In times like these, it’s not always possible to meet with renters in person. In fact, landlords and property managers should offer a virtual tour over an in-person tour whenever possible. Fortunately, creating a Zillow 3D Home® virtual tour is a free, easy and effective way to reach potential renters.

Tools you’ll need

• A smartphone
• At least one video calling app — ask what your clients prefer (e.g. FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype, etc.)
• The Zillow 3D Home app — download it here

Offering to meet and tour prospective renters virtually can give you more of an opportunity to ask deeper questions about the renter’s needs and allow you to focus on areas of their interest within the neighborhood and rental. Here are a few tips to help your virtual interactions go smoothly:

• Show enthusiasm for offering a virtual appointment or tour.
• Set expectations for the appointment.
• Follow up to confirm the appointment through text, email or the Zillow Rental Manager messenger.

Zillow 3D Home tours

3D Home tours enable you to capture and send a tour for free, in a matter of minutes with an iPhone 7 or later or a compatible Android device. Renters are able to click through images from room to room as though they were walking through the home themselves. It’s an immersive experience for renters that helps them get a clear sense of your property’s layout and home features — without having to do an in-person tour.

A 3D Home tour may also generate more interest in your listing: In May 2020, single-family rental listings on Zillow with a 3D Home tour received 44% more page views and 65% more saves compared to listings without a tour.

For best practices and a step-by-step guide to creating a great 3D Home tour, go here.

After you’ve created a 3D Home tour, adding it to your listing is simple with Zillow Rental Manager. You can upload your 3D Home tour in the same place as other photos when you edit your listing.

Learn more about Zillow 3D Home and what the 3D tours look like here. 

Two other ways to handle virtual tours

There’s more than one way to give renters virtual tours and help them keep their search moving forward. You can do a video call, where you walk the renter through your property and talk to them in real-time and answer questions on the spot. You can also video record a walk-and-talk tour of your property which you can send to interested renters, and then follow up with a live call for further discussion and questions.

How to prepare for a video call or tour

Prep your property for a virtual tour just like you would for an in-person tour in terms of having a clean and orderly looking space. Here are a few more tips for virtual tours:

• Turn on all lights and open all doors.
• Plot your route beforehand: Select your starting point, plan your path through the space.
• Don’t overlook easily forgotten features like the closets, kitchen appliances and parking.

Best practices for video and live video call tours

Like with everything, practice makes perfect. But here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re conducting your video tours.

• If you’re pre-recording a tour to send, put your phone in airplane mode so that your video isn’t ruined by an incoming call or message.
• Before a live tour, check your internet connection in the areas you’ll be in.
• Show up like you would for a face-to-face showing. Be professional and authentic.
• Narrate everything you see, with callouts for specific things you know are important to the renter.
• Don’t just hold the phone at eye level. Remember to pan up and down to give a full view of ceiling fixtures and flooring.
• Try to keep the video as steady as you can, with slower movements so that the renter has time to absorb what they see.
• At the end, ask for feedback about how the virtual tour went.
• Continue to text, email or message within the Zillow Rental Manager to keep renters engaged.

If you must show the property in person, follow these health and safety recommendations from Zillow’s health advisor, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin:

• Wear a mask and practice social distancing during your tour
• Wipe down commonly touched areas in a home after touring it
• Wash hands with soap and water (or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are unavailable)
• Avoid showing potential properties if you (or anyone in your home) has been sick within the last 14 days

Learn more about how Zillow is supporting our employees, customers, partners and communities during COVID-19 with our Move Forward. Stay Safe. initiative.