Technology surrounds us. It’s hard to even remember a time when business was conducted without the aid of a cell phone. Life has become a series of apps.
But interestingly the human side of real estate remains unchanged. As an agent we interact with clients using different platforms but the needs and desires remain the same. Shelter, a home, a growing family or downsizing.
The Top Apps For Real Estate
Today I thought I would rank some of the apps I use in conducting real estate. Where my iPhone is by far my most important tool. These are the apps I use in order of importance. Notice how many are just plain old native iPhone apps.
1. The phone. At some point in every real estate deal where you need to abandon email and just pick up he phone and hammer out the deal toe to toe.
2. Email. There’s no denying that with all the invention that technology has brought us the number one most important application on the Internet is still email. You have to be connected to email in the field. My head almost explodes when I see agents without a smartphone.
PS. I know it looks like I have a lot of email to check but don’t worry. It’s my press releases folder, I get 100’s for www.talkingmakeup.com.
3. Contacts. Real estate is still a people business. It’s who you know and who you are doing deals with.
4. Text. People like to use texts. A lot of people are working real estate transactions around busy work schedules. Text messages can get things done when people are in meetings etc. It’s becoming more and more normal. Especially as Gen X and Y are starting to buy and sell more real estate.
5. Camera. While I don’t ever endorse real estate agents taking their own listing photo’s the camera app on my iPhone is invaluable.
Examples of how the iPhone camera can be useful in real estate. To catalog repairs needed. Pictures for blog posts. Video walk throughs for out of town buyers. List goes on.
6. Calculator. Numbers on the go. Invaluable.
7. Compass. Never guess what exposure a garden has again.
So all the top most useful apps for me are native iPhone apps. These are the powerhouse apps that let me run my real estate business in the field.
Apps To Download
I have quite a few apps that I have added to my phone from the App store. Here are some of the ones I find useful in real estate.
Sothebys. There’s 100’s of apps to find properties on your phone. None of them are as good as true MLS access.
For more detailed searches I use an app that connects directly to the MLS but for quick info when pulled up outside a home I use the Sotheby’s app. It’s a clean design, and well I like the brand 🙂 Zillow, Trulia etc. all have apps, accuracy of information varies.
Docusign. Digital signatures from anywhere. In a real time pressure situation this can make or break a deal.
Neo Reader. Some agents are starting to use QR codes to pass information about properties. This app lets you scan QR to access the information.
Although QR codes do have a use I prefer using custom short url’s so people can type those quickly into a browser rather than having to have a special app to read the code.
So these are some of the apps I am using everyday to run my real estate business, relationships and transactions. I just can’t imagine life as an agent prior to smart phones.
If you are looking for a digitally connected real estate agent, look no further 🙂