Home : Blogs : Ryan Hukill - Edmond Realtor® : Edmond Real Estate - Thoughts from a Tech-Junkie Realtor

An iPhone App For Your Buyer Clients

We all have our little ways of helping our home buyer clients keep their search organized, and I've been using the digital camera method for years. I hand them my camera and advise them to take as many pictures as possible (address block first) to keep things straight in their minds, because it WILL all begin to mesh together after the first few houses. After I get back to the office, I email them the photos so they have their own record of what we viewed.

But if your client has an iPhone, maybe there's a better way?! I just found the 'House Hunter' app in the iTunes App Store, and it looks pretty interesting. According to the description, your buyers can organize the details of the houses they want to remember, along with pictures, and rate them, make notes, and keep specifics to refer back to later, after their minds turn to mush at the end of the day-long home tour you just took them on :) The app will also give them driving directions back to the house.

Now, I don't like the icon they've chosen to use for this app, but outside of that, it looks like it could be a useful tool for your clients. What do you think?

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Posted by Ryan Hukill - Edmond Realtor® on 02/25/2009 08:28 AM

Comments (33)

Iphone Applications in the Technology and Tools Channel

iphone apps

Post is included in group: Tech Corner
Post is included in group: iPhone Power

33 Comments on An iPhone App For Your Buyer Clients

FEB

Ryan...

Well that's a neat little program you got there :)

TLW...ROAR!

That is a really cool application, Ryan, makes me wish I had an iphone!

Looks pretty cool. Wish I had an Iphone to try it.

Thanks for sharing your discovery, Ryan. One more reason I'm so glad I switched to the iPhone!

Allen F. Hainge, CRS

Senior Instructor, CRS 206 Technology Course

Founder/President, The CyberStars(r)

I've tried house hunter with limited success. I have an older generation I Phone and the app keeps on failing to launch.

Ryan I think this is great. I will have to put it in my phone to better understand the app. Where did you find it under?

Hey everyone, thanks for your comments. The iPhone really does offer some pretty useful, amazing stuff!

Weichert, thanks for your experience-based input. I haven't tested this app myself yet, but I'd bet the problems you had were related to not having the 3G phone.

Jeannete, clicking on the link in the body of this post will take you straight to the app in the iTunes App Store. Let me know your thoughts after you get a chance to test it, would you?

Ryan, that's pretty cool. Now I just need to get all my buyers to buy iphones. Have a great day. Thanks again.

I like the app, but haven't made the switch yet from my Blackberry to the Iphone. We have this technology in our office that is fairly new where you can give the buyer a code and all they do is text the address to that code and it sends them everything! It is awesome.

I will be getting an Iphone later this year and am thrilled to know of this app! Thanks!

Hooray for technology- pictures of the outside are fine. What about the inside of the home, the location and overall neighborhood though? Distance from their job etc....... notes about these key factors still must be made so they will remember them because they will play major roles when it comes to deciding which home to buy........as you say "before everything turns to mush". Normally I just print out (in color) they houses we are about to see for that day and give them a copy. During and after a tour of each house I ask them to make notes........pros and cons. If they don't want to keep a certain listing on "their consideration list" we get rid of it completely, by literally putting an X across the page. I don't even advise them to take that particular copy home, because it may add to the confusion when it comes down to decision making.

I agree with you-it's great to take actually pictures because usually the pics on the MLS are not all that great.

I will have to check this out. Would be great if it would allow you to e-mail the profile from the iphone. Much better than taking notes on a listing print out...

This is another reason that the IPhone is on my very limited "Can't wait to Buy" list this year. An agent in my office showed me an app from Trulia that lets you pull up all the houses for sale around you with the information about price etc - IPhone really seems like a genius phone.

The iphone is the most revolutionary tech product to EVER come out!! If you don't have one and your in real estate....your MISSING OUT!! However I think this particular app would be best suited for your clients OWN iphone so they can keep track of the homes they've viewed. I don't think it's realistic to try to use this on your own phone for clients because they might change their mind about a home and they don't have access to your phone all the time (if that makes any sense at all???).

I hate to write a neg. about the app. But, you have to input all of the information about the house. Unlike other apps that have MLS installed already, House hunters makes you input everything, address, br/bth, sq. ft. EVERYTHING! I have yet to find a Iphone app that does the Real Estate world justice! And after all this app currently only has a 2 out of 5 rating. It's pretty poor! :( I'm a big fan of Edmond, Oklahoma though :) Go Shannon Miller!

Ryan,

I found the app too and have to agree with Micah. I'm afraid my buyers would spend way too much time trying to put all the info in. We move pretty quickly when looking at homes.

Bob

Ryan, thanks for finding it...I read the comments, the negs too...however, will try to test it myself and see if I could find it useful in any way...

With smiles,

Hi Ryan, I checked this out and it does seem to be interesting. I do like the Trulia app. What surprised me was that someone here said the App had a rating of 2 out of 5. A careful look indicates the following. Out of the 5 people that rated it, 4 said it was a 5 out of 5 application. One hated it it and skewed the results heavily. Now it may not be a panacea but for $2.99 it still might be well worth checking out. Thanks for sharing this.

Hi Ryan, One more thing. I followed the recommendation of Gary Woltol and he so strongly advocated the iPhone for REALTORS and now having one, it is the one tool that we should all have . The iPhone ( I still have my iTouch but now redundant) should be one of the tools that all REALTORS have in their arsenal. Blackberries are OK but nothing compares to the iPhone for being able to respond quickly in the internet empowered world we live. And I recommend it as a reliable tool for all my clients. At last count 5 have been purchased since I bought mine Jan 1st 2009. And more will follow.

The FSBO icon is a bit off putting for sure but it does look like a cool app. How do you see yourself using it? Not every buyer I work with is an iPhone junkie like me. Hey, Ryan is your iPhone jailbroken???

ryan, sounds like a great app. the analyticals would kill for something like this.

pretty slick little app...I may have to ditch the Blackberry and migrate to the iPhone. Great tip on the photo taking as well. Thanks!

This looks pretty cool. As I understand it, we, as agents, do not need this app, correct? It's for the buyers to use if they have an iPhone. Do we have any say in the homes that get delivered to their app. or is that strictly a search that they have control over?

Ryan -- this is awesome -- I think it is a great tool for buyers who have iphones. How is the market doing in Edmud?

Hey, thank you all for your replies. As evidenced by the comments, I probably should clarify a few things:

While you could get this app for yourself, my thinking was that your clients with iPhones would actually get it for themselves, to help organize their unique searches.
My thinking was geared more toward the buyers using this app to help them remember details about the homes you show them, which would not be limited to only info on the homes, but also pictures and info on the neighborhoods and surrounding areas.
This app doesn't actually search for homes or download data from your MLS. It's simply used for input and organization by you or your clients.

It's clearly not for everyone, as not everyone has an iPhone, but it's a tool to keep in mind for your clients that do. I

f you're a Realtor, I'd suggest looking into the iPhone for yourself. I can honestly say that my iPhone is BY FAR the best purchase I've made for my business in a few years. You'll be amazed at how much it will help with productivity! If you want to see more Realtor testimony to the power of the iPhone, you might want to check out the iPhone Power group here on AR.

Jim & Janet - My iPhone is not jailbroken. Is yours?

Joan - The market here is still pretty strong, although we did see a softening in Q4. How about New Hampshire?

Ryan, it seems as though the IPhone has many applications that can be useful if used in the right way. I don't have an IPhone, but can see lots of potential, especially with new applications constantly being developed. I, however, liked the idea of having your buyers take pictures with your digital camera, and then having you send the pictures back to them.

That seems like a great application - but I am also wondering if they will have enough time to input all the data as well in between seeing homes...

I am sure they will start to perfect the kinks in this product like they do all the other ones, though, so I will keep my eyes out for it!

Ryan - thanks. I've tried to stay away from the app store for a while LOL. Addictive. I have to agree with you that iphone is the best buy for us as well. ~Rita

Sounds like a great app. Allowing developers to come up with apps is one reason the i-phone is so here to stay. Open the door to innovations and the creativity will flow.

Ryan, I LOVE my iPhone!!!! The photos it takes are so good I have used them in posts here on AR! The email is great, search the net, keep up on FB and twitter, a gps to keep me from getting lost. I just joined the iPhone group. Thanks!

Ryan, this is a great idea for a Buyer if they don't mind entering some info. People are fascinated by my iPhone. I should sell them on the side! LOL

FEB

I noticed it the other day. I felt that the For Sale By Owner logo made it seem as if it was only for FSBOS. if they changed their logo from a red and white "For Sale By Owner" to a "For Sale" sign they'd probably have more Realtors encouraging their buyers to get one

iPhone Application Information - House Hunter

MAR

Ryan,

Thanks for sharing this. I am totally head over heels over my iphone. I too think this might be a cool application for those willing to spend the time doing so.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?