Sometimes I like to check out new real estate business models and occasionally when one catches my eye I will share it here. This is not meant to be an endorsement of a service just that I found the concept interesting and I believe it may have a broader appeal.
Pedal To Properties has come up with what appears to be a unique concept in which REALTORS offer clients the opportunity bicycle to properties. This could be a cool concept if your clients are health conscious or as motivated by the neighborhood as they are by the home itself. In a geographically diverse area like the bay area I am not sure how this concept would work but if a client is focused on a specific locale say Pleasanton and enjoys cycling this could be a fun way to get to know the area and the homes.
How it Works:
According to their site a Pedal To Properties‘ agent meets with a client bringing with them a couple cruiser bikes. The agent and clients then ride around the neighborhood and view multiple properties.
I believe this has a few advantages first it is a personalized service, second it offers a way to stand out, and finally it creates an experience of the neighborhood that one can’t get from within a car. On the downside this is a definite niche market and it is likely you could arrive at the home sweaty and dirty. Worse the experience could be ruined by factors outside of your control such as weather, accident or mechanical failure.
With that being said I think it is a great concept and the only thing I would suggest is that they extend the experience online by offering a map mashup to share neighborhood bike routes, and a portal for bike enthusiasts to share pictures online of their neighborhood tours. There a couple of tools that could allow them to do this for zero to low cost. Below are just a couple of the tools I would recommend for such a strategy.
- Open Source Project called Gallery will allow them to quickly launch a community centric photo sharing site
- The routes would be a great application for Yahoo MapMixer
- Gmaps Pedometer would be a good tool as well for the ride routes
- Google My Maps could work for the ride routes as well though is perhaps more limited in functionality than the other two options
Mark Flavin
[…] Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt as well for the ride routes Google My Maps could work for the ride routes as well though is perhaps more […]
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