FreeMobile411 – New Mobile Search Technology

By Reggie · April 6, 2008 · 5 Comments 

If you don’t already have a free mobile option for directory search you may enjoy a new service from Free411 called FreeMobile411.com.  This new WAP enabled technology is optimized for mobile browsers and lets you search business name, business type, & person’s name. Once you’ve located the desired result, users will see the corresponding address, phone number, map, directions and nearby places as available. You will see a few ads, but they do not seem to get in the way too much.

Other useful free directory searches include Google Mobile Maps, Goog-411, and Microsoft’s Tell-Me service. Google-411 and Microsoft are both call in systems. [via CNET]

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Adobe Photoshop Express Goes Live

By Reggie · March 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

Real Estate is very much a photo-dependant business. That’s why I’m excited to share the news about Adobe Systems launching their beta Adobe Photoshop Express. This new addition strengthens Adobe’s online offerings by adding a photo editing tool for the “average user”-not the professional designer. Adobe is also taking advantage of the growing popularity of social networks and communities with ability to connect and share photos from Facebook, Photobucket & Picasa.  They also built in public galleries for you to showcase these photos. Perfect for real estate agents looking to store listing photos online and present them in animated slideshows. Adobe will give users 2 gigs of photo storage; and all albums will have a direct link and embed code supplied.

I must say that I was impressed with the features available in this beta. It’s nothing like Photoshop but it does have some useful features for real estate agents looking to quickly edit a photo on the fly. Users can apply sketch effects, remove red eye, touch-up, sharpen, and re-color with a single click of the mouse. Don’t like what you just applied, revert back to the original. Users can also download their edited photos in Read more

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Starbucks Makes Decision That Could Save Real Estate Agents Money

By Chad A. Johnson · February 23, 2008 · 6 Comments 

Don’t get too excited, Starbucks isn’t giving away free mochas. They are giving you an opportunity to get Internet access in Starbucks locations for free.Starbucks’ long time partnership with T-Mobile to provide paid Internet hotspots in the company’s stores is coming to an end. Starting in April, AT&T will be replacing T-Mobile as Starbucks’ Internet service provider.

The new AT&T-Starbucks deal provides AT&T DSL subscribers (those with 1.5Mbps packages or higher) with free Wi-Fi Internet access at all company-owned Starbucks locations. This means that your $25.00 a month home DSL connection will provide you with over 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country, free of charge.

I see this as real competition for cellular phone based mobile broadband services. My current AT&T mobile broadband subscription is costing nearly $60 a month. That is $720 a year. Ironically, most of the time that I use that connection, I am at or within walking distance of a Starbucks.

Once the transition to AT&T is implemented in my area, I will be cancelling my mobile broadband account and switching from cable Internet access to DSL at home.

With real estate agent budgets so tight right now, this tactic seems like a smart one. Besides, if you aren’t within 2 minutes of a Starbucks, you probably won’t be getting a cell phone signal anyway.

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Is eSignature Technology Right for Your Real Estate Business?

By Reggie · February 17, 2008 · 7 Comments 

As a real estate agent you probably have some basic understanding of how digital signature technology can help your real estate business. Maybe you could reduce the risk involved in holding and storing documents, gain time efficiencies by signing documents on the spot or even overcome geographical restrictions. Yet from my experiences many agents are sitting on the sidelines, not ready to jump in. Maybe it’s the result of not understanding how accessible the technology has become. Or is it the issue of legality?

First let’s address the legality of an eSignature. In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed a federal law titled Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) to “facilitate the use of electronic records and signatures in interstate and foreign commerce by ensuring the validity and legal effect of contracts entered into electronically”.

With the ESIGN Act stating clearly that “a transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation.” It paved the way for companies to start creating today’s eSignature platforms. Today in real estate eSignatures can be accomplished with various technologies, such as VREO Real Estate Dashboard or DocuSign. However they both deal with the digital signature in different ways and both have distinct advantages.

VREO real estate dashboard is a software application installed to a tablet PC. VREO dashboard allows agents to sign contracts and documents with a stylus pen on the screen—without ever printing a piece of paper. Once you’ve collected the required signatures, simply send to the other party using your dashboards integrated email or fax options. This technology proves to be very convenient for the mobile real estate agent who wants to conduct business anywhere, anytime! Note: An Internet connection is not required to collect signatures.

• Free trial of VREO Real Estate Dashboard here
• Watch “The New Way”—A motivation mobile agent story

DocuSign on the other hand is an online solution enabling real estate agents to capture digital signatures via the web. As a result geographical distance between you and the recipient(s) is not an issue. In 2004, DocuSign integrated with Zipforms (Winforms) to provide online signature processing. As a result of the integration, real estate agents can print contracts into a “digital envelope” and then place “Stick-eTabs” wherever a recipient’s signature or initial is needed. This digital envelope is then encrypted and saved to a secure location. Your recipients will receive their invitation by email, and they will need to authenticate and sign the contracts. In the authentication phase the recipient must provide basic identification and pick a signature. Then it’s time for the recipient to review and sign. When complete, each of the parties is notified of the updated contracts.

• Watch the DocuSign Demo
• View DocuSign’s Special Brief on the Legality of Electronic Signatures
• Zipform eSign Details & Zipform/Docusign FAQ’s

Where are you with eSignatures in real estate business?

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How Neat Are Your Receipts?

By NikNik · February 11, 2008 · 4 Comments 

You may not have been very organized when it came to your real estate business receipts last year, but there’s a handy technology tool that can change all that for you this year! Neat Receipts is a scanner/software combination that will organize all your receipts, expense reports and other business documents.

After sending your documents through the scanner, the software will automatically catalog the information making manageability a snap. You basically turn your piles of paper into organized digital files. That’s right, from piles to files.

I’ve witnessed the efficiency of this tool first hand. My stepmom takes Neat Receipts with her wherever she goes (like lipgloss), ready at a moment’s notice to scan those “write-offs”! It’s quite amazing to see how effective and organized one person can be. She inspired me to try one on myself…and I haven’t looked back at my piles since!Neat Receipts 3.0 Features:

• Smart sorting
• Enhanced PDF functionality
• Keyword search
• 2007 tax categories
• Scans quickly and easily
• Image viewer

Neat Receipts Version 3.0 retails online for $229.00, or purchase in bulk to save. Click here for pricing. Sorry Mac users, you’ll have to wait until March/April 2008 to get your version.

To learn more, watch this demo.

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Want Free Online Meetings For A Year? Then Read This!

By NikNik · January 4, 2008 · 5 Comments 

Yugma became one of the fastest growing real-time web collaboration services in 2007! Thanks to the real estate bloggers, and other online technology enthusiasts! But mostly the bloggers! And to show their appreciation, Yugma would like to give you a free year of their premium service valued at $99.50.To learn more about this program and how to get your sponsored Yugma account, check out the details on the Yugma blog. The window to request your account through the Yugma Blogger Program will be through the end of January, 2008. So if you are interested, get on it!

Yugma will also be upgrading their current services with new features and improved performance in the coming weeks. If you have not checked out Yugma’s online meeting tools, it’s worth investigating. It’s an affordable option for real estate agents, keeping you connected with your clients and colleagues!

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Can Bluetooth Technology Improve Your Real Estate Business?

By Chad A. Johnson · December 28, 2007 · 10 Comments 

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HomeGain Offers New Tool For Sellers

By NikNik · December 18, 2007 · 5 Comments 

• Identify key repairs
• Use checklist to prioritize home improvements
• Determine which projects will increase your salability
• Prepare your sellers for market
• Set a more appropriate list price for the home
• Send sellers the link prior to listing presentation
• Utilize within your listing presentation

For more information, visit HomeGain.com.

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Calling All Mobile Agents: Synchronize Your Google Calendar With Your Blackberry

By NikNik · December 13, 2007 · 5 Comments 

• Share your calendar with teammates and assistants.
• Import activities from Outlook.
• Receive email or mobile text-message reminders for events on your calendar.
• Create a special marketing calendar for each listing, and share it with the homeowner using the “send to a friend” feature.
• Use the invite feature to email special invites for a preview of newly listed homes (Google Calendar keeps track of RSVPs).
• Schedule your “blog posting plan” to keep content ideas flowing and prepared for upcoming posts.

To become even more organized and rid yourself of tardy excuses, simply visit http://m.google.com/sync in your mobile browser to download and install the Google Sync for mobile application. Once installation is complete, click on the Google sync icon and sign in to your Google Account. Now that’s efficient!

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Google Offers Free “GPS-Like” Technology for Real Estate Agents

By Reggie · December 5, 2007 · 5 Comments 

As a real estate professional you’re in and out of neighborhoods all the time. You’re expected to know your area well. But at times you still need some directional assistance. When those times arise, you may be thanking Google. Recently the Google Mobile Maps crew has launched a new “GPS-Like”’ technology called “My Location”. This new feature is freely available for most web-enabled phones, and you don’t need to have GPS on your device for it to work.

So how exactly does the My Location technology work?

Google will pinpoint your location within 1000 meters by calculating and estimating your handset location based on the unique footprint of surrounding cell towers. To start up this feature from with Google Mobile Maps, click “0” and your approximate location will be displayed on the Map. Your location will be represented by a blue dot if you have GPS or a blue dot with a light blue circle around if you do not have GPS. This dot is your approximate location.

To get started, simply text the word “bluedot” to 33669 or visit www.Google.com/gmm on your mobile device to download the application.

Other useful Google Mobile Apps:

• Search
• Gmail
• Picasa
• Goog-411
• Google Readers
• Google Docs
• Google Calendar
• YouTube

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New Buyer Tour Technology Helps Real Estate Agents Bridge the Geographical Gap

By Reggie · November 18, 2007 · 5 Comments 

With Real Estate agents looking to embrace the latest technology tools like blogging and social networking, many are noticing their buyer contacts are originating from out-of-town locations. So how does a real estate agent efficiently show local homes, without the buyer traveling for each buyer’s tour? I’m not talking about emailing MLS printouts!

SiteSeer3D is an online application that integrates with your website and allows real estate agents to show buyers 3D views of local geographic areas and points of interest. OK, I know so far I’m just describing Google Earth and Microsoft Live Maps technology. But SiteSeer3D packs in tons of other useful features by interfacing with the local MLS. For example, imagine the buyer (or buyers agent) zooming into individual properties for sale and identifying a home’s proximity to schools, parks, and downtown locations. SiteSeer3D also displays parcel boundaries, much like Cyberhomes, to help buyers understand the true size and shape of the lot. Buyers can click a “details” button on any home for sale to see listing photos, tours, physical characteristics, associated flyers, mortgage calculators, community links and resources etc.

If a real estate agent would like to give their buyer a guided tour, they can use SiteSeer3D’s remote tour guide features. This allows the potential buyer to watch his/her screen while the real estate agent takes the driver seat and explores the local homes for sale and community characteristics. This tool makes the initial preview insightful and helps eliminate showing mismatches; making the actual tour day much more productive while shorting the sale cycle.

After carefully reviewing the SiteSeer3D demo, I found the technology rather intuitive; however one challenge you may face is that they are not integrated with every MLS. When they do integrate, data flows from the MLS via a FTP data push or RETS feed. I was told by SiteSeer3D Excel import is also available although I have not personally tested the feature.

Useful Links for SiteSeer3D:
Watch a video overview of SiteSeer3D

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Color Generation Technology for your Real Estate Blog

By Reggie · November 9, 2007 · 4 Comments 

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