If you had but one item you could purchase or have someone get for you as that special gift this year, I would highly recommend the Apple iPhone. 

Now hold on a minute, I know it’s got a steep price when you add in the service contract but we are talking about a productivity tool for all you Real Estate agents and Brokers out there.  Keep the receipt and you can take the tax deduction for it when tax time comes around.

What’s so special about the iPhone?  I am going to get to that in a moment. First let me tell you if you were not aware, that the continuation of Technology into the Real Estate world and the adoption by consumers to new ways of doing business continues to accelerate even though the economy is slowing.  The adoption of MOBILITY has hit mainstream with a vengeance.

So too will your need to understand and adapt quickly or YOU WILL lose market share to those that are savvy to catch on before you do.

You already know about blogging, it’s after all the reason why you’re reading this post anyways. If you’re behind the curve on blogging, you still have time to catch up here.  With many new phones on the market this year and in the years to come, broadband access is creeping into these phones and new and faster services along with them.  Providing you with new ways to reach out and touch your prospective clients. 

How? By giving them what they want.  Making sure that your website not only has the latest in Social Networking Tools but that you make sure your data is accessible to mobile platforms like Continue reading this post

I love free stuff and am always thankful when I learn about it. Here are some websites that I use very often and they have helped me save time and money.

Slideshare.net

This is a presentation sharing website. You can upload just about any document or presentation and share it with others. I like to embed the presentations on my website. You can track how many times your presentation has been downloaded. It is also fun when your presentations are marked as favorites.

Google Docs

I use Google docs to store my documents online. Documents can be uploaded, saved, printed, and shared. Documents can also be converted to pdf files making them easier to send as email attachments. I got tired of certain documents being on my home computer and I needed them when I was at the office. No worries, now I just go to Google.

Picassa

Another great Google product. Upload your pictures to create slideshows. You can add text and music or voiceover. Google will also send it to Youtube. Continue reading this post

We are pleased to announce the launch of the HomeGain Real Estate Blog iPhone application.

The platform enables readers with iPhones to access and view HomeGain Blog articles in a customized format.

The HomeGain Blog automatically recognizes that it is being accessed by an iPhone, and delivers the iPhone interface.

No software downloads are required.

If you have an iPhone, please take a look.

You really shouldn’t try podcasting. Why bother? Tech-savvy youngsters are the only ones downloading files from iTunes. And, that’s exactly what you should believe. Please ignore reports from comScore Networks that indicate 35-54 year olds makeup a sizable portion of podcast listeners.

Apparently, many top podcasts are in the business and educational genres and appeal to the more educated and higher-income consumer segments. But that should be of no interest to you…because you don’t need to podcast.

You’re a real estate agent, not a radio broadcaster. You need to spend your time in the field with your clients. Don’t bog yourself down with a phenomenal social media tool that can spread your message, your brand, and your expertise like wildfire.

And here are 10 more reasons why you should absolutely, positively, NOT add podcasting to your real estate blog:

1. Don’t do it….you will increase your online visibility.
2. Don’t do it….you can gain a new audience for your blog.
3. Don’t do it….you can strengthen the community bond with your current audience.
4. Don’t do it….it may show off your expertise to your target market. Continue reading this post

As an engineer, avid technology junkie and as my wife likes to say “all around geek”, it is just plain amazing even to me, at how fast our lives are transformed with the ever increasing technology changes that now invoke a major impact on the way we work, and interact with each other on a daily basis.

By now we all know some of the key buzz words like Social Networks, Web 2.0, Blogs, Virtual Tours, Syndication and the impact that video can have to help convey a story to prospective home buyers.

But how do these terms fit into the broader context of a Real Estate agents job function, and how do we see the broader forest for the trees?

The reason I ask the question, is because of the amount of information I consistently observe in Real Estate print media. This information often does not convey the entire message or the message is so confusing that it leads to the very thing that Real Estate agents have been accusing the media of for months now.

Scaring people!

In the case of the latter, it was clients who were not buying, in the case of the former it’s agents that are not fully engaged and embracing the technology changes because of the confusion.

So what do I mean? Well lets’ take this one step at a time. Continue reading this post

I just wanted to start a random act of kindness for all of our hard working Realtors. I am going to give you all the free things I have found on the web and use all the time.

If everyone could add a service and not be afraid of sharing good secrets, we can all benefit. After all, we are all in this together. Let’s all share what we have found!

1. Lowes Site for Realtors: Lowes sends out a 10% discount coupon along with other offers in a classy postcard with your name and photo/logo to all of your clients. I love this one.

2. BDTV: Offers Realtors® free TV excerpts for their site with Designer, Moving, Recipes, Travel and more.

3. Picture Resizer: Free software to reduce the size of you photo files for use in the MLS and the web.

4. Mortgage Rates: Up-to-the-minute mortgage rate running live on your web site. Continue reading this post