The Phones With the Most Apps What apps are available to you largely depends on your smartphone. For an idea of everything that’s available, start with the official app sites for the various smartphone platforms. Since its launch in 2007, Apple’s iPhone has attracted the most apps: 150,000 and counting, according to recent estimates. Google’s Android, and the lineup of phones running it, also is driving demand for an expanding catalog of apps that fit its platform. And there remain legions of loyal real estate users of other smartphone platforms and apps: RIM's BlackBerry, Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Palm’s WebOS, and Nokia's Symbian. Popular Real Estate Apps So what apps are catching on in real estate? Mobile search of your MLS is becoming a requisite. Also, software tools like Top Producer Mobility and Real Estate Success Tracker are bringing the functionality of a real estate suite to certain smartphones. And if you’re looking for more CRM functionality than the basic contact management system bundled with the smartphone operating system, mobile apps are available from — or included with — salesforce.com, ACT!, and Maximizer. When shopping for your next smartphone, you might want to make software availability a guiding factor in your selection. There are also several apps available that help you demonstrate your professional expertise to clients. Here are just a few: Property tours: With a la mode’s TourNarrator for the iPhone, you can create a multimedia recap of a buyer’s tour of a property to help them recall and narrow their choices. Comments and feedback: AgentFeedback makes it easier to keep the seller in the loop with a system for easily updating them on buyers' impressions and comments on a listing. Financial guidance: Although every smartphone has a built-in calculator, your role as an adviser to buyers or sellers often entails a more sophisticated analysis of loans and investments. There’s several apps for this: Home Buying Power, RECalc, and The Sniffer, a real estate investment analysis calculator for the iPhone; Karl’s Mortgage Calculator for Android; and BlackBerry Mortgage Calculator PRO, to name just a few. Speech to text: For mobile messaging and speech-to-text conversion, Google Voice offers free apps for Android and BlackBerry and a Web-based service for other platforms. A fee-based service, with a free app, is available from Jott for iPhone and Jott for BlackBerry. Organization: If you need help capturing and cataloging information about customers and properties, EverNote offers versions for the most popular smartphones. You can, for instance, snap pictures of business cards with your phone’s camera and make the information part of the database.
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Is that a CMA or a guess? The following case concerns Article 1 of the NAR Code of Ethics, which states: When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client is primary, but it does not relieve REALTORS® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly. When serving a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant or other party in a non-agency capacity, REALTORS® remain obligated to treat all parties honestly. Mr. A was about to retire and move to a warmer climate, and he had discussed the sale of his house with a number of brokers. He dropped in on REALTOR® B to discuss the matter and said that various brokers had told him he should expect to sell the property for $150,000 to $158,000. “Oh, that sounds low to me,” said REALTOR® B. “Property moves well in that neighborhood, and I recall that your house is in good shape and well-landscaped. Give us an exclusive on it at $168,000, and we’ll make a strong effort to get you what your property is really worth.” REALTOR® B got the listing. He advertised the property, held it open on weekends, had many inquiries about it, and showed numerous prospective buyers through it for a few weeks, but received no offers. When activity slowed and the client became concerned, REALTOR® B was reassuring. “We’ll just keep plugging till the right buyer comes along,” he said. Maybe it’s not worth so much after all When the 90-day exclusive listing expired, REALTOR® B asked for a renewal. He told the client that new houses coming on the market were adversely affecting the market on sales of existing houses, and recommended lowering the price to $158,900. Client A ruefully agreed, but the lowered price did not materially increase buyer interest in the property. As the term of the 90-day extension of the listing neared, REALTOR® B brought Client A an offer of $150,000 and strongly recommended that it be accepted. But the client objected. “You told me it was worth about $168,000 and sooner or later the right buyer would pay that price. Meanwhile, similar houses in the neighborhood have been selling within 30 to 60 days at around $156,000.” “I know,” REALTOR® B said, “but six months ago we had a stronger market and were at the most favorable time of the year, and $168,000 was not an out-of-line price at that time. But now we’re in the slow time of the year and the market is off. All things considered, I think the $150,000 offer in hand is a good one. I doubt that a better one will come along.” Client A accepted the offer and complained against REALTOR® B to the local board of REALTORS®, charging REALTOR® B with misinforming him as to fair market value apparently as a means of obtaining the listing of his property. “Optimism” may conflict with your duties At the hearing, the facts as set out above were not disputed. Questioning developed the additional fact that at the time of the original listing, REALTOR® B had not gone through the house to make a systematic appraisal of opinion of value, and that his recommended offering price was not based on a systematic review of sales in the neighborhood. Members of the hearing panel pointed out that the neighborhood in question was a development of houses, basically the same in size and quality, that had been put on the market about 10 years earlier at prices varying from $145,000 to $150,000; that good location and land-development practices had maintained a good market for resales, but there was no indication that any property in the immediate neighborhood had been resold for as high as $160,000. When told that circumstances tended to bear out the complainant’s charge that REALTOR® B’s recommended price was a strategy to obtain the listing, REALTOR® B’s defense was that he felt he had a right to take an optimistic view of the market. It was concluded that REALTOR® B was in violation of Article 1 of the Code of Ethics. Taken from the July issue of , Texas Realtor magazine.
This article was taken from the realtor.org website. Use this when speaking with potential clients! Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Here's why it pays to work with a REALTOR®. 1. Navigate a complicated process. Buying or selling a home usually requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds, and multipage settlement statements. A knowledgeable expert will help you prepare the best deal, and avoid delays or costly mistakes. 2. Information and opinions. REALTORS® can provide local community information on utilities, zoning, schools, and more. They’ll also be able to provide objective information about each property. A professional will be able to help you answer these two important questions: Will the property provide the environment I want for a home or investment? Second, will the property have resale value when I am ready to sell? 3. Help finding the best property out there. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available but not actively advertised in the market, and it will take some investigation by your REALTOR® to find all available properties. 4. Negotiating skills. There are many negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession, and inclusion or exclusion of repairs, furnishings, or equipment. In addition, the purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required. 5. Property marketing power. Real estate doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. In fact, a large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, and family. When a property is marketed with the help of a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property. 6. Someone who speaks the language. If you don’t know a CMA from a PUD, you can understand why it’s important to work with a professional who is immersed in the industry and knows the real estate language. 7. Experience. Most people buy and sell only a few homes in a lifetime, usually with quite a few years in between each purchase. Even if you have done it before, laws and regulations change. REALTORS®, on the other hand, handle hundreds of real estate transactions over the course of their career. Having an expert on your side is critical. 8. Objective voice. A home often symbolizes family, rest, and security — it’s not just four walls and a roof. Because of this, homebuying and selling can be an emotional undertaking. And for most people, a home is the biggest purchase they’ll every make. Having a concerned, but objective, third party helps you stay focused on both the emotional and financial issues most important to you.
MONDAY 1.
10:00 MREA Book Club 11:00 Contracts Q & A 12.30 Camp 443 3:00 Top 20% Group Coaching
WEDNESDAY
TUESDAY 2.
3.
9:00 Team Meeting & 12:30 Camp 443 Office Tour 2:30 eAgentC Website 12:30 Camp 443 Training 2:30 MyTransactions Training
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10:00 MREA Book Club 11:00 Basic Contracts Class 3:00 Top 20% Group Coaching
9:00 Team Meeting & 11:00 Productivity Office Tour 1:00 Team Masterminds Committee 1:00 Culture Committee 2:00 Growth Committee 3:00 Profit Committee
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10:00 MREA Book Club 11:00 Contracts Q & A 3:00 Top 20% Group Coaching
9:00 Team Meeting & 1:30 Intro to Fierce Office Tour Conversations 2:30 MyTransactions Training
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10:00 MREA Book Club 11:00 Basic Contracts Class 3:00 Top 20% Group Coaching
9:00 Team Meeting & 11:00 ALC Meeting Office Tour 12:30 New Agent 1:00 Team Masterminds Luncheon 1:30 New Agent Orientation 2:30 Time Management
29.
30.
10:00 MREA Book Club 11:00 Basic Contracts Class 3:00 Top 20% Group Coaching
9:00 Team Meeting & 10:00 iPad Training Office Tour 1:00 Single Entry Listing Training 1:30 Running Your 2:00 Navica Training w/ Business Paperless Nancy
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FRIDAY
THURSDAY 4.
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2:00 Get a Grip on Your Finances
10:00 Online Marketing Class (intermediate-advanced) 1:00 Group Coaching
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10:30 Marketing Class Q & A 12:00 Connie’s Bible Studybring your lunch 2:30 Creating Flyers
10:00 Online Marketing Class (intermediate-advanced) 11:30 Fun Friday Lunch Bunch at Freebirds( wear your KW gear!)
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4:30 Door Knocking Class and Field Trip
10:00 Online Marketing Class (intermediate-advanced) 1:00 Group Coaching
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10:30 eEdge Training (for new users or anyone not using) 12:00 Connie’s Bible Studybring your lunch! 1:30 Pictures/Measurements field Trip
10:00 Online Marketing Class (intermediate-advanced) 11:30 Fun Friday Lunch Bunch at Sugarbakers 1:00 Group Coaching
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Megan’s nephews, Gavin and Kayal’s first birthday pictures!
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July ALC Team Building at Bodyworks
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