Okay. First, a rig that would meet the QC standards of all of the major video MSCs will be about $360.00, plus a supply of SD cards. The lowest paying video shop I have ever done was $45 (short and practically around the corner) and the highest was nearly $300. You my not have seen many video shops because probably 90 % are never on any job boards. One needs to get some training by working with an MSC that will loan the equipment before deciding if this it a good fit. The equipment is easy to learn; developing and working good stories about why you are shopping for a new home with 5 bedrooms when you are, for instance, in your 60s and single, or why you brother/mother/cousin needs in an assisted living facility and why YOU are the sole decision maker, or how come you have turned up in a particular area to find an apartment, PLUS using an alias and different follow-up emails and phone numbers.... those are the tricky parts, and they are not for everyone.
My advice is to do a few non-video apartment, new home, automobile, and assisted living shops before deciding to move to video. Test your willingness and ability to create and manage your "cover story," aliases, follow-up information, etc, before venturing into doing these via video.
Next, the major clients for video at this time are apartment management companies, new home builders, auto sales, assisted living and similar services. These are interactions that will run from 20 minutes to 2 hours, so the shopper will be memorable. So, for instance, if I shop the Columbia Apartment Complex today, I probably will not be allowed to return for a couple of years, or (in the case of a very few clients) ever. However, there are literally hundreds of apartment complexes within an hour of me, and each video pays well enough so that it is worth my while. Moreover, I am willing to take a multi-day route of video shops that will yield a tidy profit, in order to expand my radius. Are you? Staff turnover in apartment leasing is very high; in new homes sales, the best SAs may work for the same builder for decades, and move from one project to another. So, you will need to keep a list of who you have shopped, and when.
If you decide that video is for you, get some formal training and buy equipment. Send a test video to several of the top video schedulers and ask for a trial assignment. Ask for and get their honest feedback and make adjustments. Good video schedulers will work with you as a partner, not as a shopper who can easily be replaced. After you have done a few shops for each scheduler, they will start contacting you with offers.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.