In Just 15 Years Real Estate Has Changed For Realtors

Good morning, Ginny Gorman times HAVE changed....but it's very difficult to remove all of the "old ways" and one should not....there's value in maintaining much of it, especially marketing.....  

I'm so happy all of the transactions I did in the past are well beyond the days of retaining them.... they're all in the shredder.... I previously had three very tall file cabinets filled with deal folders!! each drawer labelled the year of closing and files in alphabetical order with the buyers last name written first....they would be the next seller!!!!  everyone laughed at my system... and then when they witnessed how every deal was at my fingertips as soon as the phone call came in, they had a change of attitude....  within seconds, I had all the information I needed about the history of each home.

I remember curly fax paper! and sending the listings to clients because there was no internet back them! 

Hi Ginny... I remember those days! Of course, I remember real estate going back 25+ years and the days of no internet, no mls (in NYC), no cell phones.

Good morning Ginny. You brought back many memories with this post. Thanks. Enjoy your day 

Hello Ginny - cursing has its benefits at times and perhaps that is something that doesn't change in real estate but the ability to be better at conserving all things paper-related is a darn good evolution.

HI Ginny Gorman, 

They say there are two things we can count on in life...death and taxes!  I would add a third thing to the list....change. I have learned to embrace change and look for the positive benefits of the change. 

Hello Ginny,  so much has change for us even lock boxes and fax machines, now people can sign on line, wonder what they did in the 70's.

Ginny we have also had huge changes in the Lending Industry as well.  I can't imagine on doing things the way I did when I first began in this business.

Digging out our office for remodeling...wishing the technology brownies would come and do away with all the paper !

Yes, the real estate profession has seen many changes these past 15 years.  Just yesterday I was remembering when I was first licensed in 1981, the MLS was published in a book.  Computers came really soon after that, followed up with fax machines, and cellphones.

Even though nearly everyone had cell phones when I started in 2005,  they weren't smart phones and texting wasn't around yet.     Now even my retired clients prefer to text!     And GPS has made showing most property easier, too.

Instead of taking a sheet out of the MLS book and making a copy we now can send a client an electronic list of properties.

Instead of driving to a customers home to have them sign every document we can now have them digi-signed.

Life has made some improvements.

Ginny: So many changes in the 12 years I have been in this profession. It is not always easy but I can't imagine doing anything else!

Thank you very much for sharing some of your thoughts on the changes in the industry.

Have a very productive summer.

I need to write my blog for this challenge. I agree- less physical paper now, but still just as much, if not more, 'paperwork' to complete!

So true, much has changed in 15 years.  I used to have thick files and printed copies of everything.  If someone wanted to see a listing, I had to go back to my office to look it up!  Now, it's all on my phone :)  Great post!

Hi Ginny Gorman - I need to go to my storage unit and empty files I no longer need. It will be a weight off my shoulders. I'm glad for electronic storage but when those files go missing or corrupted I'm thankful I have back-up copies. 

So much has changed in my 16+ years too. 

The new technology really helps.  I'm so glad I missed that whole "listing book" era.

Wow, lot of interesting comments from all over. I need to revise my pic to fit in the group

When I transferred my office I hired a shredding company to dispose of 22 years of files.  in the "old days" out triplicate purchase agreements had social security numbers and all sorts of personal information. I needed to make all that go away for good.