you’ll like based on your criteria.
4) Photo Sorting – It’s now possible to rearrange your photos and caption them from mobile. We’re still working out a few kinks with the way the ordering is saving, but this is really close to completion.
5) Improved Renewal Emails – Our basic email notifying landlords that their property has expired has been beefed up! First, we send a preliminary notice 5 days before the listing expires with an option to early renew and maintain continuity right from the email. Don’t worry, we’ll add another month past your previous expiry date so renewing early doesn’t cost you any time. If the property has been rented, you can also mark it as rented right from your inbox. Nice! If you missed the chance to renew your listing then we’ll still send a second email after the listing has expired. Again, you’ll be able to renew or mark the property rented right from the email.
What’s Next
1) Photo Sorting – While the functionality has improved from a month ago, there’s still more work to do making this as seamless as possible. A few more bugs to squish, if we’re being totally upfront about it. But hopefully that will be finished soon.
2) Virtual Tour Link – The way that we’re including virtual tours with our listings is changing. Previously, when a landlord made an edit to change a property, we would have to go and add the virtual tour back in to the property again. Once this is done, that issue will go away and landlords will be able to edit their property without fear of losing their virtual tour.
3) Standardized Introduction Form – While we have several levels of spam prevention built in to our contact forms, our goal is to help make the rental process better for everyone. With that in mind, we will be working towards a standardized ‘greeting’ or introduction form. This will allow our tenants to send some key basic information about who they are and what they’re looking for to landlords instead of writing and re-writing. A standardized introduction will help everyone save time, tenants don’t need to write and re-write introductions, and landlords get a better first impression of potential tenants than a message saying “Is this available?” So much time is wasted waiting between a basic message like that and a reply saying, “Yes, can you tell me about yourself? Question question?” and then the tenant writing another reply. Tip to tenants – if the property is listed, assume it’s available even though we know that landlords and property managers sometimes miss taking properties down. And if you DO contact a landlord that says the property isn’t available, let us know so we can get it taken down!
With the 2019 Federal Election approaching, the promises are flying fast and furious. Here is a look at some of the planks we think are going to be most important for our users, here in Saskatchewan, with an emphasis on issues related to housing, mortgages, and property ownership. As Saskatoon has a large proportion of student renters, we also included issues related to student housing, primarily around student finances, and public transportation.
So to summarize, the promises we’ve gathered below are those we feel are important for Saskatchewan landlords and tenants and related to:
Mortgages;
Housing construction, improvement, and retrofits;
Income and taxes;
Student financial issues; and
Public transit
It’s still early and we’ll do our best to add proposals and platforms that fit in the above categories as they come in. We’re not advocating for one party or the other here, you can make up your own mind, the intent is just to lay out what is out there in a simple list.
Liberal Party
Prioritize social infrastructure spending for affordable housing and seniors facilities
Eliminate all GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing
Introduce a 1% annual tax on foreign-owned residential properties owned
Free energy audit to help homeowners and landlords determine ways to make more homes more efficient
Interest-free loan of up to $40,000 to help finance energy efficient renovations
Net Zero Homes Grant of up to $5000 for homes that are certified zero-emissions
Institute a $15/hr federal minimum wage
Additional $3B/year in transit funding for cities
Conservative Party
End stress tests on switching a mortgage to a different lender (i.e. rate shopping)
Institute a 2-year tax credit for energy-saving renovations
No more GST or carbon tax on home heating and energy bills
Lower the income tax on income under $47,630 from 15% to 13.75%
Restore the public transit tax credit of up to 15% on weekly/monthly transit passes
NDP
Re-introduce 30-year CMHC-insured mortgages for first time home buyers
Double the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit (to $1500)
Create a 15% foreign buyers tax on purchases of residential property
Remove GST on the construction of new rental units
Target the green retrofit of all housing in Canada by 2050 using low-interest loans to incentivize upgraded better insulation, windows, heat pumps, etc.
Create 500,000 units of affordable housing in the next 10 years
Add $5 billion to spending on affordable housing in first 18 months in office
Invest $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program
Institute a $15/hr federal minimum wage
Eliminate unpaid internships (except as part of an educational program)
Force equal compensation for part-time and contract workers to full-time workers
Eliminate interest on federal portion of student loans
Move away from loans by increasing access to Canada Student Grants
Modernize and expand public transit with an emphasis on electrification and funding
Green Party
Mortgage, construction/retrofits, taxes, students, public transit
Get rid of the first-time home buyer grant
Improve Indigenous organization access to financing through CMHC
Restore tax incentives for building purpose-built rental housing
Change the national building code to require new construction to meet net-zero emission standards by 2030
Remove “deemed” GST when a developer with empty condo units puts them on the rental market
Institute a $15/hr federal minimum wage
Establish a Guaranteed Liveable Income program to replace various income support programs
Allocate one per cent of GST to housing and other municipal infrastructure
Appoint a Minister of Housing
Legislate that housing is a legally protected fundamental human right for all Canadians and permanent residents
Increase the National Housing Co-investment Fund by $750 million for new builds, and the Canada Housing Benefit by $750 million for rent assistance for 125,000 households
Eliminate post-secondary education tuition
Forgive existing student debt held by federal government
Fund the re-routing of tracks for freight and rail yards away from populated areas
Sometimes you can see the changes and sometimes they’re behind the scenes, but we’re always working to make Anikio better! Here is some of what we’re doing and planning to do over the next few months:
What’s New
1) Email – We’ve improved the email that is sent to landlords when tenants fill out an inquiry form. In the past, an error in the way some email applications worked caused the Anikio logo used to get bigger and bigger as the email was written. Great as that might be for brand recognition, we’ve done away with that. Now emails look great no matter what you use to respond to them! Another small improvement is the ability to click the phone number and call a tenant back right from the email (thanks to a helpful user suggestion).
2) Easier Search – We found that some of our users didn’t even know that from the main page you could expand the selection within Saskatoon (or Saskatoon & Area) to see regions and neighbourhoods. We’ve made those arrows bolder, and easier to click for the chubby fingered. On top of that, there were a few pesky bugs with the Preferred Search not properly resetting that have been dealt with.
3) Direct Linking – In the past, when a listing was marked as rented by thje landlord, it would not be visible even if the user went directly to the address – they would get a 404 (not found) error. Now, users are shown the listing with contact information removed and a message stating that the property has been rented. Better for users, better for Google, better for all of us!
What’s Next
1) Recently Rented Property – We’re working on a module that will let you view properties that have recently come off the market right from the home page (and evenutally as a page all its own). So that property you were looking at last week that disappeared – you’ll know it’s because the landlord found a tenant.
2) Photo Sorting – Some recent updates have created issues with our photo sorting not saving. We’re working very hard to fix this… and make it possible to do so from your mobile phone!
Last week I ordered copies of the newly completed Anikio brochure from Vistaprint. And then, probably because I was excited to get them, and because there was a special price offered when I went to check out, I decided to also order an Anikio mug. Oh! And Krystal had been saying we should have Anikio shirts made, particularly for when we go do photo shoots and virtual tours. So I ordered three of those, too, even though I knew my logo needed a bit of optimizing before I could really get it embroidered. One for me, one for Gabe (our official photographer), and one, of course, for Krystal.
They all have arrived now, an exciting moment combined with a “maybe patience is not only a virtue but could save you some money” moment. The photo you see above is me at my desk working on a few more Anikio features decked out in swag. I was genuinely excited, don’t get me wrong, but here’s what I learned:
1) RTFM – Read the $%&%@$& manual. I created the brochure in Microsoft Publisher, and at the last minute I noticed a few things missing and so I made some quick edits and reuploaded. I ordered a small run of 25 on two types of paper (thankfully I was cautious). However, on one of them, I mixed up the front and back covers, and so it folds backwards. Maybe I can use those for folks from countries where they read right-to-left? But thanks to Murphy’s law, the bad layout is on the expensive paper. I also observed that when the images snap into place on Vistaprint, it doesn’t snap to the fold like it’s supposed to. All that said, they do look pretty good, I’ve made fixes and will order more when I get through these.
2) Not on white – I don’t mind the shirts really. The small “Find It, Rent It, Love It” was removed, probably because it’s too small to embroider well, but I would’ve liked it there. The logo looks fine for not having been optimized, but the shirt is a little thin and the white is kind of plain. So I’m going to try on blue I think, when Darren (our graphics guy) gets a chance to rework it.
3) The mug looks great! I put the picture I use for the Anikio homepage on the back (which is maybe a bit homely) but I enjoy having that mug on my desk. Krystal may take it to work for some free advertising though. So I’ll have to order another. Anyone else want one?
Hi all, Dean here! Some time ago, Google announced that it was ending its Google Plus social media platform. That wasn’t supposed to affect us, even though we did use it to make logging in quick. Unfortunately, in the last couple weeks, a few new users reported that they were seeing a warning message when they tried to register. It turns out that it did affect us and we had to completely redo the way that login works.
So the good news is that we have just deployed and tested, and as far as we can tell, everything is working great! There is no longer an issue for new users and existing users won’t even notice a difference. Furthermore, changes did affect Facebook login but you shouldn’t notice anything on your end either except faster login. Woohoo! The only bad news is that we no longer receive an email address when signing in with Yahoo, so Yahoo users will need to manually enter their email address when they register. Once registered, everything will work quickly and painlessly.
Concluding, everything should be running great for our existing users and new users alike. Users creating an account with Yahoo just have to enter their email address. So why the post? Because if there are ANY issues you encounter with logging in, registering, or creating an account, please send us feedback asap! It will be much appreciated.
Back in the spring, Anikio was invited to give a presentation for a local group of landlords, property managers, and investors called REIGS – Real Estate Investment Group of Saskatchewan. It was great to be able to speak to a lot of experts in the industry and share a bit not only about what Anikio is doing, but more generally what we all can do to improve the state of the rental marketplace in this city and province. More importantly, it was great to meet such a friendly, welcoming, and genuine people. There were about 40 people in attendance (which I’m told is a smaller meeting for them) but there still wasn’t anywhere near enough time to really get to talk with everyone that I wanted to (i.e. everyone).
As for the presentation itself, I talked a bit about the headaches that landlords have in renting their property and the issues facing tenants and why I created Anikio to try to actually do something to remove or at least reduce those pain points. I also spoke a fair amount on the importance of good visuals and why it’s so important for tenants to be able to not only understand the space before arriving for a viewing, but also to feel a connection with the place, to be able to picture it as a home and feel something beyond looking at yet another empty room.
After our presentation was another presentation… about giving good presentations. It was, as you might expect, engaging and interesting and I’m for the most part glad that I went first and didn’t have to think afterwards about what “rules” I’d broken in my own presentation! Then the group stayed around and mingled and I had a chance to chat with some really great people that I hadn’t spoken with before the meeting. All in all, I not only feel that the presentation was successful at carrying our message (and hope we’ll be seeing more property on the site as a result) but also am excited to start going to these meetings monthly to spend more time in good company (And hopefully learn a thing or two while I’m at it).
I’m not sure that it’s my place to do so, but if you ARE a landlord or property manager, I’d certainly encourage you to come out and attend one of these events. Stay tuned on our Facebook page for the next REIGS event and please come and introduce yourself!
Hi everyone! I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to Gabe Wong, who has joined us as photographer and virtual tour expert! Gabe’s family also has a portfolio of rental property in the city that he manages, so he’s a perfect fit! We’re shooting a place right now in Evergreen, and I have to say it’s a lot more fun talking to someone than talking to myself when I’m running around taking photos.
Shooting a virtual tour for a house in Evergreen
Gabe isn’t perfect, I admit – he shoots with Canon instead of Nikon! But despite our difference in equipment, he does great work and we’re happy to be working with him! By the way, look for this new rental to be listed on Anikio shortly!
As for the presentation itself, I talked a bit about the headaches that landlords have in renting their property and the issues facing tenants and why I created Anikio to try to actually do something to remove or at least reduce those pain points. I also spoke a fair amount on the importance of good visuals and why it’s so important for tenants to be able to not only understand the space before arriving for a viewing, but also to feel a connection with the place, to be able to picture it as a home and feel something beyond looking at yet another empty room.
