techtools tuesday » Technology Tools for Real Estate

TechTools Tuesday: Cool Tools to Sell Homes

PowerSites™ by AgencyLogic lets agents create single property websites which can show any home beautifully.

Easy to create and very affordable, PowerSites™ websites give you flexibility and many great features including:

A vanity URL dedicated to just that property
Large photos to grab the attention of prospective buyers
The ability to upload and caption as many as 100 photos of the property and surrounding community
Unlimited text so that you can describe the property in as much detail as you wish
Syndication to many of the major real estate search portals so prospective buyers can more easily find your listing

There’s even an optional PowerTalk “click-to-talk” feature that lets prospective buyers place a call to you directly from the property website.

To get an idea of the power of PowerSites™, take a look at how one professional is using it to market a home formerly owned by President and Mrs. Gerald Ford.

TechTools Tuesday: Cool Tools to Sell Homes

Prospective buyers who use the Internet to preview homes are often want to know what the homes are like on the inside. Photos and video tours can provide some information, but often it’s still hard for buyers to get a feel for room dimensions and home layout.

click for FloorPlanner demo

Two web 2.0 products now give prospective buyers that sense of space and dimension by allowing agents to include floorplans with their listing information.

Floorplanner lets agents create and share interactive 2-D or 3-D floorplans. Using point-and-click, drag-and-drop tools, agents can easily create floorplans of their listings that can be saved, sent, printed, shared, or uploaded to their website. To get an idea of how it works, click and watch the video above or try the free demo on the company’s website.

The interactive floorplan tours offered by FloorPlanOnline® let prospective buyers see a floorplan of the home and then click on various spots on the floorplan to see a photo of that room. As they say themselves, “there’s no more guessing which photos go with which rooms.” The company offers several different products and levels of service. A self-service options, for example, lets agents submit their own photos and floorplan sketches which the company transforms into Internet and social media-ready floorplans with interactive tours. Or, FloorPlanOnline® can send a professional to the home to take the photos and sketch the layout. Click here to watch the video on their Fan Page or visit their website for a complete rundown of their products.

TechTools Tuesday: Christmas Wish List

What if you could have a computer in your car? Just think: no more running back to the office to print a document.

Available since earlier this year, Ford offers an in-dash computer on some of its truck models. The system features a 4GB computer with a 6.5 inch high-resolution touch screen. The computer adapts to the extreme high and low temperatures in your car and the touch screen is lit so that it can be used even on the brightest day.

A Garmin navigation system offers turn-by-turn directions with voice prompts and real-time traffic data. The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network provides high-speed wireless access. Optional accessories like a wireless keyboard, mouse, and printer add the finishing touches.

Also included is a radio, a CD changer, and hands-free calling.

Currently, it’s only available on Ford Trucks. But put it on your Christmas wish list. Someday soon, you may be able to have it on your car.

TechTools Tuesday: Cool Tools You Can Use

Suppose you’re out with a client and you realize you need a file that’s on your desktop computer at home. Or maybe you only have your iPhone with you but need to see a document that’s on your laptop back at the office.

LogMeIn lets you access another computer remotely either from a nearby computer or from your iPhone. You’ll need to set it up in advance by installing the free software on the computer you want to access. Once that’s done, however, you can access and control that computer via the Internet from any other computer.

The free version of LogMeIn allows you to control the remote computer, open and view any file that’s stored there, and run applications on that computer. The subscription version lets you drop and drag files between the remote computer and the local one. It also lets you print a file that’s on the remote computer to a nearby, local printer. There’s even an iPhone app that lets you access the remote computer from your iPhone.

If you use more than one computer or you often find yourself out of the office needing information that’s on a computer you don’t have with you, you might want to give LogMeIn a try.

TechTools Tuesday: Cool Tools You Can Use

Need to send something in the mail, but don’t happen to have paper or stamps with you? Working with a client who’s not tech-enabled? It’s not often these days that you need to send something by mail, but when you do, snailmailr can make it easy.

Snailmailr lets you send paper mail online. Address your envelope, compose your message, insert a photo or attach a file if you wish, and send. Snailmailr prints your letter using high quality laser printers on 100% recycled paper, puts a stamp on it, and sends it to the address you designate in the US or overseas.

Low cost. Great convenience.