Hempstead, Texas - December 20, 2006 - When Robert and Sharon Jones had no luck with real estate agents who had tried to sell their historic home - The Harvey House - in Hempstead, Texas - they decided to take matters into their own hands. Located on the corner of Austin and 15th street just blocks from the downtown area, Harvey House was built in 1905 by District Court Judge John Harvey. "Our agent took a few typical shots of the property" said Robert Jones, "but those photos did not in any way communicate the charm and unique nature of the home."

So the Jones decided to try and sell the property on their own. Over the years Robert would give family and friends a historic tour of the property and he received man compliments by his guests. One such tour took place at Thanksgiving, and one visitor said if he was able to give this kind of tour to a prospective buyer, the house would likely sell quickly. Jones, a Sociology professor at Texas Prairie View A&M University by day, took the idea and made it happen.

Since Jones could not devote the time needed for such personalized tours, he decided a video tour would be the next best thing. He hired the production team at the Woodlands based epic software group, to help him write a script and produce the video. "Dr. Jones is a natural and his love for the home comes through" , said Vic Cherubini, the president of the epic software group and producer of the video tour. Michael Wham, a videographer at epic, worked with Jones to find unique camera angles to bring out the best in the home.

epic has helped other sell their homes using online video tours. Typically these videos feature high quality sales information carefully crafted scripts with beautiful imagery, music and live motion video, giving the buyers an excellent understandin for the property from the comfort of their homes.

A home buyer shopping for a new home wants to see and know everything about a prospective property before making a decision. They want to understand their options, and preview as many available properties in as short a time as possible. Most buyers find with the pictures, data and information on a website may not provide them with a true understanding of the property. While nothing beats a visit to the home, the inconvenience of scheduling a viewing of several potential properties can sometimes be difficult. For out of state buyers trying to better understand the homes in a new local, a physical visit may not even be an option.

"I have looked at usuing 360 degree tours, and slide shows of the home, but I am convinced that nothing beats a professionally produced video tour. It's the next best thing to a physical visit" said Jones. Many homebuyers have access to high speed connections, cable modems or DSL - perfect for serving up these short video vignettes.

While you may think that this type of production would cost thousands of dollars, Jones said "The entire production piece cost less than $1000, and took only a week to shoot, edit, and post online." Jones is convinced that creating a video tour to showcase and preview his home is the wave of the future. "Once you look at a video tour it's hard to go back to the old way."