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Free Flash Charts for Your Real Estate Blog or PowerPoint

By: Reggie · Posted on March 22, 2008 · 10 Comments

I thought that might get your attention.  It’s true; FusionCharts Free is now available for you to download. This free version is an amazing entry level flash charting component for your real estate website, blog or PowerPoint.  Easily create high impact, visually appealing graphs on Local Market Indicators, Average Sales Prices, Building Starts, Vacancy Rates, Mortgage Originations, Neighborhood Sales, and tons of other compelling data for your audience.

FusionCharts Free supports popular chart types including bar, column, line, pie and more. Also note that FusionCharts is a cross-browser and cross-platform solution that can be used with PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails, ASP, ASP.NET, JSP, ColdFusion, HTML and even PowerPoint Presentations. [Read more...]

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Real Estate Agents Streamline Tasks with Word 2007

By: Reggie · Posted on July 28, 2007 · 2 Comments
In your real estate business you’ll find yourself conducting many repetitive tasks. Microsoft Word 2007 may have the technology to help save you time and effort. I’m talking about the new Building Blocks feature, similar to what was known as “Auto-text” in previous versions. In Word and Outlook 2007 a user can save snippets of content, lists, graphics and more using the quick parts tool and then apply those snippets to a document with a click of the mouse—retaining all preset formatting.

For example, say that in your Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) you consistently add many of the same components to your presentation such as your resume, company overview, pricing charts, marketing checklist and disclaimers. Rather that saving all of these items to one file, you can use building blocks to add each specific item to your presentation with the click of a mouse. Easily letting you pick and choose what to include and omit in your next presentation.

Of course building blocks are not specific to a CMA, they can be utilized for any content or graphical item—enabling you to quickly utilize content and graphics over and over. For example, items such as your signature with hyperlinks, introduction letter, staging checklist, listing syndication channels, coversheet, etc.

Do I have your interest peaked? Here are the steps to start taking advantage of this hot technology in Microsoft Word 2007.

  1. Open or type the content you would like to reuse, and highlight it.
  2. Select the Insert tab, and then locate the Text grouping.
  3. Select the arrow on the Quick Parts button.
  4. Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
  5. The Create New Building Block window appears.
    1. Name: Name your quick part.
    2. Gallery: Choose the Gallery to store the item.
    3. Category: Choose your category. I recommend creating a category for real estate.
    4. Description: Type a description for the building block.
    5. Save In: I recommend keeping the default Word location.
    6. Options: Choose to insert only the text, text as new paragraph or text on its own page.

    Adding a quick part to your document:
    1. Open a new or existing document.
    2. Click Insert tab, and then click the Quick Parts button.
    3. Click on the desired Quick Part to add to the document where the cursor is placed.
    4. Repeat as necessary.

    Are you still not sure how this technology works? Watch this quick video for more info.

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    10 Reasons a Real Estate Agent Should Upgrade to Office 2007

    By: Chad A. Johnson · Posted on June 27, 2007 · 10 Comments

    It is almost unfortunate that Microsoft released Office 2007 on the same day of the release of Windows Vista. In the technology shadow of the massive juggernaut, Office received little attention. While I am impressed by Vista, it is the advancements that Microsoft has made in the latest version of Office that really blows me away. These changes are significant enough for me to whole-heartedly recommend Office 2007 to real estate agents, no matter what version of Microsoft Office they are currently using.

    The most obvious change (and the one most talked about) is the addition of the new user interface called the “Ribbon”. While I think that the idea of changing the menu options based on your current activity is brilliant, I would like to look beyond the obvious to the smaller features and tweaks. Those little things that you wished Office always had and now does.

    While I couldn’t possibly cover all of these new features, I have put together a list of 10 features that has made my life easier and more productive.

    1. Save as PDF – The PDF file format is gaining more and more importance in the real estate industry and now you can save your Office files directly as a PDF, no additional software required.

    2. Email Merge in Publisher – Email marketing is becoming a standard marketing channel in the real estate industry. Publisher 2007 has now made it easier to send full cover email campaigns to your past client base by adding email merge capability. You can now personalize each email and send it without relying on the BCC field.

    3. Indexed Searches in Outlook – Outlook has always had a Find feature, but it has been painfully slow. Searches in Outlook 2007 are virtually instantaneous. Your search keywords are even highlighted in the search results. I would have upgraded just for this feature!

    4. Easier Pivot Tables – I am a statistics junky. I love to analyze market activity to find trends. I use pivot tables in Excel to create dynamic tables and charts. The new Excel finally makes creating pivot tables an intuitive process. The pivot charts that it creates look so good that you will want to include them in all of your listing presentations and marketing materials.

    5. Context Checking – There? Their? They’re? I often forget which one to use. The new context checking ability in Word will put a blue underline on any word that it feels is misused. I love technology that makes me look smarter.

    6. Post to Your Blog From Word – You know that blogging is here to stay when Microsoft incorporates it into Word. You can now publish a post directly from Word to your blog. Why would you want to do this? Think, active spelling, grammar and context checking.
    7. Smart Art in Powerpoint – This is so cool that you have to try it. Take a list of bullet points in Powerpoint and turn them into a chart with a click. Use this and your listing presentation will jump to the next level of professionalism.

    8. Text Formatting Menu – Right-click on any text and find a formatting menu pop up. No longer do you need to venture off to the top menu to change the font or size of text. This menu as to be using my wrist fatigue.

    9. Conditional Formatting in Excel – In college, a professor showed us how to use convoluted formulas to change the background colors of cells in Excel based on the cell’s value. With Excel 2007, you just need to highlight the cell(s), click Conditional Formatting and make a selection. Try this to color code a spreadsheet of listings. Color code listings that sold below asking price in one color and those above as another color. Once you do this, you will see market trends without even putting your glasses on.

    10. Graphs that Impress – All I can say is “WOW”! Recreate a graph that you made in a previous version of Office in Office 2007 and get blown away. You will look like a professional graphic artist to your clients.

    I’m sure that I missed many indispensable new Office features. If you can think of one, leave a comment telling us about it. We’d love to hear why you think Office 2007 has made your real estate business more efficient.

    Tips on Using Microsoft Office 2007 for your real estate business.

    View microsoft Office 2007 Video Promotion

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    Cyberhomes 3.0

    By: Reggie · Posted on May 3, 2007 · 1 Comment

    Cyberhomes, by Fidelity National Finance, has been upgraded with tons of new features. Now a user can search out a home on Cyberhomes, make refinements in value, custom select comparables and save those changes. It’s then easy to recall those saved properties or neighborhoods for easy access later. Real Estate Agents, you may appreciate that feature if you utilize Cyberhomes to educate the consumer on their homes price.

    Cyberhomes also now includes the ability print a detailed summary report. The printed report displays the Cyberhomes estimate, estimate ranges, changes over the last 2 months, neighborhood values, physical characteristics and assessed values. If it’s not print you’re looking for, maybe you would like to email the property. Or possibly take advantage of the new alerting feature which allows a user to receive monthly updates about a property.

    Cyberhomes has also been updating their Charts & Graphs starting with adding 3 new revolutionary heat maps in their Market Maps section. These new visuals display Home Value Estimates, Changes in Estimated Value and Housing Density. These heat maps are keeping with the Cyberhomes theme and utilizing Microsoft Virtual Earth for the clean and smooth look and feel.

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    Relocation Guides: The Art of Information Compilation

    By: NikNik · Posted on February 1, 2007 · Leave a Comment

    Providing your clients with an up-to-date relocation guide for their new home town can be time-consuming, expensive, and downright frustrating. There are great resources out there that can help like Sunray Publications, a company specializing in making quality relocation guides. These can sometimes require a minimum order and be quite costly. Sunray does offer a more cost friendly choice with their new pocket relocation guides. However, if you decide to go the other route by creating your own area guides, there are a few tips and resources I can share with you (from someone who has done a few). I know what you are thinking, create one myself. Too much work! It’s not for everyone, but if you do choose to make one yourself, you will be able to easily edit, update and personalize it. And you have complete control over all your own content and branding. The following guidelines and resources can help you create your own area specific guide.

    Whether you are creating a county or city guide, you should start with an outline. I would begin in Word and when you are finished compiling your info, transfer it into a Publisher template with design of your choosing. Publisher has great templates that you can customize easily, or just start from scratch. Section 1 of your outline should be the introduction to the city/county (history, background, interesting facts, life today). Make sure you list the website for the specific city or county as well (you will get much of your information there). In section 2, list all the major civic offices and contact info including City Hall, Public Works, Chamber of Commerce, DMV, etc. People always find statistics interesting as well, so include a brief section 3 of items like population, elevation, median home price, total number of housing units, etc. You don’t have to go wild, just a few fun facts that you find will do. The US Census fact finder site is helpful here (factfinder.census.gov).

    Section 4 of your relocation guide is extremely useful information and should include all utilities, city/county departments, and emergency contacts such as: animal control, cable/satellite television, fire department, gas & electric, garbage, library, police department, post office, recycling, water, etc. Use the county and city websites to search for this information. You can make an additional section to spotlight special venders to share as a referral list. Other helpful websites for compiling this info may include www.discoverourtown.com and www.relo-usa.com.

    In section 5, provide the contact information for the parks and recreation department as well as a list of nearby parks and recreational areas. I like to use www.epodunk.com for this. You can use their park search feature to find parks within a certain distance around your city or county. I usually select within 15 miles. You can even visit and list the park website (if applicable).

    In section 6, list all the school district contact info (you can usually find this on the city/county website). There may be several school districts, or even nearby districts that also serve students in your area. You will also want to list all contact information for public and private schools in the area. You can find this info on the city websites, district websites, or if you live in California, visit www.schoolwisepress.com, and for nationwide school info, check out www.greatschools.net and www.schoolmatters.com.

    Lastly, the area you are collecting info on probably has something its known for or something special about it that new homeowners would REALLY like to know. So in section 7, include any area specific info like a list of wineries, yearly festival info, transportation highlights, etc.

    When you have finished compiling your info, you will need a snazzy design and pictures for your relocation guide. Go out with your digital camera and start shooting! Including local pictures of downtown, landmarks, parks, schools, neighborhoods, etc. will really customize and breathe life to the city or county information you are providing in the guide. Remember this is just a guideline, so feel free to be as creative or brief as you like. After you have completed your beautifully branded, custom relocation guide, don’t forget to update it regularly (or at least yearly)!

    Resources in Review: