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How to Use the iPad for Real Estate

By Jay O'Brien

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Revolution

March 08, 2011 07:01 AM

I've had my newest toy for a while and finally got brave enough to use it for my first contract this weekend. Flawless. I will not go back to those pesky piles of paper EVER again!

This is more than a cool gizmo, it's my new Swiss Army Knife. Each of these topics may be it's own blog, so let me just skim the surface here and hopefully you will subscribe to see them in more detail!

iPad How to Use the iPad for Real Estate

FOR BUYERS
No more stacks of sheets with scribbled notes, falling out of a dog-eared folder, getting out of order, not having ALL the info on them. I have them all in a nice PDF that I jot notes on when I schedule the showing and then use a different color "ink" when making notes of what the client likes about it.

Best part: when we are done, I hit "share" and it shoots an email right to my client with the PDF and my notes attached. Now they have a record of it and I look like the hip-techno-cool guy.

FOR SELLERS
"Yes, Mr. Seller, I have an offer. No, those other guys never came through with THEIR offer and this one expires in 30 minutes. Let me just run over to your house and get you to sign this iPad and we can shoot that counter back to their buyer's agent."

Yes, it's that easy. Sign the iPad, email it to the other agent, go get coffee with the time saved NOT having to go back to the office to fax it.

FOR OPEN HOUSES
This just happened this weekend: A buyer walked in and asked, "How far away is the Middle School?" Well, it was close to no landmarks. I would have just confused the heck out of them describing it, so I said, "Let me SHOW you" and pulled out the iPad. They were impressed. Their question was answered. Score another for the iPad.

FOR FUN
When I'm showing house #1, I bring my iPad in to the property and map our route to the next home. Then, we get in the car and I hand the iPad to the buyer and let them "navigate" by watching the little blue dot move down the road. Also, they can get a bird's eye view of where we are and what it close by. One buyer said, "Oh look, there is another entrance to the subdivision over on THIS side of the area!" Nice!

Stay tuned for more, but I wanted to share some GREAT experiences I've been having with this new ESSENTIAL tool. Once the word gets out, everyone will have one and we won't remember what it was like to carry papers with us!

Do you have an iPad yet? Are you going to get one? Did this help convince you?? Please comment and let me know!!

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Alan May

Jameson Sotheby's International Realty - Evanston, IL

Home is where the hearth is.

I'd love to know which applications you're using for all this stuff.

Mar 08, 2011 07:14 AM

Bernadine Hunter, SFR, ACRE

Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty - Pickerington, OH

"Finding Solution to Your Real Estate Needs"

I've been debating the purchase for awhile now and you helped convince me it may be worth the expense.

Mar 08, 2011 07:20 AM

Melinda (Mel) Peterson

Grants Pass, OR - Bend, OR

The Savvy Broker - ABR, CRS

Great example of how the iPad can work in our biz... thanks for sharing Jay! Cool pic too!

Mar 08, 2011 10:50 AM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

How ironic... This is my first ActiveRain blog comment from my iPad and it is on the topic of iPads! Alan, I will blog about the apps shortly. I'm not the expert but can share what I am using and have learned. Stay tuned!

Mar 08, 2011 10:52 AM

Arleen Montford

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY GULF COAST - Pace, FL

Selling NW Florida Homes in Pace/Milton/Pensacola FL

Good Morning Jay, It sounds so great. Right now I am using my lap top. But this does take time to pull it out of the case hook it up to the wireless card and the sign on. And of course it does not have any apps.

OK now I went to get a iPad and left because I did not know which one to buy. So I would like to get Jay's thoughts on this which one would you recommend?

Mar 09, 2011 07:57 PM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Hi Arleen-- I have the upgrade insurnace from Best Buy when I got my iPad, so I'll be getting the iPad2 as soon as I can. It comes out tomorrow (Mar 11) so maybe this weekend I'll try to get one. The ZOOM is cool and to each his own. I'm an Apple guy and love their products. I'm on a Mac laptop right now and will probably switch my EVO to an iPhone when the contract ends. iPad is #1 for a reason. Good luck and let me know how you like it!

Mar 10, 2011 04:09 AM

Anonymous

Ryan Bray Broker Assoc. Werner Properties, Stockton CA

Great post! I have been on the fence about the iPad and its true usefulness when it comes to real estate. Would love to know what apps you use.

Mar 15, 2011 03:27 AM

Paul Gapski

Berkshire Hathaway / Prudential Ca Realty - El Cajon, CA

619-504-8999,#1 Resource SD Relo

Isnt that pretty cool the GPS funtion and the homes for sale near me. I love it

Apr 07, 2011 04:40 PM

Shannon Thomas

Selling Indy Metro, LLC - Avon, IN

Managing Broker, E-Pro, ABR,SRS, SFR

I am getting one this week and can't wait. i don't want to carry all that paper and when I have questions about anything can access on the spot with buyers or sellers. I want to use it with listings, buyers, open houses. I am chopping at the bit to get to it. My husband says shut up already and go buy it. lol. Great post! and yes I did read it to my husband. lol

May 01, 2011 01:10 AM

Paul Gapski

Berkshire Hathaway / Prudential Ca Realty - El Cajon, CA

619-504-8999,#1 Resource SD Relo

any more apps u can suggest? when is the next ipad coming out.

Jul 17, 2011 08:58 PM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Hi Paul! I'm getting together info for a new iPad post, but some of the real estate apps that I use a lot are Realtor.com and the new Trulia app is pretty good. Also DiaVinci is good for sq ft on rooms (floorplans) and OpenHomePro is interesting for open houses. Stay tuned for an updated list of apps on my blog!

Jul 18, 2011 02:05 AM

Teresa Duguet

Briarcliff Manor, NY

What size iPad do you think is ideal, the 16G or the 32G?

Jul 25, 2011 02:11 PM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Hi Teresa! I store all of my data on the cloud (Dropbox, box.net, Google Docs) so I don't need much storage on the iPad. Storing lots of videos and/or photos would be a good reason to get a larger iPad but I'm fine with my 16gB. Do you have one already or looking to buy one?

Jul 26, 2011 02:35 AM

Jane Becker

Keller Williams Home Team AdvantEdge - Worcester, MA

CRS,ASP,ABR,CBR,CDPE,LMC,E-PRO,GRI

This is a great aritcle and I would reblog if it had the apps. Can you edit your post with the names? That's great. Here's an idea, give a mini tutorial of funcitons for each app as your blog. I think I will be doing that shortly.

Aug 04, 2011 02:39 AM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Good idea, Jane. I've had that blog partially written for a while so I guess that's good encouragement to finish it and get it posted! Check back to see!

Aug 04, 2011 03:47 AM

Elisa Uribe Realtor #01427070

Golden Gate Sotheby's International - Berkeley, CA

Opening the Doors to California Homes -East Bay

Did you get it with Internet access or do you use your phone to connect? Ready to buy and make the swtich but dn't want to get the wrong one. Thanks for any tips.

Dec 04, 2011 03:06 PM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Elisa, I started with the built-in service from ATT, but found it to be a bit slow. Also, it has a limit of data per month. Now I use my Sprint EVO as a hotspot (extra $30/mo) and the iPad connects direct to my phone. The only bad part is I can't use my phone and surf on the iPad at the exact same time, but I've only come across a couple of times when I needed to do that so it's not a big deal in my book. And sprint is unlimited data. Good luck!

Dec 05, 2011 12:44 AM

Greg Gillespie

GumTree Realty / Genesis Realty Services,Inc - Tupelo, MS

CRS / Broker Owner

Can anyone tell me how much data you are using? I think the cellular capability is necessary for how I want to use it, but I have know idea how much data it will take and the professionals at ATT just tell me that its very rare for anyone to go over the first tier limit.

Dec 08, 2011 08:26 AM

Jay O'Brien

RE/MAX Revolution - Kansas City, MO

Kansas City Real Estate

Greg, I don't have a good answer but I play it on the safe side because overage could be costly. Think of a youtube video being 3-4 MEGS. Most plans are in the 2-3 GIG range, so that's quite a few videos to watch. Other files you will download like emails, PDF attachements, website data, etc won't be that large. If you are uploading or downloading contract files, that could take some bandwidth, too. If you use Netflix or other music streaming services on the iPad, that will add up fast also. It's up to you to determine what you will be using the iPad for, but I went with Sprint's unlimited plan so I will always know for sure. It's $5 extra per month well-spent.

Dec 08, 2011 01:07 PM

Kim Peasley-Parker

AgentOwned Realty, Heritage Group, Inc. - Sumter, SC

Jay,

I purchased my iPad last Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately within 24 hours of the purchase, my then 2 1/2 year old found the "Big Phone" and I lost the battle. Waiting very impatiently for the iPad 3 to come out and then purchase another one for myself. Great post and information.

Kim

Feb 17, 2012 05:23 AM