TimeBank Home Tour Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of our most frequently asked questions regarding TimeBank Home Tours. Find your question from the list below and click on it to be taken to its answer:

How do I set up my account?
How do I log in to my account?
How do I purchase Time Slots for my TimeBank?
How do I submit a property for a TimeBank Home Tour?
How do I verify and/or change my account information?
How do I know how much time I have in my TimeBank?
Can I access my Purchase History to update my accounting records?
How can I verify the status of my TimeBank Home Tours?
What is the purpose of the Custom Tour Template?
I'm not a photographer! How can I take acceptable photographs?
Can I have a professional photographer submit photos?
Why do you require digital photos to be of a certain minimum size & resolution?
Should I get my sellers involved in the process?
What happens when my property Sells or is otherwise off the market?
Why are tours sold in 30-second increments?

If your question is not among this list, contact us by phone at 256-518-9075 or email at info@newmediaproduction.com and we'll be happy to provide you with answers to all your questions about TimeBank Home Tours. Or, you may find additional help by browsing our Glossary.

How do I set up my account?
Click on any Register Now button or hyperlink found throughout the New Media Production (NMP) website. You will be taken to the New Account Registration Form. Fill out the form in its entirety paying special attention to the *** Required Fields. Field definitions: First Name: Your first name. Last Name: Your last name. Company Name: Your company name. Email Address: The email address you use for your business. Password: Create a unique password that will protect your account. Confirm Password: Retype your password to verify. Address Line 1: The first line (could be the only line) of your mailing address. Address Line 2: Enter your Suite Number or any other second line information of your mailing address. City: The city in which you conduct real estate business. State: The State in which you conduct real estate business. Zip Code: Your business US Mail Postal Code. Office Phone: Enter your office telephone number. Home Phone: Enter your home phone number. Mobile Phone: Enter your mobile phone number. Fax: Enter your fax phone number. Primary Website: Enter the domain name of the web site from which you will link your tours. Other Website: Enter the domain name of your secondary business web site. Realtor Photo: Use the Browse button to select the photo you would like to be displayed on your TimeBank Home Tour web page. (There is a one-time fee for creating a unique web page in which to display your Home Tours. You may opt not to send a Realtor photo and your tours will be displayed in our basic web page display.) Realtor Logo: Use the Browse button to select the company logo you would like to be displayed on your TimeBank Home Tour web page. (There is a one-time fee for creating a unique web page in which to display your Home Tours. You may opt not to send a Realtor photo and your tours will be displayed in our basic web page display.) After completing the required information, click the Save Account and Continue button. Once your photo and logo have been uploaded to our server, you will see the message: Registration Complete! Your account is currently PENDING approval by a New Media Production staff member. You will receive a confirmation email message once the account is enabled. When you receive the approval email, you can begin using the tour order system. Please contact New Media Production by phone if you have any questions. Most accounts are approved within one day of registration.
How do I log in to my account?
Once you receive your account approval via email, you may use your email address and password you created when you registered your account to log into the Online Tour System by clicking on any Account Log In button or hyperlink found throughout the NMP website. Once you are at the Account Login page, enter your email address in the Email: field and then enter the password you created in the Password: field. Click on the Login Now button and you will be taken to the My Order History page. Feel free to bookmark our Account Log In page and you can save the step of coming to our home page before logging in to the tour system.
How do I purchase Time Slots for my TimeBank?
Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, click on the Purchase Time Slots hyperlink at the top of the page and you will be taken to the Time Slot Order Form. Ordering Time is a two (2) step process. Step 1. Select Time Slot Length is where you will add Time to your Bank. Remember that you can highlight up to 8 photos/features of a property in 30 seconds. For most properties, that will be sufficient. However, if you are selling commercial property, farms, estate homes or waterfront property you may need more time to highlight all the features in one tour. Plus, there are price breaks at 180 seconds (up to 6 tours) and 630 seconds (up to 21 tours). Once you have selected the amount of time, go to Step 2. Enter Your Payment Information. Fill in the information, again paying attention to the *** Required Fields. Name on Credit Card: This should be filled in exactly like your name is displayed on your Credit Card. Credit Card Number: Enter exactly as displayed on your credit card. Expiration Date: Choose the Month and Year of your credit card expiration from the pull-down menus. Credit Card Type: Choose your credit card type from the pull-down menu. Address Line 1: Enter your address exactly as it appears on your credit card statement. Address Line 2: Enter any secondary address information exactly as it appears on your credit card statement. City: Enter the city as shown on your credit card statement. State: Enter the state as shown on your credit card statement. Zip Code: Enter your zip code as shown on your credit card statement. Once you have entered all the required information, click on the Confirm & Total Order button. Your credit card information will be verified and if valid, your order will be complete.
How do I submit a property for a TimeBank Home Tour?
Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, click on the Order Online Tour hyperlink at the top middle of the page and you will be taken to the Select Online Tour Length Form. Enter the amount of time you require (30 Seconds to 240 Seconds) for the subject property's tour from the pull-down menu then click on the Continue button. NOTE: The Tour Length Pull-Down menu will allow up to 240 seconds (4 minutes) for an individual tour provided you have purchased at least that amount of time. If you do not have adequate time remaining in your bank, go back to the process defined in Question 3 on this page and purchase more time. Once you have chosen the appropriate amount of time and have clicked on the Continue button, you will be taken to the Online Tour Order Form that is broken down into 3 steps. Step 1. Agent Contact Information - this section will auto-fill the data you have already entered into the New Account Registration form. Step 2. Listing Information is the unique data for the subject property. In the MLS Number: field, enter the MLS number as it has been given to you by your local Multiple Listing Service. When producing your tour, the MLS number will become part of the tour name and tour link so it will be easy for you to identify where to place the link within your web page. Price: Enter the current listing price of the property. Location ID: This is the unique market area of the subject property—not necessarily the subdivision unless it is appropriate—such as Sandy Springs, Five Points, Soho, Northeast, Southwest, etc. We will use this information in writing the script to convey the market location of the subject property. Address: Enter the subject property's street address. City: Enter the subject property's city location. State: Enter the subject property's state location. Zip Code: Enter the subject property's US Postal Zip Code. Bedrooms: Select the number of subject property's bedrooms. Baths: Select the number of subject property's bathrooms. Levels: Select the number of subject property's levels. Square Feet: Enter verified square footage only. Step 3. Tour Photos & Descriptions is where you attach up to 8 photos & provide feature & benefit descriptions for each 30 seconds of tour time. Tour Length: will auto-fill according to your selection on the previous page. Photo 1: Should ALWAYS be the front exterior shot of the property. Click on the Browse button and select the appropriate photo. Description 1: First, enter an identifying photo name, i.e. "Front," "Living Room," "Family Room," "Rec Room," etc. Then write the feature and benefit descriptions of that photo, i.e. "Full brick construction," or "Walk to school," etc. Photo 2-8 & Description 2-8: Repeat the steps set forth in Photo 1 & Description 1. Remember: we only know as much as you tell us about each property. After naming your photo in the Description section, tell us the most important features and benefits for that specific photo. Sometimes you will require more than one photo to show a room. You might have a Great Room with a unique ceiling you show with one photo and a wonderful fireplace with a surrounding entertainment center you'd like to show with another photo. If you have to use three photos to show a room that's fine too. REMEMBER: IT IS IMPORTANT TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTOS IN THE SEQUENCE YOU THINK BEST TO SHOW THE PROPERTY! In writing your script, we will sequentially go through the photos and descriptions to create a conversational script which will guide the prospect through your property like you would during an on-site showing. Once you have attached all your photos and have given photo names and feature & benefit descriptions, click on the Confirm Tour Order button.
How do I verify and/or change my account information?
Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, click on the My Account hyperlink at the top middle of the page and you will be taken to the My Account Information page. There, you will be able to verify all of your account information and you can edit your account data by clicking on the Edit My Account button at the bottom of the page.
How do I know how much time I have in my TimeBank?
Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, your Available Tour Time is displayed at the top of the page just under the "Action" hyperlinks. You can verify your Available Tour Time, Pending Time Orders and Total Tour Time.
Can I access my Purchase History to update my accounting records?
Yes. Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, your Time Slot Purchase History will be displayed in the middle of the page. You can verify: each date you transacted business with us, how much time you purchased, the amount of money you spent, and your order status.
How can I verify the status of my TimeBank Home Tours?
Log in to your account using the method described in Question 2 on this page. Once you are at the My Order History page, you can review all of your active tours in the Tour Order History section at the bottom of the page. Each property you have submitted will be listed with its Date Created: is the date you ordered each tour, Property Address: the subject property's street address, MLS: the subject property's MLS Number, Tour Length: the duration of the specific tour, Status: tells you whether the tour is pending production, active, or inactive due to the property selling or being off the market, Tour URL: displays the link that was sent to you via email when your tour was produced.
What is the purpose of the Custom Tour Template?
Once your TimeBank Home Tour is produced, it will have to be displayed in a unique web page so your prospect will be able to see it over the Internet without having to rely on media players or plug-ins. If you desire your Agent Photo and Company Logo to be used within this display, we charge a one-time setup fee to construct the layout of that page. Any subsequent tours we produce for you can use that page as a template, so there is no additional charge for your web page displays for any other tours you purchase. The intent is to maintain a consistent look with your web advertising. We can use the same background image —or any other design tool you wish —to make your TimeBank Home Tours unique to your marketing efforts. The contact data you submitted when you registered your account is used within this web page as well. If you are linking your tours from your web site, this data may already be accessible and you may not require us to create a unique web page display for your tours. However, it becomes particularly important to have this data included in your TimeBank Home Tour display when sending links to prospects via email. NOTE: If you link your tours from a local MLS, some associations have rules regarding contact information contained in listings on the MLS site. Please verify the rules contained in your MLS agreement before ordering a Custom Tour Template. If you do not order the Custom Tour Template, your tour will be displayed within our TimeBank Home Tour Basic Web Page Display.
I'm not a photographer! How can I take acceptable photographs?
A few simple guidelines can help you make photos just like a pro; especially with today's digital technology. These pointers are available on our Photo Tips page which can be printed so you can keep it close by for immediate reference.
Can I have a professional photographer submit photos?
Of course. Just have them take the photos at the required 640 x 480 dimension at a 72 DPI resolution. Then, they can transmit them to you and you can attach them to the Online Tour Order Form and submit them to us for tour production.
Why do you require digital photos to be of a certain minimum size & resolution?
To give you the best quality tour, our production process requires photos to be a minimum of 640 x 480 dimension at a 72 DPI resolution. That photo size also takes into account future spin-off products from your TimeBank Home Tour. The 640 x 480 dimension works well with conventional television. So, we can present your tours on a local real estate television show once other criteria is met. A local television show can be a "company-specific" show whereby we edit your company's active Home Tours into a 30-minute show that can be broadcast in your local market. The other type of show is a "community-based show where we combine your tour with tours from other agents in your market. As with the company-based show, the community-based show is broadcast on television to your local market.
Should I get my sellers involved in the process?
Certainly! That's one of the added benefits of producing a tour; getting your seller involved. As the Listing Agent, you are the expert in each of your listings' features and benefits. What better way to establish those that through seller participation. Once you get the seller telling you why they bought the property, you'll be better equipped to market and sell the property. Nothing fosters referral business better than conveying your concern and professionalism to your seller. Once they realize you are going "above and beyond" in your marketing approach, they'll be more tempted to sing your praise to their family, friends and neighbors.
What happens when my property Sells or is otherwise off the market?
We will conduct a monthly inventory of your Tours. Once the property is sold, you can email us and we will take the tour off our server. However, you may wish to leave it in your inventory until it closes. You are trying to stimulate sales calls and email inquiries into your office. Sometimes a "sold" property can do just that. It's the contact with a prospect that is important. Once you can establish a rapport with a ready, willing and able prospect, you can sell them an other home that is currently available.
Why are tours sold in 30-second increments?
We sell tours in 30-second increments for the same reason we require your photos to be a dimension that works well on television; to use your tours in a local real estate television show in the future. Of course, since they are created in time-increments that work well on television, you can request we send you a broadcast copy of your tour and you can run it as a stand-alone commercial on a local television station or cable company. Many cable companies have bulk rates that will put your cost-per-spot below $10.00.

Tour System Form Help
Glossary

Address: Subject property's street address. This information is important—even though we will not publish it as part of your tour—to make sure your tour is paired correctly to its Universal Resource Link (URL).

Address Line 1: The first line of the Account Holder's mailing address; possibly the only line of the address. Or, the first line of your credit card's billing address. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Address Line 2: The second line of the Account Holder's mailing address used to denote building numbers, suite numbers, etc. Or, the first line of your credit card's billing address. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Add Tour Time: Tours are produced in 30-second increments which translates as: if you're submitting one tour for production, you must choose at least 30 seconds from the Add Tour Time menu. If you purchase 60 seconds, you could order two tours, or create one tour to promote more features. The standard rule is that you can promote up to 8 features/benefits in 30 seconds, and you can submit one photo to show each feature. When making Tour Time Deposits into your TimeBank, remember that price-breaks are offered at 180 seconds (up to 6 tours) and at 630 seconds (up to 21 tours).

Agent Name: Is the combination of your First Name and Last Name that is auto-filled into the Online Tour Order Form. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Baths: Optional data you should submit ONLY if it is important and you'd like that information included in the script for your tour.

Bedrooms: Optional data you should submit ONLY if it is important and you'd like that information included in the script for your tour.

City/Agent: Account Holder's City Location or City Address of the credit card used to open or make deposits to their TimeBank Account. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

City/Property: Subject property's city location. This information is important—even though we will not publish it as part of your tour—to make sure your tour is paired correctly to its Universal Resource Link (URL).

Company Name: The Account Holder's Company Name. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Confirm Password: After creating your password you will be required to retype it into the next field to verify the actual password to yourself and to us.

Credit Card Number: Enter exactly as displayed on the credit card you are using to open or make a Time Deposit to your TimeBank Account.

Credit Card Type: Choose the type of credit card from the pull-down menu that you are using to open or make Deposits to your Account. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Custom Tour Template: Each TimeBank Home Tour^TM is displayed in a unique web page. Creating that page is part of our production process and it is what makes your tour's Universal Resource Link (URL) activate the specified tour. A Custom Tour Template incorporates your photo, company logo, contact information and other graphics to make your tours look like other pages at your web site. If you do NOT have a custom web site and will link your tours only from your local MLS, be sure to comply with the rules governing those sites. Most MLS entities have rules forbidding contact information being displayed on virtual tours. Be sure you know the facts before ordering a Custom Tour Template.

Customer Number: You will be issued a Customer Number when your Account is approved by a member of our staff. Your customer number will be used to differentiate your account from all other accounts, and it will be used as part of the Universal Resource Link (URL) in each of your TimeBank Home Tours^TM. Once issued, your Account Number will appear on all the forms associated with your account.

Description: Remember, "Features Sell" but people buy "benefits." First, enter an identifying photo name, i.e. "Front," "Living Room," "Family Room," "Rec Room," etc. Then write the feature and benefit descriptions of that photo, i.e. "Full brick construction," or "Walk to school," etc.

Email Address: Please enter the email address you use to conduct your business. Once your first tour has been produced, we will send its Universal Resource Link (URL) to this email address. Nothing could be more frustrating than submitting an email address you seldom use only to find your tour link was sent there weeks ago. We will also use this address to contact you in certain instances. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established. Your email address will be used as part of your security check to the data in your Account; you will enter it every time you log on to the system.

Expiration Date: Choose the Month and Year of your credit card expiration from the pull-down menus. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Fax: Account Holder's fax phone number. Published only if you order a Custom Tour Template. Typically only used to transmit documents from us to you.

First Name: The Account Holder's first name. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Home Phone: Account Holder's home phone number. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Last Name: The Account Holder's last name. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Levels: The number of stories or levels of the subject property. This is optional data you should submit ONLY if it is important and you'd like that information included in the script for your tour.

Location ID: This is the unique market area of the subject property—not necessarily the subdivision unless it is appropriate—such as Sandy Springs, Five Points, Soho, Northeast, Southwest, etc. We will use this information in writing the script to convey the market location of the subject property.

MLS Number: The same number given to you for the subject property by your Multiple Listing Service. It is one of the most important numbers you submit to us because it is used to create the Universal Resource Link (URL) we email back to you once your tour is produced. You will be able to readily tell which URL goes with which tour so there should be no mistake when you're linking your tours to your web site, or when you're sending a link within email correspondence to prospects.

Mobile Phone: Account Holder's mobile phone number. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Name on Credit Card: Enter your name EXACTLY as it appears on your credit card. This is unpublished information required to charge your credit card to pay for your TimeBank Account Deposits. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Office Phone: Account Holder's office phone number. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Other Website: This site would be another place you intend to publish your tour links and should be of lesser importance to you than your Primary Website.

Password: Your account is password-protected to secure your data. Your password must be at least 6 characters and not more than 25 characters in length. For the best protection, we suggest you use an alphanumeric password with at least one uppercase letter. Your password will be used as part of your security check to the data in your Account; you will enter it every time you log on to the system.

Photo 1: Always attach the front photo as Photo 1. Remember to center the subject when taking your pictures; leave about the same amount of sky above and lawn below the front photo.

Photo 2-8 & Description 2-8: Repeat the steps set forth in Photo 1 & Description 1. Remember: we only know as much as you tell us about each property. After naming your photo in the Description section, tell us the most important features and benefits for that specific photo. Sometimes you will require more than one photo to show a room. You might have a Great Room with a unique ceiling you show with one photo and a wonderful fireplace with a surrounding entertainment center you'd like to show with another photo. If you have to use three photos to show a room that's fine too. REMEMBER: IT IS IMPORTANT TO ATTACH YOUR PHOTOS IN THE SEQUENCE YOU THINK BEST TO SHOW THE PROPERTY! In writing your script, we will sequentially go through the photos and descriptions to create a conversational script which will guide the prospect through your property like you would during an on-site showing. Once you have attached all your photos and have given photo names and feature & benefit descriptions, click on the Confirm Tour Order button.

Price: The current listing price of the property. We will not publish the price anywhere on your tour, but we would appreciate the information for internal statistical analysis. The price is the only data subject to change over the listing period, so we feel it is to your best interest that we not publish this information. Otherwise, someone would be responsible for changing the price upon any subsequent price changes. Since your tours will typically launch from your web site, you'll only have to remember to change the price on your site, or when you submit the price change to the MLS, their system will update update the price on the MLS site.

Pronunciation: When producing your tour, we use professional announcers to voice your script. If there is any chance for someone who has never met you to mispronounce your name, please offer us some help in this field. Spell out your name phonetically if possible, or give us some clues, i.e. Moise could be: "MO-eece," or: "Moze."

Primary Website: This is the main website from which you will link your tours; the one where you normally conduct business. This could be your independent site, i.e. www.yourname.com, a company site, a franchise site, a local MLS site, www.realtor.com, etc. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Realtor Logo: You should attach your company logo when you intend to order a Custom Tour Template.

Realtor Photo: You may include a JPG or TIFF format photo of the Realtor with your account to include in your Custom Tour Template. The dimension of the photo should be at least 200 pixels by 400 pixels at a 72 dots per inch resolution. If do not wish to purchase a Custom Tour Template, then there is no reason to provide a Realtor photo. Click to find out more about Custom Tour Templates.

Square Feet: The square footage of the subject property. We will always apply caveat statements to square footage when referring to it in your property's script, i.e. "approximately," "almost," "just under," etc., and we will never quote square footage exactly. The normal practice in referring to square footage within the property's script will be to translate "3742 square feet" to "over 3700 square feet."

State/Agent: Account Holder's State Location or State Address of the credit card used to open or make deposits to their TimeBank Account. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

State/Property: Subject property's state location. This information is important—even though we will not publish it as part of your tour—to make sure your tour is paired correctly to its Universal Resource Link (URL).

Tour Length: Tours are produced in 30-second increments. You should highlight up to 8 features in every 30 seconds you select for each Tour Length which means you should submit 8 photos for every 30 seconds you choose.

Zip Code/Agent: Account Holder's Zip Code or Zip Code of the credit card used to open or make deposits to their TimeBank Account. This data will be auto-filled into subsequent forms once an account is established.

Zip Code/Property: Subject property's zip code. This information is important—even though we will not publish it as part of your tour—to make sure your tour is paired correctly to its Universal Resource Link (URL).