Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

So we’ve all heard (well almost all of us) about iPad, and now the new iPad2 that is coming out on March 11 (not quite in time for the AAR Winter Conference). And even though Apple came out with the original iPad in April of 2010, with first weekend sales hitting 700,000, less than a year later, they’ve already made improvements and expecting everyone to upgrade.

Why, because their Apple! But some other reasons are that the iPad2 is:

1)      33% thinner and up to 15% lighter

2)      It’s twice as fast with a Dual-core A5 chip running it.

3)      2 cameras. How can you beat this!

But let’s get back to reality with what we have- the original iPad and how we can use it (without the 2 cameras) to help us at the AAR Winter Conference.

1)      Take notes!  This is the coolest thing, whether you type them with a Bluetooth keyboard, the on screen keyboard or by hand writing them! Some cools apps you look at for handwriting are Adobe Ideas (free), Penultimate ($1.99), Note Take HD ($4.99) You can also take notes in the Notes app that comes with your iPad and email them to whomever you wish.

2)      Blog! Let other people know what you are experiencing. There are many places to post your blog and you can do pretty easily from your iPad. Of course check and respond to other blogs to see what other people are experiencing at the conference- in real time!

3)      Email! Not during classes of course, but check and email with multiple accounts. Business, friends and family emails- nobody will know that you’re in Prescott enjoying the pines.

4)      Games! OK, OK… you probably don’t have time for games during the conference, but IF you ever do, DoodleJump (supposedly the most addicting game in the world) (99 cents), Hungry Shark 1 (free- one of my favorites), Glow Draw (free), Angry Birds (free or the full version for $4.99), Pocket God (99 cents), PaperToss (free) or one of the other 65,000 apps made for the iPad. Of course checkers, tic-tac-toe, chess and the other traditional games are there (for free).

5)      Read! iBooks that came with your iPad will allow you to download tons of free books and for a fee, read thousands of other titles.

6)      Business! OK, let’s get back to what we do….Real Estate. Download zipForm® mobile ($9.99/year) and Sign-N-Send ($4.99) and type up those purchase contracts, sign and send off! Who says you need a scanner, printer, fax machine or paper???

7)      Dropbox! Cloud computing is here, which means you can upload files online, and simply download and use on your iPad (or anywhere else). (free up to 2GB)

8)      Online Faxing! Send or receive faxes through your email. (metrofax- $12.95/month)

At 1.33 lbs, or add another .02 lbs for the 3G model, it’s not going to add much weight to your luggage. You truly can do so much during the conference, or any other time with your very cool iPad!

Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

A lot of people have been to the social media classes, only to walk away saying, “OK, so how do I actually make money out of this?”

We all know what a personal Facebook (FB) page is. Personally, I think if you have the time to read about people bragging about what great food they ate last night, how their son pitched a perfect game for the junior high school team, or how a rabbit ran across their yard–all with video–then more power to you. I know I don’t have time to read or write about the things mentioned above, but I do know the facts about Facebook:

- There are more than 500 million active users (the population of the US is just over 300 million).
- 50% of those active users log in daily.
- The average user has 130 friends.
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on FB.
- 150 million active users access FB through their mobile phones.
- And even though this information is over a year old, the majority of users are in the 18-34 age bracket.

Since we know that the majority of FB users are 18-34 year olds, that the average age for a first-time homebuyer is 26 and that we can market to just about every single one of them for FREE on FB, I am sold on the idea of learning some basic techniques to boost my real estate business.

1) Become the communication center of your subdivision. How many neighbors do you know in your subdivision? How many know that you are in real estate? Other than the annual HOA meeting, how is your community informing one another as to what is going on?

This is where you come in–the community REALTOR® and FB expert! Create a fan page for your subdivision, giving information about the community, letting others communicate with each other and posting homes for sale!

2) With an IDX, you can automatically update the homes for sale in the subdivision. Have listings in a subdivision, town or area update with an RSS feed. This will automatically populate as soon as a new listing is put in the MLS!

3) Here are three secrets that can help you stick out from the crowd:

• Change and name the tabs as you like. I named one tab the actual subdivision name and added a PDF tab as well to put in docs.



• Instead of the standard picture, put in a custom one. People will recognize you as the tech REALTOR® who will get their house sold.

• Put out “ads.” These are pay-per-clicks that don’t cost a lot and can bring in extra buyers or sellers.

• Automatically link to Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media websites.

Finally, do not think that you need to spend hours a day on making this and other social media work for you or you will get burned out really quickly. Dedicate 30 minutes a week AT MOST, and you will gain many followers, fans and subscribers. More than that, people who will get to know you as a professional who they can trust!

Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

As a certified zipForm® instructor who has taught this wonderful member benefit program to thousands of agents over the last five years, I have discovered that I use many features as a practicing REALTOR® that a surprising number of agents don’t know about.

Though there are many things I could go over here, as I actually give a three-hour accredited class on every function of zipForm® 6, I want to give you some main pointers that will help you expedite the way you do business, allowing you to be more proficient and professional.

Secret #1: Sync the desktop and online versions

My recommendation is to use the Standard (desktop) version, as you can work with or WITHOUT internet access. With the Professional (online) version, you HAVE to have Internet access to create a form, and your forms will only be saved for 14 months as opposed to having them FOREVER with the desktop version. Now, the good news is that you can have both versions at no charge, and you can sync them with a click of one button! That’s right–on the desktop version,  simply go to 1) File, 2) Manage File, 3) click on “include online files”, then 4) Sync All.

Now you can use both versions if you want to, though I still recommend using the desktop version on your tablet computer so that you can work anywhere in the world and still conduct a transaction.

Secret #2: Eliminate previously typed text from the drop-down menu

I know all agents have mis-typed an address or simply are tired of seeing addresses from several years ago that are now in a long drop-down menu. Well, you can get rid of this! You’ve probably noticed that every time you type something, it will not show up in the drop-down menu on the right side of the fillable field. Have you ever looked on the left side and clicked that question mark?

When you click on that, it will not only give you an explanation of how to fill out the field but will give you the name of the field as well.

Now go to the Edit tool bar and click on LOOK UP FIELDS.

Choose the field name (in this case, “propstret”). All of the previous addresses will appear, and you can add, delete or change them. Be sure to hit SAVE and then CLOSE. You now have your new drop-down menu with the correct information!

Secret #3: Populate information into your forms with MLS-Connect

Though this isn’t really a secret because AAR has made this a free member benefit, the majority of agents still don’t know about the wonderful feature known as MLS-Connect. With one click (and Internet access), you can now populate the address, APN#, city, county, ZIP code and listing agent information. AAR is working on adding the legal description as well in the near future.

This is how you do it:

Go to the Tools tool bar and click on MLS-Connect.

After setting up your RETS number with your MLS, put in the MLS number, click Find and voila! It will now find all the information about the listing and populate your documents.

I used to be able to type up an offer in about five minutes with the use of templates, but now I can do it in about three minutes! Feel free to join me in my next zipForm® 6 C/E class to get all the tricks and “secrets” to using this valuable program.

Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

As a REALTOR®, you realize how important it is to have Internet access at all times–f or email, for zipForm® 6 Professional (online), online faxing, accessing MLS and the numerous other applications that require the use of Internet access.

As you are not always at home or at the office, outside Internet connectivity becomes increasingly important. There are several different ways to get Internet access:

1. WiFi. This works just like your wireless router at home, where you don’t have to be connected, yet you can get high-speed internet access. There are many “hot spots” around the country, some free and some not. Sky Harbor Airport, Paradise Bakery and Starbucks are just a few of the places that give free Internet access. Others are encrypted, meaning you need to pay an hourly, daily or monthly fee to get Internet access. Almost all computers built in the last four years have WiFi access built into them, so you just search for the signal and connect.

2. Broadband cards. If you don’t want to rely on someone else’s signal or drive around to find a place that will give you that signal, you can use a broadband Internet access card. These will run you about $60 a month through a cell phone carrier, but unless you’re grandfathered in from when it used to be unlimited Internet access, most companies put a limit on how much you can use per month. As you don’t really know how much you are using, this can add up pretty quick if you’re downloading lots of songs and movies.

3) Data packages. Cell phone carriers also allow you to put a data package on your phone. You must understand that there are two different packages–one for your phone data (emails and Internet on your phone) and another package that allows you to use your phone as a modem to hook up to your computer so that your computer can get Internet access. There are two separate fees, so it can get pretty expensive.

There are some secrets out there that will help you save a lot of time and money that the cell phone carriers don’t mention or you have to do some searching to find.

Secret #1. You can go to www.junefabrics.com to pay a one-time small fee to download an app for your phone that will turn your phone data plan into a modem, which allows you to get Internet access on your computer. It’s nice–easy, inexpensive and (after the initial download) free! (Not all phones are covered, and some plans to charge extra for the privilege.)

Secret #2. Depending on what phone you’re using, there is an app to turn your smart phone into a mobile WiFi hot spot. This will allow you to search the Internet connections in the area from your computer, and as one will be your phone that is now broadcasting a WiFi signal, you can log on to that encrypted, secure Internet access point. You can also give out your code to 10 other people, and they can also log on to your phone! iPod Touch, computers, iPods and any other device searching for a WiFi signal can now use your phone to get Internet access. (Putting on multiple users will slow down the connection. Check with your cell phone carrier as usage charges may apply.)

Just like your cell phone has dead zones, broadband cards and using your phone as a modem will also have dead zones, but with my Windows-based HTC smart phone, I almost always have a high-speed Internet connection that will allow me to work in my car, at a hotel (that charges $15/day for Internet connection) or any place else where I don’t want to rely on finding an encrypted signal.

You can find a related story, “Tech Tools for the Mobile REALTOR®: Mobile Computers & Wireless Networking,” in the July issue of Arizona REALTOR® Magazine.

Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

When I created the Ultimate Paperless Office, allowing me to conduct a real estate transaction from anywhere in the world without the use of a fax machine, printer, scanner and – the best part – with NO PAPER, there were a couple of programs that were absolutely essential to me.

One of them was a professional PDF writer program. In general, we need this sister program of a PDF reader, which only allows you to read a PDF file, in order to convert ANYTHING on your screen into the PDF file format. This puts the content in a secure, universal file format that anybody can download and read for free. Plus, creating fillable PDF documents allows your client to type on them, just like on zipForm® documents. As you know, most brokers have not converted their own company-specific documents into zipForm®, so changing them to a fillable PDF is essential to making the document uniform and professional looking.

There are free PDF writer programs, including the limited version that comes with zipForm® 6, that allow us to convert documents into PDFs, but there are so many other things we can do with a full professional program. Have you ever wanted to:

1)      Extract pages from a multiple-page document?

2)      Merge, switch around or rotate documents?

3)      Highlight where your client has to sign on the contract?

4)      Put a short sale/escrow # on all pages at once?

5)      Create fillable PDF documents so that other people can type on a page?

6)      Type directly onto ANY PDF document?

A professional PDF writer program allows me to do this and much more, including:

1)      Receive a 20-page fax and pull out just the BINSR so that I can send it to my broker.

2)      Rotate a received fax document that came in upside down.

3)      Reorder the pages in an online faxed document.

4)      Highlight items, create a text box showing clients where to initial or draw a circle on the document. These are visible in the document but don’t have to show when it is printed out.

5)      Insert the short sale number on each page of the document as simply as adding a header or footer in a Word document.

6)      Take ANY document and allow my client to type on it.

7)      Type in my broker information.

This will save you a lot of time and energy – and prevent you from printing out any pages!

I mentioned that there are free PDF writer programs available, such as www.cutepdf.com or www.win2pdf.com, which will do only one thing – convert any document into a PDF. But to do the rest of the things mentioned above, we need to use a professional PDF writer program. Though I previously used Adobe Acrobat Pro, I have switched over to Nitro PDF. Not only is it 1/5 the price, but it doesn’t have the glitches that Adobe has, is MUCH easier to use and does about twice as much.

A professional PDF writer program is what every REALTOR® needs as a tool in their business.

Posts by "Jeffrey Raskin" http://www.technology4re.com Jeffrey Raskin, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in Business Management, has been actively practicing in the real estate industry since 2000 and is an associate broker in Scottsdale. Jeffrey is also a real estate technology instructor who brings his field-tested techniques and systems to others REALTORS® with an easy-to-understand delivery. A certified zipForm® instructor and senior GRI instructor, he is also accredited by the Arizona Department of Real Estate to teach technology classes. Learn more at www.Technology4RE.com.

Being a REALTOR® for the last ten years, I have looked at quite a few contact database systems developed specifically for us REALTORS® and have come to the conclusion that the best one by far is Microsoft® Outlook®. The reason: in one convenient location, I can see ALL my emails, my calendar and my contact database–and they all sync together and can be merged with the drag-and-drop function.

So let’s discuss the top tips to put this all into play:

1) Create a systematic filing system in the inbox. My filing system is very simple and extremely effective. Right click  on the inbox and choose New Folder, then name your first folder real estate. Right click on the newly created real estate folder and create a systematic filing system where you will keep all correspondence for an individual’s transaction. My filing system for a buyer would look like this: real estate –> current –> buyer –> jones. I would drag and drop all emails received from the title company, lender, cross-sale agent, the client and from myself in that folder. Never lose an email again, because after close of escrow (COE), you will simply move that jones folder into past.

2) Once you receive that initial email asking for a meeting, after starting a folder as described above, drag it into the calendar. This will open up an appointment where you can:

1. Color code the category as possible client.
2. Put in the subject line with the event.
3. Put in the location.
4. Put in start and end times.
5. Keep detailed notes of your conversation.
6. Put in enough time to remind you of the appointment.

Once you save and close the appointment, you can drag it into a different time slot or day if the appointment changes. You can also drag the box to make the appointment shorter or longer.

As the transaction progresses, change the color coding of the category (to current client and, eventually, to past client). You can also put in multiple categories to put them on several lists, such as monthly email, good referrer, etc.

Here’s where the trick comes in. Take the timelines of the contract that you have to remember–such as the inspection period (10 days after acceptance), loan documents coming in (35 days after acceptance), signing at the title company (3 days later), close of escrow (2 days later)–and as you’re dragging them to the dates you need them completed by, push the Ctrl button simultaneously, which will create a copy of your appointment. That way, you will always know what you did in the past. Now you can just change the subject line of the event in the new day and add updated comments as the transaction progresses. At the end, click the Recurrence button to remind you of COE every year.

3) Drag the same email you started with to the Contacts section, where it will open up a new v-card (virtual card). As the name and email address will be auto-filled for you, simply fill out the rest of the information by typing in, or by dragging and dropping, the information in the Notes section in the respective fields (Mobile, Home, etc.). Copy and paste the last notes from the calendar section for this client to the v-card, add in a picture and the Details, even attach the HUD1 or the contract, and now you have an extensive contact card on this client. Sync this to your smart phone, and every time they call, you will not only be able to see their name but have a picture of them in front of the house, their executed contract and the notes you took throughout the process!

Everything is a drag-and-drop feature in Microsoft® Outlook®, including adding documents to an email instead of using the Paperclip –> Browse function. Outlook® does not have a monthly charge, and as they update the software maybe once every four years, it really is not a lot of money to get this most comprehensive and easy-to-use program on your computer. A little bit of practice and playing around to adjust the view to your own comfort, and you will become an Outlook® master.