Now Comes the Winter Chill

…Well, not quite as chilly as good old England but, it has to be said, chillier than the

seemingly endless steaming hot summer we’ve just endured. And thank God, too!

Filming urbanisations in the cooler weather of an Iberian autumn has its obvious

advantages. Less perspiration, for one. But it also has some disadvantages, such as

the pronounced absence of tanned bodies lounging around the pool or sitting on terraces

and balconies imbibing wine and other alcoholic beverages. In other words, it can get

lonely.

The idea of filming these places is to sell them, so a smattering of people lying around

can be essential in getting across the message that “this is the place where you ought to

be” or “see how relaxed and happy everyone is? Well you can be, too.”

Without these smiley faces (it doesn’t matter what nationality they are, a smile is

international – and infectious) there is a risk the urbanisations could come across as

desolate and boring. Or is there?

Some people prefer it that way. The madding crowd isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and

many northerners (north Europeans, that is) actually book their holidays post-crush. The

pools and neighbouring beaches are quiet and it’s still possible – for the more hardy –

to swim in the inviting blue waters of the Mediterranean. Playing golf is more relaxing

and less tiring, and there’s a reduced risk of melting and becoming a stain on the ground

while playing tennis.

All hail the cooler weather! Just please, don’t rain. Filming in the rain is no fun but when

it rains the folks at Hamilton Homes have a cunning back-up plan. They move indoors.

Clever, huh?

But seriously, the cooler weather literally takes the heat off shooting the urbs, even

though there are still so many to fall before the lens, and allows us to focus on filming

the interiors of the individual properties that are up for sale – and that can be yours for a

modest investment.

And now we switch sides from appealing to prospective purchasers to appealing to the

vendors of these many and varied apartments and villas…

If you own an apartment or villa on the Costa del Sol and want to sell it then more than

likely you will be targeting potential investors in holiday or second homes, people who

live abroad and who can’t easily travel to where your property is situated.

Handing the matter over to a real estate agent is one way of disposing of your apartment

or villa. A better way is to hand it over to a real estate agent AND to have a virtual tour

produced for airing on the Internet.

Many prospective buyers now use the Internet to search for their ideal holiday home,

which is why the smart people at Hamilton Homes engaged me to help them create a

virtual library of available properties. These days, people seldom walk into high street

real estate agent offices and browse through photographs. Most business is done in situ,

during ‘viewings’ of properties arranged by and often involving the real estate agent.

However, for the geographically impaired (meaning people who live in other countries)

there is the option of logging onto the Internet – which is, I guess, what you are doing

now… So, rather than go on stating the obvious I think it’s best to close. But first, an

appeal:

If you want to increase the chances of selling your ‘home in the sun’ by broadening

the target market of would-be buyers then you should give serious consideration to the

production of a virtual tour. It doesn’t cost that much so feel free (I’m very reasonable

but I don’t work for nothing – actually, it’s more like next to nothing!) to contact the happy

people at Hamilton Homes for a quote.

Take a look at some of our videos on the Hamilton You Tube Channel.