WHERE THE WHOLE PICTURE STARTS
Photographing every property in America
By 2011, Zaio’s database will include a photograph of virtually every property in the 250 largest urban centers in the United States. That’s more than 75 million photos. Of course, the database will offer more than just photographs. It will give users the “whole picture” -- a comprehensive, accurate valuation of every residential property.
The magnitude of this undertaking calls for structure and organization. Over the next several issues we’ll trace the various functions that bring it all together, starting with Geopic™, Zaio’s photo database.
Robert Johnston, Zaio’s Photography Training & Support Manager, is responsible for ensuring the photography model developed in Zaio’s Spokane test market is seamlessly extended into each new market. “It’s gargantuan,” says Johnston. “We start with an entire city, which generally contains over 30 zones with 10,000 to 15,000 properties in each zone. That’s a lot of photographs.”
To ensure consistent quality, Johnston and his team have developed a standard training system that “has been through the fire of validation.” Before any shooting takes place, every new photographer participates in a two-day course addressing the technicalities of shooting and the intricacies of the database. Every photographer is encouraged to practice their shooting skills for a minimum three hours before going into the field. A photo shoot coordinator is on scene for the first couple of days to provide hands-on assistance.
“We ask new photographers to restrict shooting to 200 photos the first day,” says Johnston. The first day out, Johnston or another quality control specialist at head office reviews every photograph. “Same-day feedback is provided to ensure mistakes are not repeated and to maximize productivity as soon as possible. Our photos are generally superior to traditional real estate photos and we are not prepared to compromise on quality.” Quality control is ongoing, with experts monitoring all photos electronically and manually.
Every photographer is provided with customized camera equipment that includes special features such as a built-in audio function that enables a photographer to record the address of a property for automatic sync with the visuals. All Zaio photographers have ID badges and maintain a dialogue with local enforcement agencies to ensure they are aware of Zaio’s presence in their community. Photographers are coached on dealing with the public and carry printed information to share with interested homeowners.
Zaio has had tremendous success in the Phoenix marketplace, where appraisal trainees have been given an opportunity to acquire field experience as Zaio photographers. According to Johnston, although appraisers start out with fewer photographic skills, they can be more productive because they appreciate the intended use and potential of the database. “By recruiting photographers with an interest in the industry, we’ve been able to reduce our turnover and improve the quality of our shooters,” he says.
The benefits to Zaio photographers are compelling: good pay; hands-on training and ongoing support, and alignment with first-rate, progressive appraisers. In addition to compensation for each approved photograph, every contractor is eligible for performance bonuses and a Geopic™ license, as well as long-term revenue sharing.
Once a photograph has been cleared for quality it enters an integration phase that merges addresses and photos into the production database. Overseen by an information technology professional, the photographer’s data is checked against the postal database and existing municipal assessment data. Johnston indicated that errors are often identified in the existing information and corrected, resulting in a more accurate database.
Ongoing property monitoring ensures that any exterior modifications are captured with new photographs in a timely fashion. At a minimum, the photographic database is reviewed annually and updated as appropriate.
Database development continues with the involvement of local, professional appraisers. In the next issue we’ll examine the role of the appraiser in the Zaio valuation process.
Robert Johnston started his career as a nature photographer 25 years ago and for the past nine years has worked and traveled extensively across North America for Zaio, photographing properties and training new photographers. He has over 50,000 property photos to his credit.
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