2007 February | Technology Strategies for Real Estate

Feb 26

Staging a home to make it appeal to more buyers has always been necessary now it is mandatory. As we turn from homes selling in days to 75 days on the market we turn from transaction management skills back to the basics of business development and sales. Staging hits the core of our business . . . THE LISTING. Many of us believe without the listing we would have no business. But the listing needs to sell. Leaving the role of order taker to consultant all of us need to brush up on what gets a home sold.

Staging can be that key. Staging is position properties to compete the in the market. Learn the skills to integrate pricing and staging to position properties that sell faster and using at the top of the pricing point. Today joining me is Martha Webb, author of Stage your Home for Success and the CHMS Staging course and certification available nationally. Martha has some simple tips you can put immediately into practice. I hope you enjoy this interview.

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Feb 26

Enhancing your Digital Presence

Amy Chorew The NAR 2006 survey of homebuyers and home sellers once again stresses the importance of certain features that need to be on your website and listings. Your digital presence starts with your photos.Â 83% of consumers found photos very useful, and listen to this, 80% would not click on a listing without photos. So, consider this, NO PHOTO equals NO SALE. It does not take me long to search the internet and find, frankly put horrible photos. I would never look at a home with those photos. So what are some easy tips to improve photo quality?

First of all, take lots of them. You have a memory card in your camera, shoot until it is full. You are bound to get a few good ones. Go check all of your listings online from the eyes of a potential buyer. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN THE HOME? If not go and take new photos. Change the photos on different sites as well. Donâ€™t use the same one over and over. Have a different one on your website, on Realtor.com and another one on your company website.

Choose a time to photograph when there is even light and the fewest possible shadows on the house. Early morning and late afternoon are often called â€œGolden Timeâ€ because of the warm, horizontal light.

Invest in a tripod. Many of us have a shaky hand or just canâ€™t get the right angle. There is a great one available right now called the goriillapod. It is totally flexible and reminds me of Gumby. It is bendable, wrappable and is small and compact.

Use the horizontal light that is available. Donâ€™t turn on over head lights. Use table lamps the light feels warmer. If there are blinds on the windows, make sure they are all at the same level..

If you must turn on room lights, adjust the white balance setting to match the dominant source of light. Proper white balance helps prevent photos from having a color cast.

If the sun is shining in through the windows, you will have back lighting issues, which fools a digital camera’s built-in light meter. Back-lighting causes the contents of the room to appear dark while the scene outside the window is better exposed. A solution is to use fill-flash.

Click here to listen to a recent Podcast on the same title: Enhancing your Digital Presence

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Feb 25

Imbedding Real Estate Shows into your Website

Click Here For Tour Of Home

or if you need an unbranded link:
Click Here For Tour Of Home

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Feb 1

The TREO has begun revolutionizing REALTOR’SÂ® lives.

If you are ready to upgrade your cell phone or handheld, you should consider the popular TREO, a convergence model - which is a cell phone combined with a PDA (personal digital assistant.)

The TREO is available through Verizon, Cingular and Sprint. It is a little bigger than a cell phone but it can take the place of your laptop when you are out in the field.

Here are some of the top features for a REALTORÂ®.

Email - Have a copy of your emails sent to your TREO. Now that you have access you can decide whether the email needs immediate attention. If the person has put their phone number in the message you can click on it and instantly dial the person.

Photos - the TREO uses a memory stick (the sandisk) which is very common in digital cameras and other devices. You can load all your photos and even video clips for a chance encounter with a prospect.

Documents to Go - This program allows you to load any important Microsoft Office document and take it with you. This includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Consider doing a PowerPoint presentation on your handheld when you run into a prospective client.

Bluetooth - This is cool! Bluetooth is a wireless technology - just a chip that allows you to wirelessly connect to other Bluetooth devices up to 30 feet. Have a Bluetooth printer? Print those excel spreadsheets. Wireless Bluetooth headsets are now seen on many REALTOR’S(r) ears - blinking blue. That freedom allows you to walk around and chat without holding a phone to your ear.

Downloadable programs - the Palm OS boasts over 30,000 downloadable programs to make your life easier. Some are free, some you need to pay for. Visit a site like http://www.palmgear.com/ or http://www.handango.com/ to download some of them. Most programs give you a full version trial. If you don’t like it, just delete it! Some favorites include financial calculators, pocket quicken to keep track of costs, mps 3plyaers, and games. My favorite is TRIP - a program where I enter my mileage and when I synch to my computer it downloads into an excel spreadsheet which I give to my accountant at the end of the year.

Outlook- If you use Outlook to manage your business, whatever you add to your calendar, contacts, or tasks updates on your TREO. So you have all your office with you. It is easy to look up a phone number and dial it, dates on a calendar and what you are supposed to do today.

And . . . last but not least! Can you access your MLS via the web browser for real time information? If you are paying for a monthly data contract to access your email, the next most important feature would be to have access to your MLS.
Mobility has just gotten easier for REALTORS! Check out the new smart phones at your local cell phone provider.

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