REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 23, 1999 — Ever wonder how the other half lives? For international music legend Julio Iglesias, the answer is often 45,000 feet in the air in the $25 million luxury jet he uses traveling from his homes in Miami and the Dominican Republic to tour destinations around the world. For the first time, Iglesias’ unique living environment, as well as hundreds of homes from throughout the United States, is available to explore through panoramic 360-degree virtual-tour photos on the MSN TM HomeAdvisor TM online real estate service. This virtual tour of Iglesias’ home away from home can be seen at http://homeadvisor.MSN.com/ie/homes/vtours/ .
With the addition of virtual tours, HomeAdvisor now offers a 24-hour open house to hundreds of homes available for sale, with no appointment necessary. Iglesias’ jet is the first in an upcoming series of celebrity homes to be featured on HomeAdvisor, and other virtual tours will be added to the site daily, showcasing high-quality listings to prospective home buyers. In the coming weeks, HomeAdvisor will feature virtual tours of some of the world’s most provocative newsmakers, entertainers, comedians and sports celebrities, letting users of HomeAdvisor sneak a peek into their worlds.
HomeAdvisor also gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most interesting homes on the market. Beginning today, visitors to HomeAdvisor can take in the New York City skyline from a $4.5 million Trump Tower condominium, or catch a bird’s-eye-view inside a glamorous $3.75 million Manhattan triplex located on the 50th floor, just steps from Park Avenue.
Ever dreamt of rustic living, just minutes from the buzz of city life? HomeAdvisor offers a virtual tour that lets users steal away to a $500,000 romantic bungalow, complete with its own private orchard, forest and nationally publicized garden, on Bainbridge Island, Wash., only a short ferry ride from the bustle of downtown Seattle. This is in addition to the virtual tours of Iglesias’ jet, some of the world’s most exquisite million-dollar homes, and hundreds of other home listings on HomeAdvisor.
“Consumers will find more of the highest-quality listings on HomeAdvisor than anywhere else,”
said Ian Morris, group product manager of MSN HomeAdvisor.
“We’ve teamed up with the leading virtual tour providers to make it easy for any real estate agent to include virtual tours with home listings. This is a very exciting technology, and we’re thrilled to offer our customers virtual access to the highest-quality listings available on the Internet today.”
Julio’s Private Jet, Up Close and Personal
The HomeAdvisor virtual tour of Iglesias’ Gulfstream IV, filmed on location in Miami, includes panoramic shots of several rooms, including the cockpit, bedroom and main living area. Fans can also pan the hangar in which his jet resides when not in use to see the luxury home away from home from the outside. The following are among the specific features of Iglesias’ jet that can be viewed on the virtual tour:
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Marble sinks and brass fixtures in the private dressing room
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Luxurious polished teak walls
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Full galley, complete with fine china and crystal glassware
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Two televisions with VCRs and DVD players, along with a large movie collection
“I’m very excited to let my fans worldwide see how I travel and where I live while on the road,”
Iglesias said.
“Throughout my career, I have cherished the people who support my music. I am proud to share this part of my life with them.”
Virtual Tour Technology
Virtual tour technology allows potential renters and buyers to view a property via the Internet as if they were actually there, offering a series of 360-degree photos of various parts of a home. From the exterior of the home to the dining room, living room, kitchen and bedroom, consumers can virtually
“walk”
through a home with a few clicks of the mouse.
About MSN HomeAdvisor
MSN HomeAdvisor is the Internet’s most complete guide for finding homes and loans, combining Microsoft® technology with services and expertise from some of the most trusted names in the real estate industry. It empowers consumers through every step of the home-buying process and is the first Internet site to fully integrate content and services such as neighborhood crime and school statistics with homes, loans, editorial content and expert advice. Winner of the Inman Innovator Award as the best residential real estate site, HomeAdvisor is a PC Magazine Top 100 Web site, a Yahoo! Internet Life Best of the Best winner and a Family PC Web Site of the Month. Part of the MSN network of Internet services, HomeAdvisor launched in July 1998 and is free on the World Wide Web at http://homeadvisor.MSN.com/ (connect-time charges may apply).
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, MSN and HomeAdvisor are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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