Turn Your Next Open House into a Closed Deal
Spring has officially sprung and that means open house season is in full bloom! RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) is here to help you get ready and host an event that draws traffic, lures in buyers, and maybe even helps you connect with some warmed up leads. For tips on how to prep, plan and pull it all off, check out RPR's ultimate guide: A-Z Open House Tips. However, the focus of this article is a reminder that the most important guest who attends your open house… is your phone. That's right, the RPR app is your secret, on-site weapon! The RPR app: where every answer is in the palm of your hand On game day, make sure the RPR Mobile app is updated and downloaded to your phone and with you at all times. The reason? Ahead of time, you can run a variety of different reports on the home and the area. Everything you do on the RPR website syncs with your phone app. So when you create the reports for your property address, all those reports will be one touch away. You can also create reports right there in the house, on the fly, and instantly send them to prospects visiting the open house. These reports, such as the Market Activity Report, the Neighborhood Report and the Schools Report, will arm you, and prospective buyers, with loads of data and information. Then you'll be ready to have conversations about the home itself, the neighborhood, the schools and the market. Speaking of market conditions… Market Trends and Housing Stats go mobile Access hyper-local housing market data with just a simple tap from the app's home screen. You'll see a laundry list of relevant area data, including: New Listings, Active Listings, Pending Listings, Sold Listings, Sold Public Records, Month's Supply of Inventory, Median Estimated Property Value and more. The advantages of being able to offer this type of information are endless. Access to this data positions you as the go-to, local market expert. Simply put, these charts make you look really smart! If a buyer strolls in and asks a question about home inventory in the neighborhood, there's zero "fake it til you make it" on your part. With the RPR app in your back pocket, you're able to provide up-to-date, rock solid data that will make a huge impression on your open house goers. RPR app Success Stories Here are two real world ways that the RPR app helped REALTORS® close some deals after an open house. One was an on-the-fly hail mary, while the other is a calculated, planned out ahead of time lead generation tactic. RPR Mobile App Saves the Day for Busy Florida REALTOR® In a high-stakes open house, Florida REALTOR® Gregg Center faced a unique challenge: engaging six couples simultaneously. With his go-to real estate app failing to deliver, Gregg turned to the recently downloaded RPR Mobile app as a last-ditch effort. Swiftly intercepting the last couple, Gregg used RPR to showcase nearby properties, revealing a missed listing right across the street. Impressed, the clients made a $2.1 million offer, which ultimately fell through. However, they entrusted Gregg with buying a new home, selling their current property, and listing four waterfront parcels. Today, Gregg champions RPR as an indispensable business tool, streamlining client interactions and "elevating his real estate prowess." Get the Full Story: Hail Mary Effort Proves Worthy of This Realtor's Strategic Open House Move Mastering Open Houses: A RPR-Driven Approach Nicole Nicolay, a top-performing REALTOR® from Northern California, has developed a successful open house strategy that revolves around three key elements: engaging icebreakers, providing relevant information, and ensuring timely follow-ups. By leveraging RPR data and tools, Nicole establishes meaningful connections with potential clients and offers personalized property, neighborhood, and school reports to create lasting impressions. Nicole's approach begins by greeting open house guests enthusiastically and asking the right questions to establish a connection. She then offers potential clients valuable information drawn from the RPR platform about the area, schools, and neighborhoods. If visitors are considering both buying and selling, Nicolay promptly offers an RPR Mini Property Report on their current residence, complete with a comp analysis. To prepare for open houses, Nicole runs RPR's Mini Property, Neighborhood, and School Reports, displaying them prominently during the event. She also has a streamlined follow-up system in place, using an online form to collect contact information and subsequently sending customized RPR reports based on clients' interests. And here's the lead gen cherry on top that Nicole uses at all of her open houses: She displays one copy of a report in a high traffic area. Then, when guests pick it up, she can break the ice and make an intro by saying, "It's great that you picked up that Property Report. Right now, it's the only copy I have left, but if you'll give me your contact information, I'm happy to send you a personalized version." This conversation-starter is a keen lead generation tactic that helps her connect with prospects, without coming on too strong. Get the Full Story: Conversion is Key for This Open House Expert You and the RPR app make a great team on open house day Spring is when the selling season really heats up! Make your next open house a success by incorporating RPR; especially the RPR Mobile app. It can help you handle all the curveballs that buyers throw your way in the form of questions about the home, the neighborhood, the schools and the market. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

8 Time-Saving Programs Every Real Estate Agent Should Try
No matter what local market conditions are like, many real estate agents work pretty much all the time. After all, they need to be available when their clients are free, and they need to constantly refresh their knowledge of their local market. And yet, there are some real estate agents who manage their work-life integration seamlessly and carve out time for their family, friends and relaxation. How do they do it? One way is to rely on timesaving programs to speed up or outsource some of their tasks. ‍8 timesaving programs to try: 1. An automated CRM. Keeping up with your clients is essential to building a real estate career with longevity, but it can be difficult to remember birthdays, anniversaries and other reasons to stay in touch once you have hundreds of contacts in your database. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can streamline your outreach. Two to try: Cloze and Hubspot. Explore more CRMs in RE Technology's Product Directory. 2. Automated marketing. Continually marketing yourself and your listings is just as important as keeping in touch with your current clients. Several programs are available that help you spend less time on your marketing. Try MoxiWorks and Outbound Engine. Explore more Marketing Solutions in RE Technology's Product Directory. 3. Organizing your time. Whether you're hyper-organized or manage your career despite a chaotic style, multiple tools exist to keep real estate agents on task and their paperwork at their fingertips. Try Thryv, which integrates with your website to schedule appointments, EverNote for well-organized notes and reminders, and DropBox to keep your files secure and yet easily sharable with clients. 4. Image editing. While you may have a photographer or videographer you like to use, sometimes you don't have the time or extra money to spend on professional images. Try the VSCO app for editing photos and videos to showcase your listings at their best. If you want to create your own marketing materials, try Canva for video editing, templates for flyers and more. 5. Editable PDFs. To simplify your interactions with clients and end the practice of printing, scanning, signing and emailing documents, try a program that allows you to create editable pdfs. Adobe Acrobat may be the best known, but some real estate agents also like DocFly. When you need your clients to be able to sign confidential documents, DocuSign is also a good option. Then, there are times that you need a quick edit of your finished PDFs, you may use Canva PDF Editor. Explore more Document Management and eSignature solutions in RE Technology's Product Directory. 6. Money management. Tracking your expenses and managing your commissions can get complicated, so several companies developed software geared to real estate agents to simplify their accounting. Try RealtyZam or IXACT, which functions as both a transaction tracking and CRM tool. Explore more Accounting solutions in RE Technology's Product Directory. 7. Virtual assistant app. If you need help but aren't ready to hire a full-time assistant or develop your own team, a virtual assistant may be ideal to take on simple tasks such as keeping your database updated. Try Zirtual to find a trained virtual assistant to take over some of your responsibilities so you have more time for your clients. 8. Concierge services. Speaking of responsibilities, whether you need errands run, a minor repair or a TV installed, TaskRabbit can provide you with the help you need from a vetted person at a simple hourly rate. Handing over hassles to someone else frees time for you to work on your business, which often includes prepping a house for sale. For that, rely on Revive to step in with a plan, the contractors and materials needed to execute it and the team to manage the process. Your sellers will get a better price for their home, and you'll be relieved of the time-consuming energy it takes to get a property ready for the market. Time management for a better life – and a better career – requires multiple solutions. Thankfully, programs and services are available to streamline multifaceted real estate transactions. To view the original article, visit the Revive blog.

RPR Now Boasts a Better Buyer Tour
If you're an agent who works with buyers, you're pretty accustomed to weekend afternoon tours of homes for sale. You line up a list of homes that meet their wants and needs (and budget, of course), and then you drive around and view each one. This list can be achieved through your hard work and research, but will also often come in the form of specific addresses from your online house-hunting clients. Either way, it's a process. And that process is a whole lot easier with the RPR (Realtors Property Resource) Buyer Tour report, an app-exclusive that is only available via RPR Mobile. The app has recently been updated and improved to make your Buyer Tour experience that much better! The new and improved RPR Buyer Tour Simple in nature but comprehensive all the same, the Buyer Tour Report easily allows agents to select properties and determine an order to tour them. And under the "wait it gets better" category, it then lets agents create a colorful, client-friendly report to share with buyers. It's a great way to set up a schedule and keep a record of what was viewed, and what was liked. If you're already familiar with the RPR app and using the Buyer Tour, we've got great news: the app was recently updated and now boasts some quality enhancements! The most important (and requested) is the ability to "Add known property" to the tour you're building by address or listing ID. The ability to add properties manually, versus running a search and using the map, is a big deal in the Buyer Tour user world. This has been the number one ask from our app users, and we're glad to deliver it. The new Buyer Tour is also the only RPR report that allows you to feature more than one, single property. Watch the new Buyer Tour in action To see how the new Buyer Tour function works in the updated app, watch this step-by step video. It's just over three minutes long and will walk you through the necessary steps to properly set up a buyer tour. And if you prefer written directions, or want to print something out to keep at your side, check out our handy Buyer Tour Printable Guide. It also has step-by-step instructions and some screen grab visuals to help you follow along. Take your buyers on a tour! Reminder: The Buyer Tour is only available via the RPR Mobile app. Download and/or update your app today to experience all the new changes and features, including upgrades to the Buyer Tour function. Set up appointments and tours, add or delete properties from the schedule, then follow up with a report that includes all the homes that were viewed — all from your phone and wherever you have service. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How to Work with Millennial and Gen-Z Clients
Those in the Millennial generation and younger now make up more than half of the U.S. population and account for more than 38% of today's homebuyers--by far the largest proportion among all generations. That percentage will only keep growing as Millennials and Gen-Zers age and continue to enter the real estate market. So often, this is portrayed as a worrisome prospect since these individuals are more digitally minded and tech-savvy than any other generation. Business owners are told to adapt or get left behind. There is truth to this, but for real estate agents, it's not the gloom-and-doom scenario that it's made out to be. That's because agents have been incorporating online search and communication methods into the way they work with clients for years now. Consider this: More than 90% of Millennial buyers are using the internet to search for their dream home. While that's the highest share among all age groups, others also frequently use third-party search sites at high rates to search for homes. We've witnessed agents adapting as these statistics continue to rise. Every year, more agents across the country are using the Homesnap app to collaborate with clients on their home search. The upward trend we've seen at Homesnap, especially as it relates to mobile, reflects broader home-buying trends. Nearly 80% of Millennials who used their smartphone to look at properties ended up finding their future home on their mobile device, according to the 2020 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report. This generation's clear preference for on-demand, on-the-go access is not something to feel anxiety over. There is no ambiguity in how they want to conduct their search—only an opportunity for agents to meet them where they are and work together in an efficient way. If you aren't already using Homesnap with your clients, you should be. It's the most user-friendly app, both for tech-savvy young people and older generations that aren't as digitally inclined. It's always ad-free, too, as we never sell space on listing pages to competing agents. Here are the top three ways you can use the Homesnap app to guide your clients on their home-buying journey. 1. Agent-Client Connection To use Homesnap with your clients, first make sure you are connected in the app. This protects your relationship by giving them a search experience that is branded to you. That means that as clients look at properties, the only agent they will see and be able to contact in Homesnap is you. This connected relationship also gives you clear insight into their home search. As their primary agent, you will be able to see the properties they view and favorite, as well as receive News Feed alerts when the status of a favorited property changes. To connect with your clients in the Homesnap app, simply tap the Invite icon in the Me tab or share your profile link via email or text. When they register or accept your invitation (if they already had an account), we will automatically create a connected relationship. You can view your client list to see who has accepted and resend an invitation if needed. 2. Searching for Properties We are a partner to your local MLS. As such, you can count on Homesnap to show accurate, real-time housing data. We continually sync our system with the MLS to ensure we capture new and updated listing information. When you start working with your client in Homesnap, be sure to show them these powerful search capabilities: Search by Commute: This handy tool allows you to input multiple addresses so you can find a home that is within a particular drive time of all locations that are important to you. For example, your clients can limit their search to only homes that are within 20 minutes of work, daycare, the gym, a particular school and grandma's house. Custom Area Search: Searching at the zip code, neighborhood or city level doesn't always capture all the locations a client is considering moving to. For added flexibility, you can draw a custom search area on the map and only see homes located within those borders. School Attendance Zones: Clients who have children often want to ensure their kids can attend a particular school. With Homesnap's Schools layer, you can search for homes located in a specified school's attendance zone. Saved Search: When you (or your clients) get to searching, you'll likely be adding filters on top of Search by Commute details within a custom-drawn area. You don't need to redo your specifications every time you power up Homesnap. When all your criteria are in place, just tap Save Search. You can name it (e.g., The Johnson's first choice) and enable push notifications and/or emails to alert you whenever there is new market activity within your search parameters. 3. In-app Communication Since you're already collaborating with your clients in Homesnap, it makes sense to centralize your communication in the app as well. That way, your clients aren't searching their emails and texts trying to find that one property you sent four days ago. It'll all be easily accessible within Homesnap. When you share a property with your client via in-app messages, that conversation is noted on the property listing page under the heading "Related Conversations." Agents and clients alike find this helpful when they've been viewing numerous properties and need help remembering whether they've already shared a particular home. A Final Thought Today's buyers expect their home search to include digital components. Make sure you're encouraging your clients to connect with you in Homesnap and use the app to make their home-buying journey a smooth one. The experience will make your clients feel like part of the process, instead of like onlookers, during the search for their dream home. To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.

PropTech Firm Revive Launches Presale Renovation App
The Power Buyer category among PropTech startups -- and particularly the concierge sector -- is rapidly growing. Instead of recommending that homeowners rush their property to the market for sale, Revive has a presale renovation program that has helped homeowners maximize their sales price and net proceeds by making key repairs and/or improvements to make the home move-in ready. There are no out of pocket expense for the homeowner/seller as the renovation costs are paid at closing. The best part: it's turnkey. With the app—the most robust available for presale renovations—homeowners get immediate transparency into the process. They can check in on the process, ask questions of the contractor or their Revive renovation team. Homeowners/sellers don't have to lift a finger – except to sign the renovation agreement with Revive. Please see below for the original press release. Real Estate Startup 'Revive' Launches a Presale Renovation App Agent-centric app "reduces stress" by connecting homeowners, agents, and renovation team IRVINE, Calif. — March 30, 2022 — Revive, a leading provider of presale home renovation services and all-cash offer programs for buyers, announced today the launch of its new mobile app – Revive Home. Revive Home is a tool that allows real estate agents and their homeowners to easily track their renovation projects by engaging directly with contractors and their Revive renovation team. Revive Home makes it simple for agents, homeowners, and contractors to monitor renovation project updates by centralizing communication with all parties from the convenience of their phones. Homeowners can use the app to connect directly with their agent, owner's rep, or project advisor, staying current on the renovation progress. Revive Home also offers the direct upload of documents without email. "Home renovation projects are stressful, so we decided to bring transparency to the process, making it easier for homeowners to monitor their presale renovation with Revive Home and reduce their stress," said Revive Head of Engineering Mansoor Bahramand. "This app streamlines communication, allowing homeowners and agents to chat directly with their Revive team to stay up-to-date on their project status. Revive handles everything else. We're all about finding new and innovative ways to make presale renovation as easy as possible." Revive Home is another way Revive makes life better for sellers and buyers to make living easier. The app allows homeowners to continue to be involved in the process without the stress of managing everything themselves. The Revive Home app features: Direct chat with the Revive team Weekly progress reports sent directly to your phone Conveniently manage all your listings in one place Quickly upload required documents Communicate on the go The app is available on both iOS and Android. Learn more at iloverevive.com. About Revive Revive HQ LLC is located in Irvine, California. By fronting the cost of presale home improvements and offering guaranteed trade-in offers, Revive offers agents the opportunity to increase the value of their client's homes. To learn more about Revive, visit iloverevive.com. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

SentriKey Mobile App vs. SentriCard
Wondering about the benefits of using the SentriKey Real Estate mobile app versus using a SentriCard to access your properties? While the SentriCard gets the job done -- it opens SentriLock lockboxes -- it's not able to provide the robust experience that the SentriKey Real Estate mobile app does. Check out these benefits of using the mobile app, and you'll understand why over three-quarters of all SentriLock lockbox accesses are with the app! Benefits of the SentriKey® Real Estate Mobile App With the SentriKey® Real Estate app, you can: Open SentriLock lockboxes. Use your smartphone or tablet to open lockboxes. Learn how to open the key compartment on a SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox Learn how to open the key compartment on a non-Bluetooth® lockbox Access via Touch ID / facial recognition. Use Touch ID or facial recognition instead of your PIN to quickly and easily access your most-used functions. Learn how to enable Touch ID Release the shackle and assign/unassign a lockbox to a property. Release your lockbox shackle and assign and/or remove your lockbox from a property easily. Learn how to release the shackle on a SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox Learn how to release the shackle on a non-Bluetooth® lockbox Learn how to assign a Bluetooth® lockbox to a property Get property details. Upon opening the lockbox, you're presented with powerful features, including showing instructions, property details, listing agent information, and more. Learn about property details and how useful they can be Grant secure temporary access. Use the mobile app to generate One Day Codes or grant SentriConnect® access, which provides secure, trackable access to out-of-area agents, contractors, and more, and receive notification upon access use. Learn how to get a One Day Code Learn how to grant SentriConnect access Receive instant notifications. Get instant notifications via the Message Center to learn about missing keys, the beginning of a showing, the end of a showing, and more. Learn how to view access logs Keep track of showings. Use the My Schedule feature to schedule and stay on top of showing appointments. Learn how to schedule an appointment Learn how to edit an appointment Make your showings safer and more secure. When enabled, the Agent Safety feature automatically and discreetly alerts your designated emergency contact when you do not feel safe or cannot confirm you're safe. Learn how to enable the Agent Safety feature Access property data integration listings. Transition seamlessly into other apps to access all the detailed listing information you need from our integration partners. End a showing early. If you finish before the end of the allotted time, let the listing agent and sellers know. Learn how to manually end a showing And, best of all, there's no need for card renewals – ever! Worried that you won't have SentriKey® Real Estate mobile app access if you're outside of cell-service coverage? We can help make sure you stay connected. Here's how: For Bluetooth® boxes: A good practice is to update your SentriKey® Real Estate Mobile App credentials each day. Whether you're a listing agent, showing agent, or an affiliated user, before you leave home or the office, launch the app on your mobile device. By authenticating, your credentials are good for 24 hours. When interacting with the SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox, it requires only a Bluetooth® connection to open the key door, even if you're out of cell-service coverage. For non-Bluetooth® boxes: If you're going to a showing in a remote area and that listing isn't using a Bluetooth® lockbox, we have a solution for you, too. Success is achieved by using the My Schedule function in the SentriKey® Real Estate app. This is done either by the listing agent creating the appointment directly in the SentriKey® Real Estate system, or through leveraging our integrations with other third-party showing services. When the showing is scheduled, and the app detects low or no cellular coverage, you'll be presented with a Mobile Access Code in the app. No card needed, no Bluetooth® needed! You don't need to use a SentriCard® to open your SentriLock lockbox. Instead, always stay connected with the SentriKey® Real Estate mobile app! Get Started with the SentriKey® Real Estate App Want an overview on how to use the SentriKey® Real Estate app? Sign up for our App School, which will guide you through the process screen by screen. To view the original article, visit the SentriLock blog.

In the Wild: Deliver Results from Anywhere with RPR Mobile
Agents who use RPR Mobile can: Instantly create, text/email client-friendly, colorful reports. Quickly search on- and off-market properties. Freely access leases, open houses, valuations, maps, demographics, schools, neighborhoods and market trends. Easily create CMAs on the go. Immediately respond to client inquiries and leads. Seamlessly connect with synced reports, recent searches, favorites and notes. The power to produce, right in the palm of your hand The good news is, you have the power to be more productive right in the palm of your hand. With the RPR app, REALTORS® have exclusive access to a host of tools that improve productivity while on the go, not to mention RPR's unmatched property data and reports. By downloading the free app, REALTORS® can instantly view on- and off-market properties, leases, valuations, tax and mortgage info, distressed data, flood zones, mapping, demographics, schools, neighborhoods and market trends — all from their iOS or Android device. What's more, the app provides a customizable report feature that allows you to create, save and share reports with just a few quick taps on the screen. Exciting new features are added all the time Here are a few of the app's latest adaptations that are certain to make your on-the-go experience more rewarding. Create and send reports Want to immediately respond to a client inquiry about a property, school, neighborhood, etc? Creating and sending reports via RPR's app is as easy as 1-2-3. Press the Reports button located in the lower left corner of the app's home screen. Type or speak an address, city or zip. Tap Search, choose a report, customize, and send your report in seconds. Search by voice RPR makes it easy for REALTORS® on the go with voice-to-text search capability. Look for the microphone icon on your keyboard then simply tap and talk. This option is also available when using the Property Notes function on the app. Comp Analysis Express Use your device to build an CMA, then create and text/email a colorful Seller's Report to your client. Best of all, if you've selected comps on the RPR website, they can be viewed on mobile and vice versa.There's also an interactive map to choose comps and advanced search functions such as property status and type. Here's how: From the RPR Property Details page: Confirm the subject property facts Search for comparable properties Adjust the comps as compared to the subject property Edit the price and price range Email/text your report Location-based school information Search for homes in a school attendance zone, get driving directions, and create school reports, all from your phone. Data sets include the school name, GreatSchools rating, grades served, address, and district. Real time open house info The RPR app includes open house information for residential properties. Where a phone number is available, click the number to automatically connect with the seller. Notes and photos From the property details screen, click Notes to enter text or voice notes. Upload your photos and apply them to RPR reports. This same feature also offers the ability to take a photo or select an existing photo from an album. App Ins-and-Outs Logging into RPR Mobile reveals four distinct categories: For Sale, New Listings, Recently Sold and Distressed. The homepage also displays icons that take you directly to the note taking feature, recent searches and reports, and saved searches. Swipe to the left for Local Market Conditions, swipe again to enter a specific property search or choose Advanced Search for further options. Look to the top of the screen to switch between list and map views. Your app's map search default is set to within a half mile radius of your current location. Adjust that setting by choosing the sprocket icon at the top left of your home screen, then select User Settings. Click on the magnifying glass at the top of the app's home screen to reveal a color-coded map identifying all of the on- and off-market properties within your search zone. On maps, select any home's icon to go to view details including price, history, photos and more. Pinch and zoom to display more homes or use a finger to move the map. At the bottom of the page, use the Draw feature to create your own search area. Additional options here include Sort, Filter and Save. Easily share virtual tour links with clients from the RPR Property Details screen. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

A Review of the Zillow 3D App
Recently, one of HomeJab's real estate photographers had an eye-opening experience using the Zillow 3D app. The events that unfolded during the photographer's interactions with the app and Zillow's customer support team led to this review. From lack of content control to flaws with the 3D view, read on to determine whether or not the Zillow 3D app is best for your real estate business needs. Source Files Are Not Yours Last week, we held a photoshoot in Olympia, Wash., near Zillow's headquarters in Seattle. The photographer accidentally used the Zillow 3D app to capture 360° images instead of using the app that the customer requested. Upon realizing his mistake, the photographer contacted Zillow asking for the 360° files (these aren't saved to the camera when using Zillow's 3D app.) He wanted to use the files on another software platform. But Zillow denied his request, refusing to send him the source files. As a result, we had to reschedule the photoshoot, and the photographer then had to drive an extra 100 miles out of his way. Content Control Because Zillow feeds off of content to survive, they'll want to control it every time an agent uses their 3D app. Therefore, while using the Zillow 3D app, the real estate agent or photographer should know that there's a point of no return: Once files are sent to Zillow, whether accidentally or not, Zillow owns them. What's more, Zillow has primed their website to be the only place where content submitted to them can be viewed. As a real estate agent or photographer, surrendering control of your content can be detrimental to your business. For instance, to gain a better sense of the agent's listings portfolio, customers might want to browse the agent's transaction history, real estate photos, virtual tours, etc. If these are not readily available on the agent's website, the customer might want to browse elsewhere. 3D Flaws Allow us to point out that "Zillow 3D" is a misnomer. That's to say, there's no 3D view (whoops!). Indeed, no 3D models will see the light of day from Zillow's app. Instead, Zillow 3D organizes panoramic images into a "virtual tour." On a different note, Zillow's newest iBuyer platform, "Zillow Offers," is yet another service that claims ownership of your content. And by marketing directly to the consumer, Zillow Offers positions itself more like a competitor than a support system. That said, at HomeJab we agree that's there's nothing wrong with publishing the basic listing data on Zillow through MLS. But if buyers wish to access an agent's virtual tour, which is critical these days when time is money, then they should be able to access it on the listing agent's website. This is why it's crucial to keep exclusive control of your content rather than handing it over to Zillow 3D or other top competitors in the business. A Solution to the iBuyer Problem Despite these bad tidings, there's a practical solution to the Zillow 3D app and the larger iBuyer problem: You should use a platform of independent content creators where you, the real estate agent and business professional, keep exclusive ownership and control over your content. Out of the myriad virtual tour providers out there, many offer free software and hosting services (emphasis on the word "FREE"). At HomeJab, our customers hire (and trust) us to capture the images and produce a seamless 3D real estate tour. When all's said and done, every single file belongs to the listing agent. The agent can then download the individual source files and use them on any other software platform of their choosing. Not only that, but the agent can control where the tour is hosted and viewed, which, in turn, will maximize their leads! Last but not least, there's free lifetime hosting to boot! (Check out our FAQs section for more on our services.) Growing your business freely and exponentially while thwarting Big Tech's hostile takeover of the real estate industry means that you'll have to keep outwitting Zillow 3D and other iBuyer models that aren't keeping your best interests at heart. This might seem like a great feat to accomplish, but fret not — HomeJab's got you covered! To view the original article, visit the HomeJab blog.

Free Video Editing Apps for Real Estate Videos
Creating real estate videos can be a daunting task, especially if you don't already have access to the equipment and programs you need to film and edit your videos. Luckily, getting set up is easier than you think. Most modern smartphones have decent cameras, so there's no need to buy a pricey camera. You may want to purchase a tripod to stabilize your video or a lapel microphone or headset to boost your sound quality, but your first videos don't need specialized lighting or other fancy equipment. If you do want to get some basic video equipment, check out this list for inspiration.

Rule Your Real Estate World with One Simple App
We know you love real estate, but it can't always be fun keeping all those plates in the air. The good news is, you have the power to be more productive right in the palm of your hand. With the app from Realtors Property Resource (RPR), REALTORS have exclusive access to a whole host of tools that improve productivity while on the go, not to mention RPR's abundance of property data and reports. From simple solutions like search by voice to creating a CMA using your phone, these RPR app and website features will definitely keep you in the driver's seat.

[Best of 2020] 6 Apps to Help You Take Better Listing Photos
There are just 10 publishing days left in 2020, and we're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published back in May and is #10 in our countdown. Stay tuned tomorrow for #9! With social distancing the norm, open houses and in-person walkthroughs are on pause, leaving many agents wondering how they can replicate the feeling of live showings to prospective buyers. While we recommend using Homesnap Stories to create a sequence of visuals like videos, photos, text, stickers and emojis to showcase your personality and emulate the walkthrough experience for prospects, photos are still very much a necessary and indispensable component of listings.

20 Features of the SentriKey App You'll Want to Use ASAP
The SentriKey Real Estate app and software give SentriLock real estate professionals a competitive advantage when it comes to property access management. But, as an agent, are you fully leveraging all the features available to you? Consider these 20 SentriKey app/software features that put the power of mobile access at your fingertips.

Real Estate App Makes Open House Profitable
Twenty minutes before Nicole Nicolay heads to her open house, she logs onto RPR, prints one Mini Property Report and one Neighborhood Report, puts them into her bag and hits the road. At the open house, "A woman with two kids in tow appears in the doorway and within seconds exclaims she loves the house but wasn't ready to buy," said Nicole. "She said she'd have to sell her house first and find temporary accommodations while searching for her next home so that she could make a firm offer. The market is that competitive here. "The woman also admitted that she was feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of uprooting her family twice, as anyone would be. I knew at that moment I could ease her fears and set her on the right path, ensuring her that the process can be streamlined by an agent with the right tools at her disposal––and, secretly, I knew I was that agent. "So I made a simple suggestion: 'Let's check out what your house is worth. Give me your address and while you look around, I'll see what I can come up with.' She looked at me with a quizzical expression but decided to play along. "My soon-to-be new client said she thought her house could sell for about $500,000, so as she turned the corner toward the dining room, I jumped into RPR, entered her address, created a property report complete with RPR's Realtor Valuation Model® (RVM®), and texted it to before she finished touring the second floor. "Ding! I heard her phone's notification system go off. She came down the stairs, phone in hand, smiling. 'Wow, I just got a report from you,' she exclaimed. 'It says my house is worth $525,000. Is that true?' she asked. "'Well, we can find out,' I said. 'Let's get together at your place to talk more. I'll get an idea of what you've done to the property and we'll rerun the numbers to confirm.' "Days later, I listed her beautiful home for the RVM valuation of $550,000. From there, we found her new house without having to move her and her family into a temporary place. And she was so impressed by my spot-on analysis and responsiveness that she referred me to a family relative, who also bought and sold through me." Sure, Nicole recognizes that this, in all, was an incredible experience. Yet, what's important is that she had the wherewithal to listen to an open house visitor who thought she wasn't ready to buy and took the bull by the horns to bring forth a deal. And the common thread? Realtors Property Resource. "It may seem as if I didn't put a lot of effort into my open house, but rest assured, I'm backed by a powerful and seamless system that does all of the work for me," said the veteran real estate pro working out of Pleasanton, Calif. That and—as anyone who knows her will tell you—her cheery disposition and shrewd business acumen are the trifecta of successful open house strategies. Learn more about what RPR can do for your next open house. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

6 Apps to Help You Take Better Listing Photos
With social distancing the norm, open houses and in-person walkthroughs are on pause, leaving many agents wondering how they can replicate the feeling of live showings to prospective buyers. While we recommend using Homesnap Stories to create a sequence of visuals like videos, photos, text, stickers and emojis to showcase your personality and emulate the walkthrough experience for prospects, photos are still very much a necessary and indispensable component of listings.

Give Your Clients a Tool to Keep Their Home Search Going
With 90% of the country currently under stay-at-home orders, we know that agents are eager to find ways to stay connected with their clients from afar. Though we don't know exactly when this moment will pass and things will return back to normal, it only benefits agents if their buyers are ready to jump back into the market when demand surges.

5 Real Estate Apps that Will 'Wow' You and Your Clients
At this point, digital applications are as much a part of real estate as photos on your business card and yard arms. With an app on your phone or device, you can schedule showings, manage documents, create CMAs and complete just about any task in a transaction. Here's RPR's yearly look (usually one of our more popular blog entries) at our short list of buzzworthy real estate apps. Or in some cases, apps that can be applied to the real estate biz.

Find Seller Leads with Homesnap Pro's Likelihood to List Scores
Ninety percent of sellers hire the first agent they talk to. Think about that: If you can be the first agent that 10 prospects speak with, you could turn those conversations into nine new clients. The All-New Homesnap Pro gives you an advanced set of new tools so you can find seller leads quickly using expanded data and predictive analytics--all completely free to you as an MLS benefit. Then, you can more narrowly target the homeowners who are qualified seller leads before your competition.

4 Tech Tips Every Agent Should Give Their Clients
Agents often look for technology that can save them time processing transactions so they can spend more time producing new business. But what technology can your clients use to improve their selling or buying experience? Here are four tech tips you can share with your clients, tech advice that can take some of the stress out of buying or selling a home. 1. Faxing without the fax machine Your clients have paper documents you need, but you don't want them wasting their time driving them to you or waiting for the documents to arrive in the mail. Our phones have replaced fax machines, making it easier than ever for your clients to create a PDF from any paper document in a snap. The app stores are full of options, from Genius Scan to Easy Fax, all allowing the instant creation of a compressed PDF that is simple to create and email to an agent quickly. You can even send encrypted PDFs for enhanced security. 2. Connecting to you with a push of a button Today's top real estate apps – from Homesnap to realtor.com, as well as many brokerage apps – allow clients to connect directly to you, their agent. This is the one feature that agents should focus on to encourage clients to download their app and get them engaged. Communication is the number one thing most clients want. Encourage them to use just one app to reach you. It helps and organizes and tracks text conversations in one place. This can be a great time saver for your clients – and you. 3. Organize the house hunt Agents know that their customers are going to visit open houses. Help them better organize their route. Yes, they can use Google Maps to maximize their trip, but there are alternative apps that can automatically build the most efficient route for multiple addresses. These route planning apps can optimize a list of open house visits quickly and easily. Two top options in the app stores include Route4Me and Road Warrior. 4. Checking off the checklist If your firm has a transaction management system, such as Form Simplicity, you understand the value of checklists. Helping your clients keep track of the homes they prefer can be done in most of the leading search apps. However, keeping it simple for your clients with a home shopping checklist might be a more welcome solution for your clients. A house hunting checklist app also helps them use the more logical side of their brain when shopping. Checklists also help clients remember which homes have the key features they really liked. The app stores offer a few solutions. GoCanvas is a business forms app that offers a Home Buyer's Checklist. An app called Checklist allows clients to create their own custom lists and offers a suggested template of items online as well. Finding ways to help reduce the stress many clients experience is important. After all, a recent survey found about 15% of buyers were reduced to tears during the process. Another 20% got in a fight with their spouse or partner. Share these tech tips as another way to make it all a little easier. And remember that if you have access to Tech Helpline, analysts are ready to help you with any tech questions you may have. Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns and operates Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

Using Slack to Help Run Your Real Estate Business
I am a big fan of using the apps that come on your smartphone, but we all need a few extra things to help us be efficient and productive. If you have been following my recent articles on getting the most out of the apps preloaded on the smartphone, you know I love the calendar, contact, reminders and notes available from Apple and Android. But sometimes we need more, and I want to share a few apps over the next few articles that I think can help change the way you do business. Let's start with Slack. I used Slack for about three years and loved it! Slack allows you to have one-on-one conversations or group conversations. Slack, Microsoft Team, Rocket Chat and Mattermost are all communication programs that accomplish about the same task.

Real Estate Smartphone Tricks: Using Your Phone's Calendar
Is it just me or is life more hectic now than ever before? Being self-employed, a contractor and an entrepreneur means our life is filled with appointments, phone calls and to-dos--and that doesn't even include our so-called social life. We need one place to see everything going on in our life, whether it's work or play, and be able to see it quickly. What is the one thing we have with us 99% of the time we are awake? Yes, our smartphone. I travel often and use public restrooms; I learned just because somebody is talking doesn't mean they are talking to you! Embarrassing! Let's talk calendar and how we should start using it effectively. In this series, we will be covering different parts of the smartphone, and I am doing them in order of importance. We started with contacts and now calendar. How in the world do you expect to be organized without having a calendar to keep track of events, reminders and important dates? I believe the two most used calendars are Apple and Google. Many of the tips work for both, and will do my best to explain features. Let's start with a fun one in both calendars. Go to calendar and rotate your phone to landscape. Quickly, you have week view; I use week view regularly. Great thing about both calendars—they sync to all your devices. If your Apple devices don't, go to Settings > Top of screen your name > iCloud > and confirm your calendar is on for iCloud. Love the categories by color feature on both calendars. On Apple, go to your Mac > Calenda r> File > New Calendar and name the calendar. To change color, highlight calendar, Control-Click and tap "Customer Color." On Google, go to Calendar.Google.com and sign in. On the list of current calendars, find other calendars and tap "+" and name and create new category. Once done, click on the three dots and pick a color. Let's put the first three articles to work together. Need to catch up? Take a minute and read the last two articles. First, read my article on Text Replacement. Follow the instructions on how to set up text replacement. Decide how you want to set up what works for you when it comes to contacts. For example, if you wanted to build a shortcut for me, you could either use my initials, db, or my first name, dick (notice no capitalization). Let's say you have a new buyer or listing. Set up a text replacement for each person—I know that sounds like a lot of work, but it's not really when you see how quickly this will help you and amount of time saved. I suggest you go to "Contacts" and add the text replacement shortcut for reference. Back to the calendar. Now every time you do an event, reminder or hopefully anniversary of when you sold them a home, use the text replacement. Both calendars have the search feature. Use the text replacement to see every entry in the calendar for that contact. Speaking of anniversaries, set it up for an annual reminder with maybe a five-day notification so you have time to handle how you contact past clients. Remember all the bells and whistles promised in the calendar part of CRM? I could write about ten more articles about the calendars offered free by Apple and Google, but need to move on. Next article will be all about Apple Notes and Google Keep and information management on your smartphone. Dick Betts is a national speaker, trainer and consultant. Learn more at www.DickBetts.com

What Does Your 'Workbench' Look Like?
Over the weekend, I was working on a few DIY projects. Before I started, I realized that recently I have just been piling up my tools on my workbench, leaving small piles of tools in the house and around the garage. I grab the small piles of tools, carry them to my workbench and drop them, making a bigger pile. I got to thinking about professionals like auto mechanics and folks working in a shop—all their tools are neatly organized and they know where every screwdriver, wrench and pair of pliers are located. Me? Not so much—mine are in a big pile. My first weekend project was replacing the charging cable on my golf cart. Items needed: wire cutters, screwdrivers, ½ wrench, black electrical tape and my ratchet set. It took me 15 minutes digging in the pile to find everything I needed. I thought about the mechanic who has everything in place on a peg board and tool cabinet. He would have a 15-minute head start on my unorganized life, and the job only took 15 minutes! How clean is your digital workbench? So where am I going with this? Pull out your smartphone, open it up and look at your apps. Are they neatly in order like a mechanic's tools, or are they in a pile like my tools? This really makes a difference in productivity and is so easy to correct. You have two options, and they are both right—it's whichever one you feel works best for you: Option One - Decide which apps you use the most and move them to the first page of apps. I personally think page one should be all productivity and the apps needed to support your career, but it's your phone. Either way, start organizing the apps so you quickly can find what you are looking for. Put your most frequently used apps where you can find them quickly. Option Two - Build folders by category. For example, put all social media into a folder, another folder with news, maybe a shopping folder. I use a travel folder with all my hotel, airlines, rental cars, Uber, etc. in one folder. I also use a News folder which saves space. I have over 150 apps on my phone, which is seven pages of apps. Recently, we had a new garage door installed—and of course it has wi-fi. When I downloaded the app, it went to page seven of apps. First time I used it, I had to scan seven pages of apps looking for my garage door app. Yes, I moved it to page two! Discharging smartphone battery myths While we are talking apps and using your smartphone smartly, let's discuss the battery. So many myths out there about batteries and charging, so let's clean a few up: Is it hard on your smartphone battery to charge overnight every night?Answer: NO. Today's technology and batteries are just fine charging overnight. Should I discharge my battery until it's under 50% before charging?Answer: NO. Again, it's not hard on the battery. Plus, it's better to have a fully charged battery available. Does completely draining your smartphone battery hurt battery life?Answer: YES. Smartphone batteries come with a chip to prevent total discharge. This still is not good, as deep drains can shorten battery life. Dick Betts is a national speaker, trainer and consultant. Learn more at www.DickBetts.com

Dictation, One of the Most Underused Features in Apple Notes and Google Keep!
I must admit I often forget about the dictation feature offered on both Apple Notes and Google Keep. Hopefully, sharing this tip and technique will help me remember to use it more, and maybe you also will see the benefits of using dictation with Notes and Keep! I can't tell you if Apple or Keep is the best one for dictation. The only edge I see for me is that I can say, "Siri, make a note" to get started. One of the biggest features with both Notes and Keep is almost instantly it moves from your mobile device to your computer. There, you can work it for punctuation, correct words and turn the dictation into a bunch of different end products: emails, word documents, notes for time and contact management, posts on social media, or just information you want to save in Notes or Keep.

How to Set a Location Reminder in Google Keep
Has this ever happened to you? You are told during the day to stop and pick up milk and bread on your way home. You walk into the house empty handed and you get that look (you know that look) and realize you have screwed up. Without saying a word, you turn around and go to the store. How about the number of times you drive past the dry cleaners or a store you need to stop by and forget to stop? Well today, I am going to change your life with the location reminder setting in Google Keep! As soon as you are asked to pick something up, "Keep" it. Need to drop off dry cleaning? Keep it! Want to remember to pick up something in a town you will be in next month? Keep it.

Homesnap Launches New Net Sheet Calculator: Tell a Seller How Much They Could Make Today
Homesnap has just released a Net Sheet Calculator. With just a few clicks, you can send your clients an easy-to-ready Net Sheet PDF. This PDF includes individual costs, total costs, and net proceeds. You can find this new tool on Homesnap Pro, where you can find the rest of our on-the-go tools.

10 Remarkable Features of the RPR App that Will Increase Your Productivity
Incorporating RPR usage into your daily business activities will help you better serve your clients and close more deals. However, even every day users of RPR may not be aware of all the shortcuts and hidden features that lie within this essential real estate data app. Implement these ten time-saving tips and watch your productivity go through the roof!

Get Ready to Knock Your 2019 Taxes Out Cold with These Apps!
Sometimes in real estate you have to learn to roll with the punches, but other times your success can be assured with a little advanced planning. For tax purposes, that means choosing a good expense-tracking strategy before the year is too far along. So, let's get ready to itemize with this list of popular, well-reviewed expense tracking apps!

[Best of 2018] Get Your Own, Personal Emoji
Here it is—our top article of the year! This article was originally a "Friday Freebie" published back in November and is the most read article of 2018. See #2 here, or read the full list of our Top 10 articles from 2018 here. Want to make an emoji that looks like you in mere seconds? Now you can. This week, Google launched a new feature that uses machine learning to analyze your selfie and generate an emoji that looks just like you. Find out how you can create and customize your own emoji in this week's Friday Freebie.

5 Essential Apps for Real Estate Agents
Before helping a client buy or sell a home, real estate agents must first keep their own organizational houses in order. This requires putting in place the infrastructure you need to meet and communicate with clients, help them find and view the home of their dreams and sign on the dotted line. The best apps for real estate agents will help you check off all these items on your agent to-do list — and more. Keep reading to find out which real estate apps make the cut.

9 Ways Real Estate Agents Can Boost Their Productivity
Real estate agents pack as much into each day as possible — from client meetings to open houses to contracts — all while on the go and from their phones. Every minute made more efficient means more time to spend on lead generation and growth, so anything to help productivity makes a huge difference. Here are nine ways to help you work smarter every single day — plus the apps that'll help you get there:

Get Organized! 6 Business Apps that Can Help
When you're busy, it's easy lose track of important tasks or meetings, documents, and even your sanity! But you don't have to get comfortable with chaos on the job. In fact, you can download the solution to everyday disarray through one of many business organization apps on the market. Read on for a list of the best organization apps for business.

6 Apps to Help You Take Better Listing Photos
Photos are often the first thing a potential buyer sees, and they leave a big first impression — buyers spend just seconds looking at that first photo before deciding whether they're interested. Houses are huge investments, so even if a home looks stunning in person, a bad photo can sour buyers on it instantly. Many real estate agents hire professional photographers and consider the cost to be an investment in their own marketing (and time-saving) that'll pay off in the long-run. Though we encourage agents to bring in outside expertise, we also understand that it's an investment not everyone can make. So if you're playing the part of photographer and agent, check out these tips and apps that you can use to show your listing in the best possible light (there's really an app that can help you find the best light!):

Top Apps for Real Estate Agents and Brokers
To successfully run your real estate business, you need to make sure you're leveraging the right tools so all operations, customer interactions, and daily tasks are contributing to your success. It's not difficult to establish good habits and effective strategies, but consistency in effort and execution is where a lot of real estate entrepreneurs get tripped up. If you are still building your success-oriented habits, you may find that you need some digital help. Here are the top apps that will help you achieve your short-term and long-term goals as a real estate professional.

6 Apps to Close Buyer Clients Faster
Working with home buyers can often be time consuming and frustrating. You may have even seen estimates that home buyers should expect the homebuying process to take a minimum of four months. Experienced real estate agents know there are a lot of steps along the way that can either shorten or (more likely) lengthen this process. However, with the right systems, and six key digital applications, you can speed things up—and free up your time to serve additional clients! Serve More Buyer Clients, Make More Money

[Best of 2017] Hidden Features: 3 Google Maps Tricks Agents Should Know
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published in April and is #3 in our countdown. See #4 here. Google Maps is a free tool with a lot of neat features that real estate agents can appreciate. While we've talked about ways that agents can leverage Google Maps in the past, the program has advanced leaps and bounds since then. Did you know Google Maps offers a personal safety app now? Neither did we. And that's just one example—there's a lot more where that came from. Here's a look at the latest Google Map features you may not have heard of just yet:

3 Exciting New Features Come to the RPR App
Like Realtors®, RPR's app is on the move. Exciting new features have been added to an already robust line-up of available tools. This time, we bring you three adaptations that are certain to make your on-the-go experience more productive and downright easier. And if you haven't already done so, download the free RPR app today. It's an unparalleled platform of property and market data, as well as a reporting tool that allows you to create and send customized client-friendly reports—anytime, anywhere.

4 Free Photo Editing Tools for Real Estate
You are a real estate professional, not a photographer! But as a real estate agent, photos are a huge part of showcasing the homes you sell. With so many photo editing tools at your fingertips, you no longer have to stress about taking the perfect photo or purchasing high-end photography equipment. Although photo editing software can be expensive, there are a few free tools that you can use. This week, I tested four of some of the most popular free photo editing software tools, and here are my thoughts!

9 Mobile Apps that Keep Realtors Safe During Showings
Realtors are increasingly turning to smartphone apps to keep them safe on the job, according to new research. NAR's 2017 Member Safety Report says that 44 percent of Realtors use a smartphone safety app, up from 42 percent in 2016. Real estate agents use these apps to track their location and alert designated contacts in case of an emergency. Women are more likely to use safety apps--48 percent of female agents report that they do, while only 34 percent of men say the same. So which are apps are most popular among Realtors? Here's what NAR's survey says:

8 RPR App Tips and Tricks
You know that little thrill you get when you come across a tip or trick to help make your app experience just a tad more efficient? Like pressing the app button for a shortcut to a favorite feature, or swiping to the left to quickly save for later? Every app has tricks of the trade, yet, for some reason, they don't always appear magically on our radar. This post will give you eight tips to make sure your next RPR app experience is a productive one.

14 Best Apps for Real Estate Agents in 2017
Chances are you're a busy REALTOR® who relies on word of mouth or happenstance to learn about the latest and greatest apps. If so, the RPR team is here for you. Here are 14 top trending real estate apps that we believe will support your core business activities. The list might even include apps for tasks or practices that you have yet to consider or procrastinated on, concerned they are too expensive or too difficult to adopt. Fear not, almost all of these apps are free or have upgrades starting at just $5 a month.

Stitcher: How real estate agents can learn on the go with podcasts that educate and entertain
Aside from Uber drivers and bus drivers, real estate agents may put in more road time than any other profession. And while you're always focused on getting from one place to the next in record time, you may not be handling your drive time as efficiently as possible. This week, we'll talk about the best mobile apps for real estate agents on the go. Check out our first post, where we looked at the Waze app and its Send ETA feature.

The Best Apps For Real Estate Agents
Are you using the latest apps for real estate? If not, you could be falling behind in your business. Watch as Loida Velasquez highlights the must-have apps for working in real estate and how to use them. The sixth app is a total game-changer.

School Report Cuts Sales Cycle in Half
Real estate apps claim to do it all and, most likely, some do. But for this West Michigan Realtor®, the only apps that matter are the ones that save her time and money. "As a Realtor®, I spend a lot of money investing in my business," said Michelle Gordon, Realtor® and founder of The Gordon Group, JH Realty Partners, based in West Michigan. "I need to make sure the tools or apps I buy live up to expectations." Michelle consistently evaluates apps for their ability to produce results and whether or not the data they provide overlaps with another app that she is also paying for. She claims her diligence to protecting dollars spent is one of several reasons she is loyal to the Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) app. "I will no longer pay for vendor tools that attempt to replicate RPR but fall short," she said. "RPR is already paid for in our NAR dues. It offers everything I need to run searches, generate comps and run reports. It doesn't spam me or advertise to me, and is constantly adding new features and tools. What else could I want?" Michelle says that Realtors® only need to ask themselves one question when considering adoption of a new business tool: Does it show value? "All the app needs to do is prove to us that it's going to help us make money and make our life easier. From there, we should be able to put our minds to using it." Yet, she says, many of her contemporaries avoid using real estate apps simply because there are too many choices or they lack the technical know how.

[Infographic] 5 Benefits of the RPR App for Realtors®
Realtor® on the go? There's an app for that. Easily search properties, create and send branded reports, and view local market activity anytime, anyplace with the RPR app. Use your phone's location to view nearby sales activity, or take a deeper dive into any property and view tax, mortgage, historical and distressed data, flood zones, dynamic mapping and more. Built exclusively for REALTORS®, the RPR app offers on-the-go access to a nationwide, parcel-centric database of both residential and commercial properties. Learn more about this valuable member benefit by checking out this simple infographic:

Realtor.com's Mobile App Gets Spiffed Up for Spring
Realtor.com spent the first quarter of this year sprucing up its mobile app for spring. First, the property portal announced two augmented reality features that let smartphone users look up and view listing information via their phone's camera. We told you about that update, but we didn't cover two recent features that really spike the fun factor of the Realtor.com mobile app—both for you and for your clients. Here are two new features you can start using for the selling season ahead: iMessage integration Realtor.com joined the ranks of Zillow and Trulia when they added iMessage integration in February. The integration lets iOS users browse and share recently viewed, saved, and nearby listings right from their phone's text messaging app. Users can preview basic property details like price, square footage, and number of beds/baths with a long press of their device's screen.

Real Estate App Offers Answers to 12 Common Consumer Questions
Providing immediate answers to client concerns and questions, while in the car or at the curb, will turn the tide in any agent's favor. And there's an app for that. Here are the top 12 reported ways that agents use the RPR app to educate buyers. Download the app on your smartphone today and be prepared to respond to your client's questions tomorrow. 1. "How is the market doing?" What Realtor hasn't heard this question while with buyers or in the checkout line at the grocery store? Give them the facts by swiping to the left from your app's home screen. Local Market Conditions will display estimated home values, sale prices, changes in market, and days in RPR. Then ask for their email address and offer to send a Market Activity Report, right then and there. 2. "What other homes are for sale in this area?" Show your client every listing in the area whether by list or map view—within seconds. The app's home screen displays counts for new listings, for sale, recently sold, distressed and for lease properties within a half mile radius by default. Pressing For Sale opens the map that showcases active properties (marked in blue) within a predetermined search zone. Here, press any icon to reveal the property's characteristics (including photos), draw your own map boundaries, or sort your results by up to a dozen unique characteristics. Filter is a good option for narrowing your search by on and off-market properties and listing status. Pro Tip: Want to increase your default search area? Press the gear icon at the top left of your home screen, choose User Settings, and use the sliding scale to set your geographic search zone.

App Alert: Gboard Will Transform Your Mobile Messaging Game
I love my smartphone and all that it lets me do—but if there's one constant gripe I have with it, it's that the copy-and-paste function is a pain in the you-know-what. My fingers are neither lean nor nimble, and trying to drag that tiny tracker around to highlight text is an exercise in frustration. Well, be frustrated no more! Today, we're highlighting one mobile app that will lessen your copy-and-pasting woes and put your messaging game on steroids. Gboard Gboard is a nifty app that replaces your phone's keyboard—and adds in some seriously powerful features. The app lets you search Google right from your text messaging app (or anywhere else you use your keyboard). That means agents can search Google for the address of a restaurant, their office, or other location right from their messaging screen. You don't have to toggle between apps and copy-and-paste it into your text. Simply search and hit 'Share' to automatically copy the address to your message. Gboard will also include a link to the location on Google Maps that your message's recipient can click on to instantly get directions.

Discover MLS-Touch!
Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 10:00 AM PDT MLS-Touch is the application you've been waiting for... and we want to take a few minutes to show you what it can do! MLS-Touch is the most powerful mobile MLS solution packed with features like map search, instant sales comparables, quick access to your listing inventory, email multiple listings and the InstaView which can get you details of the property in front of you instantly. Available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices, this feature-packed mobile application will allow you to research and show homes, respond to information requests, set up future showings, and much more! Register now!

Keep Yourself Trending with the NEW zipForm® Mobile
Monday, March 13, 2017 at 8:00 AM PST Start a Transaction on the Go with the Mobile device of your choice. The new zipForm® Mobile brings many of the zipForm® Plus functions directly to your phone or tablet. Create a New Transaction Add a Template Add Property information Add Parties information Fill in additional information using MLS-Connect (optional) Start a digital signing with both TouchSign® and zipLogix Digital Ink® Register now!

Fall in Love with Snapchat All Over Again!
Let's face facts: Snapchat is not so slowly creeping up and staking a claim as a top social media platform. From the number of new users to the actual amount of time spent on the network per day, the growth story is astounding, making now the time to take advantage of Snapchat's expanding reach! gIn this article, I'll show you how to build your own custom Geofilter that will resonate with millennial audiences, as well as teach you how to harness the power of Snapchat Spectacles to capture engaging, first-person videos to grow your business. Spectacles Another way to have fun with Snapchat while building your business is through the use of Spectacles. What are they? Sunglasses that take videos and upload them directly to your Snapchat story! At the very affordable price of $129.95 they are great for sharing your spring and summer adventures and will change the Snapchat game. Pretty mind-blowing, right? Here's a few ways you can put a real estate twist on these bad boys: Listing Walk Thru Utilize Spectacles to take video as you walk through a listing. You can do this a few days before the listing even hits the MLS to give your audience a sneak preview of what's to come and drum up excitement! Walk through the listing, describe what you see, and Spectacles will automatically upload your video to your story. Just a heads up—each video will only last ten seconds, just like a normal Snapchat video. Piece of cake!

Add Your Entire Listing to Instagram? It Can Be Done!
On February 22, Instagram launched an update that is poised to change the way real estate professionals use the network to help promote listings. Is the suspense getting to you yet? How about now? Okay, okay, I'll tell you what the update is... You can now add multiple photos and videos to the same post! You can post amazing listing photos all in the same piece of content now (and a few more cool ideas, but I'll get to that later). I'll wait for you to scoop your jaw off the floor. Want to know the BEST PART? It's beyond easy; there are no extra steps beyond your normal workflow to post something to Instagram. Here's how to do it; we'll use the example of my dog Ben, because he is cuter than some stock photos of a house. Step 1: Open Instagram as you normally would to post a picture or video. Notice anything different? You now have the option to select multiple photos or videos, as highlighted in red box below. If you don't see it, check your app updates to ensure you have the latest version of Instagram installed.