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New Tools

By Liz and Bill Spear

Real Estate Agent with Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com SAL.2002007747

May 17, 2019 06:13 PM

I've collected a fair number of tools over the years. I've not caught up with my Dad, but I'm in the neighborhood.

I've done the same thing for our real estate business.

Pick up tools here and there.

Some tools are specialty, others can be used just about anywhere.

And sometimes tools need replaced. Something breaks or wears out, or sometimes a new and improved version comes out and makes it worthwhile to make the switch.

This last week has been one of tool replacement for me.

One was a planned change. Our Wordpress site has needed a refresh for quite some time. While everything worked fine, the content was attracting buyers, it could be better. I'd worked on various things to increase speed, added SSL so we were https, but sometimes you just need a new motor to drive things, especially with the increased emphasis on mobile search.

So we hired out a company to fix some initial issues, move our hosting to a faster host, and then had them do a complete face lift. New framework, new theme. Wednesday they finished the prep work and our new site is now live. We've still got a few minor tweaks to make, and as always, more content to add.

The other change wasn't planned. When it comes to my smartphone, I tend to stretch it out years beyond what Verizon would like. And it actually got to the point that some apps were no longer compatible with my phone. Nothing business related, just personal things, but I could live with that. Phones are expensive and I could do without.

But eventually some decisions get made for you. My phone was fine Saturday night. Sunday morning, not so much. I tried all the tricks I knew, and all the tricks the Internet could tell me, but that phone just wasn't going to return to normal operation. So after church, a quick run down to the local Verizon store and I'm now 6 generations newer with my phone.

For the most part, no real losses outside of a few recent text messages since my last backup. Photos were already on a memory card, and most of the apps reinstalled without any prompting. A few tweeks here and there and I was back in business.

And the fringe perk? I've got a better camera for taking flower pictures :)

Interested in having us help you sell your home or help you buy a home? Just give us a call/text at 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Bill of Bill & Liz aka BLiz

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Vickie Teel

RE/MAX PALM REALTY - Port Charlotte, FL

Sharing Florida sunshine one homeowner at a time!

Liz and Bill Spear What beautiful flowers! What kind is it? Love how vivid the colors are with your new phone. Sometimes we just have to face the music and get the new phone. Mine was 3 updates behind when my battery wouldn't stay charged for very long so I feel your pain. I look forward to new flower pictures!

May 17, 2019 06:41 PM

Liz and Bill Spear

Mason, OH

Liz and Bill Spear

Vickie, I'd worked my way through a few things over the years, including batteries that weren't holding charge. Fortunately with my old phone (a Samsung S4) I could buy a new battery and replace. The new one (S10) isn't really designed to remove the back at all, so hopefully it's a REALLY good battery :)

And the flowers are bleeding hearts. Liz brought home a small plant from her parents in Maryland two years ago. Last year we got one bloom, this year is the first year it really grew well and bloomed.

May 17, 2019 07:10 PM

Kathy Streib

Cypress, TX

Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Bill- I was going to ask what those flowers are. I've never seen them but they are beautiful. I'm waiting to see what Apple comes out with this year. I still have the iPhone 7 .

May 17, 2019 07:18 PM

Debb Janes

Camas, WA

Liz and Bill Spear

I'm sticking with my Droids. The learning curve from my S4 to my S10 was pretty minimal, but that's also because I tend to not use the voice command assistants. I guess Samsung's version of Siri is Bixby.

May 17, 2019 07:42 PM

Kat Palmiotti

eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT

Helping your Montana dreams take root

My phone has been doing some strange things lately. One of my sons thinks it is something purposedly done by the phone company so I'll buy another phone. I doubt it, but then, you never know!

May 18, 2019 04:04 AM

Liz and Bill Spear

I think our phones do strange things over time because the base operating system can no longer keep up with the demands and changes. In my case my phone had overheated the day before it completely failed, so I think the hardware on the phone finally gave up.

May 18, 2019 06:10 AM

Wayne Martin

Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL

Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Bill. I tend to be behind when it comes to technology. Unlike Kathy Streib , I consider my iPhone 7+ to be at the edge of technology. My son just laughs. Enjoy your day!

May 18, 2019 05:43 AM

Liz and Bill Spear

I feel that for the most part, the changes the phone companies roll out yearly are so incrementally small as to not justify buying a new phone. Now over the course of 6 years, there is a big difference between my old phone and new one. And with phones now costing a ridiculous amount of money, I'll always be slow to make the change.

May 18, 2019 06:12 AM

Brian England

Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ

MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

New tools are always coming and in real estate, we definitely have to keep up. The cameras on the newer cell phones are amazing!

May 18, 2019 05:53 AM

Anna "Banana" Kruchten

Phoenix, AZ

Liz and Bill Spear

They've definitely been advancing them significantly. They're now far more capable than the old Kodak digitial that we used a decade ago for taking listing photos. Now we hire out that task :)

May 18, 2019 06:14 AM

Debb Janes

Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA

Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Wonderful photo, the cameras in today's smart phones are really incredible. It's one reason we're actually shooting videos using our iPhones. I'm sure the upgrade from six years is a remarkable difference. Good for you, Bill.

May 18, 2019 07:06 AM

Liz and Bill Spear

I haven't really played with the video function on my new phone yet. I suspect it will have significantly better capability than my S4.

May 18, 2019 07:43 PM

Anna "Banana" Kruchten

HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ

602-380-4886

Bliz there is a point when you have to change out your phone. And honestly it's kind of ridiculous how expensive they've become. I think my phone is two years or so old now and I hope it continues to work good longer.

May 18, 2019 10:49 AM

Liz and Bill Spear

In this case an outright failure made it a must do. But I'd been leaning in that direction for a bit because it was becoming higher maintanence, and frankly the "just one more thing to take care of" isn't something I needed.

May 18, 2019 07:44 PM

1~Judi Barrett

Integrity Real Estate Services 116 SE AVE N, Idabel, OK 74745 - Idabel, OK

BS Ed, Integrity Real Estate Services -IDABEL OK

I recently had to delete my wordpress site and really need to hire someone (instead of doing it myself) to get it back up. My point2 site is carrying us right now. It's such a maze trying to figure out who to use. I've already bought hosting with BlueHost but have not sat down and worked on it. Such beautiful flowers!

May 19, 2019 02:43 PM

Liz and Bill Spear

Judi, I outsourced based on a recommendation from another Rainer. I've not been disappointed. I'll send you a separate email.

May 19, 2019 02:46 PM