I think Broker Bryant and I were on the same "Virtual" kick today. I couldn't let this one get by..because he get's it!! The Virtual Real Estate Office business model is here, andf those that embrace it will continue to evolve with the technology!
Enjoy!
Hi folks. Earlier this week Fernando Herboso wrote a post titled “The Future of Real Estate….I experienced yesterday”. If you haven’t already please take a few minutes to read his post. I’ll wait…………. OK....are you done?
Fernando's post is talking about having a real estate closing where the only time he met the Seller was at closing. The transaction was done mostly via email.
I was surprised in the comments of Fernando’s post how many agents thought this was risky or that it wouldn’t work. This has had me thinking for days now.
It’s made me realize how cutting edge my business model really is. My company Tutas Towne Realty is a virtual real estate business. What this means is I do not have an “office” and about 90% of my business is handled over the Internet. Selling and buying real estate with folks we have never met or spoken to.
In the last 30 days we had 10 closings. 9 Buyer sides and 1 listing side. Of the 9 Buyer sides we had actual "face to face" contact with ONE Buyer. I did meet the Seller although I hadn’t seen him in several months.
Out of the 8 Buyers, we didn’t meet face to face, we only spoke to ONE of them. All other communications were done by email only. Including the closings.
We showed ZERO properties before the offers were accepted. All offers were presented on properties we had not seen. They were foreclosures, short sales and some were regular listings.
The customers ALL got the properties they wanted and are extremely happy. We didn’t waste their time and they didn’t waste ours.
So you’re probably wondering how we do this. It’s simple. We market for experienced and qualified Buyers that are mostly out of the country. They are familiar with the area and they trust us to guide them in their purchase. We are brutally honest with them and we have systems in place to protect them.
We do “see” all properties before contracts are finalized. It could be me. It could be one of my agents. It could be one of our inspectors. But whoever it is we make sure to do a complete photo and video shoot that we then send to the Buyer.
We utilize Scribd.com to “send out” Short Sale Listing Packages.
We utilize Google Docs to get leads for Short Sales, for Buyers, to get offers and to pre-qualify and arrange showings.
I have numerous web sites set up to capture business. All potential customer/clients know how we work and have the option of not working with us.
So quit fighting the future and embrace it. If you think all Buyers and Sellers must see you “face to face” to do business then get over yourself. They really just want to buy and sell real estate. AND….they want it to be easy.Want to learn more? We also use Google Docs for recruiting……
Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.comhttp://ShortSaleSuperStars.com
***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***
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I am the CEO of Creative Agent Solutions.com. My team and I assist real estate professionals in implementing online marketing strategies, Wordpress, social media, and business systems to catapult exposure and dominance in their marketplace, while focusing on productivity and the bottom line.
Copyright 2010 Laura Monroe | Real Estate Virtual Assistant
Creative Agent Solutions.com 916.343.3823
Hi Laura. I LOVE this post!!! Oh wait.....it's mine!! OK I still love it.
When I was thinking about writing this post I was trying to remember the last time I actually had to leave my house and I couldn't!! I love doing business virtually.
Okay Laura...
Now you got me all confused. I thought I was seeing double on account of the meds :)
TLW...ROAR!
HA! You two KILL me..! I think we all just love working in our bunny slippers, and dressing up in drag when no one is looking! (just kiddin) LOVE you both!
I have 2 current clients I have never met. One I manage a property for. We "speak" best by email because there is a little language barrier. The other one I have listed his property but we've never met. Virtual works great for me.
Virtual is not where it's going, it's where we are already at. I love to hear about agents who are embracing this philosophy!
~Renae
Laura - Great post ! Broker Bryant rocks. Is amazing how things can be done virtually. We do a lot of our business via email and Internet as well.