After I wrote a blog about "How to Use the iPad for Real Estate" a couple of weeks ago (click here to read it!) I've had a bunch of comments and emails about what specific apps I've been using to make it work. Let me say that I'm not paid by any of these guys to push their apps and there are many ways to use the iPad in our biz, but these are the ones that I've seen to be most helpful:
1) PDF Expert (cost $9.99)
So why did you buy an iPad? "I want my client to sign contracts on it." Great. This is the app to do it (along with many other things). This app deserves a blog all to its own, but I'll hit the highlights. It lets you write on a PDF, then send that annotated PDF to your client, the secretary, your broker, etc. Wow.
This is one of the few apps I've paid for and it's worth ten times the cost (but don't tell the developers that!!) This is the app which has single-handidly allowed my showings to go paperless.
Use it for Showings:
My system is to pick the houses to show and then make a PDF of it. I send that to my Dropbox account (hey, that's another good idea for a blog!) and then open it on PDF Expert. I call the scheduling company and make notes ON MY iPAD for each home (combo, time to show it, showing instructions, etc). I use a certain color for these notes (lets say RED). Next, I'm in the field with the buyer and I make notes on the PDF again with the client's comments (in a different color, say GREEN). Then at the end of the day, if there are houses they want the notes on I click a button in PDF Expert and it will email it to them.
Similar apps:
iAnnotate
2) Realtor.com (FREE)
This app was just redesigned at the beginning of 2011 and I just want to hug all the geeks who made this happen! It's AMAZING!
This is what every MLS search "SHOULD" be. It uses a Google Maps-like screen and drops pins from heaven right there on the map to show you all the active homes, open houses, or rentals.
A Buyer's Toy:
When driving in the car with a buyer, this is a great app to let them "play" with your iPad. You can put the app into "scout" mode and it will live update the homes for sale as you are driving around. Pretty cool!
You designate price and specs then just "search." Your iPad uses your location to only search the houses around you. AND better yet, you can use your finger to draw a circle on the map and search ONLY IN THAT AREA! How perfect! These guys outdid themselves and this is a great app to use to answer the buyer's question of "why aren't we seeing that house across the street?"
Similar apps:
Zillow
Trulia
3) DocuSign (FREE app, but need a DocuSign subscription to use)
This is the service that will revolutionize the real estate industry. Again, this software deserves a blog to itself, but it's the best way to have a near-paperless contract and is ESSENTIAL for out-of-town or always-on-the-go clients.
The DocuSign service will send the contract to be signed directly to the client's PHONE or COMPUTER for their signature or initials. You will have it back in minutes and it's paperless. Also, when the contract is completed, you can have the software auto-copy the fully signed contract to your office admin so they can put it into those old-fashioned things called "file folders" in a soon-to-be-extinct "filing cabinet."
Now on to the APP! I've been sitting at an open house and created a contract addendum right there on the iPad and sent on to my clients. The app works just as good as their website but has been slightly tweeked to work better on the touch-screen device.
4) DaVinci (FREE)
Do you still run around a new listing with a yellow legal pad and a measuring tape to get those room sizes? Well, this app is designed for appraisers and does a TON of stuff that I don't care about. I use this for only ONE THING: Draw out a quick floorplan of a home and it will AUTO CALCULATE the square footage for me.
I taught myself to use it one day at an open house, in between visitors. The first time in the field, I did the entire floorplan of a 1600 sqft home while the sellers were filling out the Sellers Disclosure. It doesn't have to be perfect, but is nice to have an architectural-type rendering of the floor plan which you could also post on the MLS if you wish.
5) FlipBoard (FREE)
Enough work. Let's play a bit! Do you like to read magazines? Do you like to check up on your Facebook/Twitter accounts? Well mash those two ideas together and this app will deliver your Facebook and Twitter info to you in a way you'll have to see to believe! It's like browsing a newspaper, with some photos, videos, quotations and smart hierarchy presented in a slick Apple-like manner. It makes reading those boring news threads FUN and more engaging.
Get this app today and if you don't LOVE it, I'll refund your money. (ha ha)
There are a few of the good ones that I've found. What do YOU use on your iPad that should be on this list? What are you trying to do on your iPad that you'd like me to blog about? Comment below and let's get chatting!
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