With almost nothing to do on Saturday afternoons, Nina Duran would spend her free time at open houses throughout the city.
The experience gave Duran, 27, the idea to create simplyhousingaround.com, a free Web site that provides design ideas for new homes and renovation tips to consumers working on a budget. In December 2007, Duran, along with business partners Sammy Lopez, 29, and Steven Moya, 26, launched the Web site.
Duran and Lopez began videotaping the interiors and exteriors of houses they visited. When they saw costly renovations could be done at a lower price with the right resources they took note.
“There was a man who visited our Web site and wanted to renovate his bathroom with subway tile, which cost about $2.99 each, but was on a really tight budget,” Duran said, “We were able to find the tile for him on craigslist for 50 cents each.”
While most small businesses are seeing decreases in profit, Duran, who declined to release annual revenue sales, isn’t worrying too much about that. She said the Web site’s profit is based solely on advertising, and it wasn’t created so they could get rich off of it, but to provide a beneficial service to San Antonio.
Duran, Lopez and Moya each have other jobs. Duran, who manages the advertising for the Web site, has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in communication arts. She is also a part-time marketing and public relations professor at Northwest Vista College and a waitress at a local bistro.
Lopez, who finds articles for the Web site, is a commercial engineer. Moya edits the video content for the Web site. He is a student and DJ’s at venues throughout the city.
The Web site offers banner ads to real estate agents that range from $100 to $500 depending on the package that’s created. Duran said advertising through the site is not only budget-friendly but it’s also a creative way to advertise. She and her partners are able to report back to their advertisers the number of clicks they receive on their banner advertisements.
Simplyhousingaround.com is divided into four sections: Inspire Me, which provides virtual tours of homes; Design Me, which lists articles with modern and traditional remodeling ideas; Build Me, which provides Web links to local builders; and Buy Me, which links to the National Association of Realtors Web site, which locates homes that are for sale.
“Buyers are able to have first-hand experience of walking into million-dollar homes and never-before-seen modern homes,” Duran said, adding that they also videotape houses for buyers who don’t have time to view an open house. She said the videos are edited to provide the best footage of each house.
“We are passionate about providing San Antonio with a budget-friendly service that is within reach straight from their home,” Duran said.
