Are you a Webmaster or a Realtor?

As a Realtor you have alot on your plate.  Can you be a Realtor and still manage your website presence? 

As a Realtor, some of the things you do include:

find houses for clients

list homes for clients

schedule time to show houses

host open houses

write offers

recommend inspectors/lenders/etc

negotiate contracts

negotiate repairs

obtain HOA documents

work with appraisers and surveyors

schedule final walk throughs

attend closings

and more!

As if that wasn't enough - you are also a small business owner

As a small business owner, you wear alot of hats which may include:

bookkeeping

administrative assistant

advertising

ordering office supplies

continuing education

taxes

lead generator

customer service manager

database manager

social media director & blogger 

web developer

That last item...that's the one that took up all of my time tonight.  Web developer.  I am an expert at helping people buy and sell houses, but I don't know the first thing about making a new website or changing nameservers, or hosting companies, or HTML code, etc.  There are so many ways to put your company on-line and get exposure.  You need to find the right option that suits your small business.

You can hire a company that specializes in real estate websites.  Those companies usually charge a flat monthly rate and get your site up and running in a few hours with minimal headaches to the agent. These are the easiest and fastest way to get on-line with your business.

You could hire a website developer to create a custom website for you.  This could take weeks or months to complete and the const is significant.  If you go this route you need to be prepared to do some back end work or make sure that your developer provides technical support after the fact.  If they don't provide on-going support, you may not want to use them.

You could create your own Wordpress website.  If you decide to go this direction, you will need some basic computer knowledge, a good grasp on what you want your site to look like and how you want it to operate.  Then you need to contact a hosting service to get started.  Hosting services are available at places like GoDaddy.com or HostGator.com and they generally work well with Wordpress sites.

I have tried all 3 options.  I have had good luck and bad luck with all 3 options.  By tomorrow I am hoping that my new website will be up and running and looking great.  Wish me luck - I am officially now not just a Realtor, but also a Webmaster!