Top Mobile Apps for Real Estate: Tried, Tested & True & The New Kids on the Block

It is that time again - time to review the most popular mobile apps for real estate. Those apps that have come out on top as the best for research, time management, marketing, organization or communication. Some of the ones on this list are old faves - faves that seem to make it to the top of the list time and time again. Others are new to the stage, but are full of promise!

Research Apps

1. Google Maps – this is a great app that can be used as a GPS. You can view street view and aerial imagery of different neighbourhoods and use the GPS feature to navigate from property to property. Looking at an overhead view of a neighbourhood can enable you to plan routes where you can pass amenities that your client would be interested in.

2. GeoWarehouse – Access the GeoWarehouse application from your tablet to research a property, generate sales comparables, view sales history, verify legal owners and legal descriptions, financial encumbrances, neighbourhood demographics, request instrument images, condo certificates, surveys and more…

Marketing Apps

3. Mail Chimp – This is a platform that enables you to create your own branded emails and newsletters and market them to your email lists.

4. Social media – Make sure you have downloaded apps for the social media sites you use frequently. This is important because some sites like Facebook require that you download a secondary app to manage your business page.

5. Communication Apps – Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp, and/or Facebook Messenger all offer apps that make it effortless to have free video and telephone calls with your customers.

6. LightTrac – This app enables you to be more aware and have more control over lighting conditions so that you can plan to take your photos at optimal times - not to mention plan showings around the optimal times of day.

7. Majic Plan – This mobile app enables you to create floor plans quickly and easily using the camera on your mobile device.

8. Create your Own Mobile App - Use this service to create your own mobile app: http://www.biznessapps.com/realtor-iphone-app.php.

9. Netfirms – You can use this site to host, create and market your own website affordably.

Apps that Make Calculations

10. Mortgage calculator app – there are tons of them and it is a huge benefit to have one downloaded. Clients may want your help to crunch numbers to see what price points of homes they can afford.

11. Land transfer tax calculator – RateHub has a really great land transfer tax calculator that you can use to quickly estimate municipal and provincial land transfer taxes: https://www.ratehub.ca/land-transfer-tax-ontario .

Organizational/Document Management Apps

12. Dropbox – This a crucial app that makes storing files securely in the cloud easy. Using Dropbox enables you to access documents from anywhere. You can also email your clients links to documents and even the ability for them to upload documents to your Dropbox.

13. Evernote – This is another app that enables you to organize and store documents and notes. They offer a number of industry specific products including real estate.

All-in-one Apps

14. ViMO – this is a real estate specific app that is really an all-in-one app because it does many things under the above categories in the same app. You can: 

• Market your listings – through CRM functionality, market insight reports and through posting your   listings

• Research properties – check sales comps, registered owners, encumbrances, sales history and more

• Research areas – pull demographics, view neighbourhood trends and sales

• Administer documents – create and sign documents electronically

• Communicate – send messages and documents to other ViMO users and more

When it comes to doing things on the go, this list of the top mobile apps for real estate is a great way to have everything in one place, there when you need it. In the competitive industry that is real estate, the only way to compete it to be the best.

These apps help. Visit www.myvimo.ca today. 

The Paperless Acquisition, Interview and New Client Engagement

This is the story of Steve. Steve is a real estate sales professional in Mississauga, Ontario. Steve has gone paperless by transforming his marketing from conventional marketing to 100% digital, and has made the interview and process of engagement completely paperless! Here is Steve’s Story.

Part of Steve’s new digital plan was to create a presence on Facebook and focus on developing that presence including marketing his listings using paid advertising. After starting this marketing, Steve was contacted by a client via Facebook message.

The client was interested in listing their home and buying another one. They asked Steve to come out and meet with them. Steve requested some preliminary information from the client and set up a time to meet.

At the meeting Steve dazzled the client, showing them a selection of properties on his tablet using his ViMO app.

·        The client indicated which properties they wanted to Steve and so Steve sent messages to the real estate sales professionals on the other side to make appointments to see the properties.

·         Next, Steve and the client looked at comparable properties that had sold in the area to come up with a good list price for the client’s home they wanted to sell.

·         Steve did a walk around of the property, snapping photos throughout for the listing.

·         Steve prepared the listing and representation agreement on his tablet and had the client sign using their finger, electronically.

The following day, Steve heard back from all the other real estate sales professionals representing clients who were selling properties that Steve’s client had wanted to see. Steve followed up with his client and took them out to see some homes.

On the road, Steve and his client passed a property that appeared to have just come up for sale. Steve pulled over, and using his tablet and ViMO app again, scanned the property using the camera on his tablet and generated all of the property’s information for the client.

Later that day, the client found a property that they liked and wanted to make an offer on. Steve pulled out his tablet and again checked his ViMO app to see sales comparables in the area relevant to the property his client was interested him and noted that this listing was $30k over value.

At the local Tim Hortons, Steve and his client had lunch and Steve prepared the offer electronically to sign up with the client again, electronically.

And so the story goes….

As you can see by Steve’s story, going paperless is not so difficult and just really depends on what tools you have to get the job done. Steve’s use of his tablet and mobile app made him significantly more efficient and streamlined the process making it more time efficient for him and his client.

Going paperless doesn’t have to mean more work, but it can mean more sales for you. Visit www.myvimo.ca today to find out more.

How to Help Your Client Avoid a Bad Morning After

There are definite reasons why spring is a hot time in the real estate business. The weather is usually nice, it is easy to view properties and you can see everything than may have been hidden for the last few months. Clients may opt to wait out of concern that it can be difficult to see what is under the cover of snow, and not just as it relates to the property your client wants to look at but also as it relates to adjacent properties.

One way to overcome the objection that a client wants to wait until spring to buy is to point out that you can show them what is under the cover of snow.

There are many ways that you can do this but the real estate tools in your arsenal are important.

Google Street View – You can Google the address, click maps and then drop the little man icon onto the street to do a virtual walk down the street and look at the property in question from the street and also adjacent properties.

Another thing you can do on Google is just perform a general search of the property address. 

The beauty of social media is that the owners may have posted photos of the property in different seasons. Additionally, it may have been listed in the past and if the other real estate sales professionals didn’t delete the listings everywhere they listed, there may still be photos available online – photos you don’t have. A quick check can sometimes yield a goldmine.

Skip a step - Online tools like GeoWarehouse and mobile apps like ViMO enable you to instantly generate exterior imagery of the subject property and also aerial imagery. Some of this imagery comes from Google so you can actually skip the step of looking at the property on Google because you can access the same imagery here.

Aesthetic issues such as landscaping aren’t as concerning because they can be changed by the new homeowner. However, issues such as what the deck looks like and things/structures that may exist that are below the snow may be more concerning.

The last thing you want your client to do is purchase a home, take possession and once the snow melts, discover some unsightly attribute of the property which is costly to resolve. Or worse, something that exists on an adjacent property that presents major issues.

On the sell side, you can show your client things they may not be able to see, such as a ravine or golf course that a property backs onto, which may just look like a wall of white in the winter. Or maybe a driveway is larger than it looks because some of it is under snow.

The more you can do for/show your customer, the more value you provide. Being able to access imagery and show your clients everything they need to know about a potential property, sets the stage for a buying decision!

Don’t let concerns about snow coverage convince a buyer they need to wait. Give them the info they want and need to make a purchase no matter the season. For more information, visit www.myvimo.ca today.

Real Estate Marketing 101: Make Sure Your Properties Are Listed Everywhere

It’s difficult to refute that marketing by far is one of the most important aspects of a real estate sales professional’s business. Marketing both to generate leads from the public directly and from referral sources will make or break your success. After all, without clients there is no business.

One very important aspect of real estate marketing is ensuring that your listings get the maximum exposure possible!

This means more than just ensuring that your listings appear on your website and the MLS. Promoting listings doesn’t just promote the property being sold but also promotes you! Your goal should be to ensure that your listing appears everywhere. Everywhere doesn’t just mean in local newspapers and using conventional marketing. Everywhere means taking advantage of digital media and real estate specific mobile apps to market your listings to the highest number of people and referral sources possible.

Here are some tips to affordably market your listings:

·         Social Media – Share your listings in your social networks and on other social networks, real estate groups on Facebook as an example

·         E-Newsletters – E-alert your contacts each and every time you have a new listing. This can be achieved through mobile apps like ViMO and to your email lists using mailer applications like MailChimp

·         Real estate mobile apps – Ensure that your property is listed on mobile apps like ViMO. Many real estate sales professionals that represent buyers don’t just peruse the MLS systems anymore. They also look for listings on their real estate apps to find out about hot opportunities for their clients.

·         Pay-per-click marketing – Historically this type of marketing has been facilitated by Google. The challenge for smaller real estate sales professionals is that this can be expensive because real estate is so competitive which can drive up the cost per click. In recent years Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have all launched pay-per-click marketing programs that are far less expensive than Google. Also, you can target by area and prospect characteristics - so for example you can ensure that your ad or listing only shows to particular people, in particular ages, in a particular area. Here are some links for more information about social PPC marketing:

o   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/business 

o   Twitter: https://biz.twitter.com/ad-products 

o   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/ads/

Online and mobile app marketing has really leveled the playing field, making it easier for real estate professionals to market more cost effectively than traditional conventional marketing. Leveraging digital marketing platforms, social media and mobile apps the sky is the limit and you have complete control over how much exposure your listings get.

Want more information on how an app like ViMO can help you market more effectively? Visit us at www.myvimo.ca.  If you’d like information about how to list a property in ViMO, here is a user guide to help you get started: http://myvimo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Add%20Listing%20in%20CREA%20DDF-4%20-%20updated%2011172014_Agent.pdf. 

Training time: How to Use Augmented Reality in ViMO

Hey ViMO users - Its training time!! By now you are likely getting your feed wet learning about how to use all the powerful and amazing functionality offered by the ViMO mobile app!

If you haven’t played with the feature yet, Augmented Reality enables you to stand in front of a property and using the camera in your tablet scan the front of the property to perform a real-time search that will produce an abundance of information about the property that you can share with your client.

Here is a quick training video that explains step-by-step how to use the Augmented Reality feature in ViMO. After watching the video if you still have questions feel free to each out to us at vimo.training@teranet.ca or call 1-855-999-8466 ext. 2224.

    

Electronic Document Signing in 1-2-3…

As of July of this year you can sign your real estate documents electronically! This is an exciting advancement in the real estate biz because it stands to dramatically increase the efficiency of real estate sales professionals.

Now that you can sign documents electronically – how will you do it?

You may be thinking – yay, now I can email documents to clients to be signed… but let’s also think about face-to-face interactions with clients and how we can leverage electronic document signing to enhance their experience.

Our first piece of advice: get a tablet! This will make you be able to do far more on the go and you can incorporate this very useful mobile device into your client meetings – even as it relates to signing your documents electronically.

Depending on the document and the circumstances, in some instances you will need to meet the client, not only to negotiate initial agreements but also to verify their identity, interview them and perhaps view their home or take them out to see other homes.

This is your first opportunity to impress. Now you can pull out your tablet and use ViMO (which by the way can also be used to verify identification) and create listing and representation agreements with the client. With a swipe of a finger, the client can sign them and then you can email the client a copy.

Effortless – no more reams of papers, having to scribble changes on pre-prepared forms at meetings, no more sorting out copies for your clients.

Now you have landed the client! In the case of a buyer, you take them out on the road to see properties. Using your ViMO app you can research listings in the area that match your client’s criteria and contact the other agent electronically through the app to arrange the appointment.

First house, bam – your client wants to make an offer.

Now you can use your ViMO app to create the offer. Again, your client can sign with the swipe of their finger and again you can transmit the documents through ViMO to the other real estate sales professional (assuming they are a ViMO user).

There are different tools that you can use to sign real estate documents electronically. Looking at different apps and what they offer and using them with other apps that perform various functions that you have to complete over the course of your job can streamline and reduce the number of apps you need on your tablet.

If you would like more information about how to sign real estate documents electronically in ViMO here is an e-book that walks you through, step by step, including print screens illustrating how you can create and sign your documents right on your tablet http://myvimo.ca/free-e-book-electronic-documents-in-real-estate/.

Not a ViMO user? Find out more about this revolutionary mobile app for real estate at www.myvimo.ca.

Tablets to Replace Laptops in Real Estate?

When we look at how technology has evolved over the past 20 years – real estate professionals have gone from an entirely paper-based process, to having computers in their offices, to having laptops, to today, where smartphones and tablets are small, lightweight devices that can fit in one’s purse or briefcase and are a convenient way to work on the go.

Professionals have slowly moved towards this technology – but as with anything there is a learning curve so some have taken some time to be swayed over to the mobile device “dark side” - although it is far brighter than that!

Gartner Inc. is one of the world’s leading IT research and advisory companies. They routinely release data with respect to the use of devices. In 2013, they issued a press release that looked at the previous 2 years of device usage and also forecast based on their trends and data, what device usage would look like over the next few years. Here is what they found:

Device Type	2012	2013	2014	2017
PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)	341263	315229	302315	271612
Ultramobile	9822	23592	38687	96350
Tablet	116113	197202	265731	467951
Mobile Phone	1746176	1875774	1949722	2128871

Source: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2408515

As you can see, tablet use quadrupled over the last few years

In real estate the above trends echo what we see and hear at shows and from clients – many real estate professionals are now using tablets like their iPad to facilitate their mobile office while on the road. Gone are the days of driving back and forth to the office performing research and signing documents because using a tablet, all work functions can be performed from anywhere there is an internet connection.

Are you one of those individuals who is slightly overwhelmed by the thought of trying to do more on your tablet or simply would like some tips on how to choose and use different mobile apps? Here are some tips for getting started using a tablet in real estate.

Choose the right tablet. Training should be a consideration. For example – if you buy an Apple iPad you can go to any Apple store and receive help setting up your tablet and understanding its basic functionality.

Download industry specific apps. In real estate there are many service providers that have come out with mobile apps to make their services more accessible.

Some must have apps and why:

·         Evernote with Penultimate – this will enable you to make freehand notes on your tablet and keep documents organized

·         Dropbox – this will help you send and receive large files and store this data

·         ViMO – this app is only available to GeoWarehouse customers and enables you to research properties, market to clients and administer documents and other functions electronically

·         Social media – if you market actively on social media make sure you have all social site apps added to the phone to keep on top of your connections’ questions and comments. Where Facebook is concerned, make sure you have downloaded the Page Manager app to manage your business pages from your smartphone (this is different from the main Facebook app download)

·         House preview apps – there are many great apps for recording properties and loading up virtual tours of your listings

Mobile is here to stay. The faster you learn how to leverage mobile technology the faster you can adapt and become more competitive. For more about ViMO please visit www.myvimo.ca.

Real Estate Marketing 101 – Pinterest for Real Estate…

When we think about social media for marketing we often think of the big 3 – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, a number of other social sites and applications like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Vine and more have emerged as excellent places for real estate sales professionals to market themselves.

We created this infographic to help you better understand how you can leverage Pinterest to promote yourself and your client’s listings. We hope you enjoy!

If you would like more information about other mobile tools and apps for real estate that you can use to not only market properties but also research them, visit www.myvimo.ca or follow us: Twitter: @myvimo, Facebook: facebook.com/myvimo. 

Real Estate Lead Nurturing Tips

It is undeniable that real estate is one of the most competitive industries to work in. When it comes to marketing, costs often run much higher because there are so many professionals who sell real estate, thereby driving up the cost of advertising.

The big players who have deep pockets to spend can dominate, so it is crucial that when we think of the leads we generate we don’t only think of them at the time we generate them – but instead continue to think of them moving forward.

Lead nurturing is critical.

The cost of acquisition is high and not every person who responds to your advertising is necessarily ready to buy or list their property. Homeowners seek out information at different stages in the buying cycle, which in the case of real estate would begin with thinking about buying or selling a home.

Just because a prospect provides their email address or, in the case of representing a buyer, goes out to see properties with you, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ready to buy.

It is imperative to stay on top of your client, remaining fresh and relevant in their mind. You can do this by ensuring that when you do reach out to them you are providing some value so they want to hear from you and receive your email – whether or not they are ready to engage you at this moment.

This can be done through the production of content that matters. A great example of this is leveraging features in your tools like ViMO. The Market Intelligence Report is customizable and leverages land registry data to keep prospects informed about recent sales activities and neighbourhood trends. This is an example of something you can generate and send to clients that provides them with information they are interested in and keeps you fresh in their mind.

You may also choose to offer something like this as a secondary call to action on your website. A client who is not yet ready to buy may be interested in subscribing to receive a Market Intelligence Report in their particular neighbourhood or another neighbourhood that they are interested in.

When you have content that offers value – the sky is the limit and there are so many ways that you can leverage it.

Lead nurturing means making the most out of new leads generated but we should never forget about the value of your existing client base. Ensure that all leads are entered into your CRM and that you have a plan for nurturing them. These should include not only prospects whose emails are new acquisitions but also existing customers. Your existing client base represents your promotors and should be considered a free sales team - never mind the fact that they may need to buy or sell a home in the future – they also can refer friends and family to you. The beauty of this referral business is that there is no cost of acquisition and the client comes in recommended to you already.

To summarize – good lead nurturing means:

1.    Having a secondary point of contact on your website to convert clients who may not be ready to engage you and including an offer of some form of content of value

2.    Having a plan to nurture leads that features more value content. What are you going to send them on an ongoing basis to keep you fresh in their minds?

3.    Don’t forget about the existing client base – they are still leads too!

ViMO can help you when it comes to lead nurturing. Find out more at www.myvimo.ca.

2 Months Post Electronic Document Signing Has Come into Law – Are You More Paperless?

All good things come in time and as you likely known, Ontario has joined the rest of Canada amending the Electronic Commerce Act to allow for the electronic signing of documents in real estate. You can reference the Act here: Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 17 | Ontario.ca http://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e17#s31s1.

In a nutshell, what this means is that if you work in real estate your clients can now sign documents, such as purchase and sale agreements, listing agreements, representation agreements and more, electronically. Many real estate documents involve offers and counter offers and so this change will make negotiating real estate contracts for easier and less user intensive.

Real estate processes and workflows have largely gone in the digital direction in recent years. So many activities, from property searches to performing due diligence, largely occur online and results are stored electronically. The real estate industry can now join the many others, like the mortgage industry, in a move towards paperless.

Now, instead of having to create paper files for customers and keep track of signed documents, you can ask your client to sign electronically and these documents can be stored on your computer along with other digital files you have associated to the client.

Some real estate sales professionals have commented in social groups that they enjoy their face-to-face interaction of meeting with clients and fear that electronic document signing could reduce this aspect of the real estate sales process. However, taking advantage of electronic signing of real estate documents doesn’t mean that you have to have them electronically signed by email.

When meeting a new client and collecting identification and other pertinent documents, you can use mobile apps for real estate like ViMO to review the documents together on your tablet with the client signing on the tablet, vs. having pre-prepared forms.

This change also makes it much easier to stay organized and put together records. You know that often when meeting a client and reviewing pre-prepared forms, clients will want to make changes and adjustments. Now you can simply apply those changes to the documents directly on your tablet vs. marking up all of the documents, turning them into a scribble pad.

While some real estate sales professionals are buzzing with excitement over the changes and are taking steps to go paperless, others are not even aware of the change to the law and all the potential benefits that it means.

Do you see the changes to the Electronic Commerce Act as a positive change for the real estate industry? Tweet us at @myvimo or comment on Facebook at www.facebook.com/myvimo.

Interested in signing documents electronically – find out about the ViMO mobile app for real estate by visiting www.myvimo.ca.

Is Canada in a Recession Again?

This seems to be the question of the moment. We began the year with extremely low oil prices which had major impacts on the economy and dollar. In January of this year, the BOC reacted to the performance of the Canadian economy and reduced the key lending rate by .25%, making it .75%.

Coming into June, Reuters reported that “Canadian home prices rose to a record high in June from a month ago, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, and were up strongly from a year ago as Toronto and Vancouver held momentum, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed on Tuesday.”

In the lead up to the scheduled July of 2015 Bank of Canada rate announcement, many economists began to comment strongly on the state of the Canadian economy. Most were calling for and even predicting another rate cut while at least one publication reported that a TDCT economist went as far as to say that in the first half of 2015, Canada was in a recession.

In July’s rate announcement, the Bank of Canada, while not agreeing that Canada was in a recession, did drop the key lending rate a second time for 2015 by another of .25% making it only .5%.

The BOC’s reasoning behind the rate cut – short points:

·         Global growth faltered specifically in the US and China – this has dragged down the price of some commodities that are important to the exports.

·         Downgrades in business investment plans in the energy sector and weak exports of the non-energy commodities were also strongly considered.

The BOC admits that in the first half of 2015 Canada’s GDP did contract, however they believe that growth will resume coming into the second half of the year – primarily in the non-resource sector of the economy. Aside from the energy sector, consumer confidence remains high and labour markets continue to improve.

If Canada is not in a recession but is headed in that direction, what impact would a shift in supply and demand mean to the real estate industry? As it stands the small decreases in Canada’s lending rate should have the trickledown effect of making it cheaper to buy a home.

Even with most of the banks, economists were in agreement in July that Canada could be headed for a recession if not facing one already, yet Canada still saw strong home sales for the 6^th time in a row in June.

There is no doubt that reducing the interest rate is one way to stimulate the economy, and, where housing is concerned, make it more affordable to buy. With that said, Canada’s lending rate coming down to .5% does not give much room to move moving forward. What’s your take? Do you think that poor performance in other sectors of the economy will eventually have a spillover effect into the Canadian housing market?

Share your thoughts by tweeting @myvimo or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/myvimo. For more information about ViMO please visit www.myvimo.ca. 

Investment Power: How You Can Quickly Show Client Investment Potential

Many, many people who like to buy real estate do so for investment reasons. A home purchase as we all know – I know, I know, you’ve heard it before – is likely the single greatest investment most Canadian families will make in their lifetime. However, for some there is the investment that is our home and then there is investing in secondary real estate or a purchase for the sole purpose of making money.

Regardless of the client you are representing, you will always want to highlight the investment potential in any property, where this potential exists, etc., but how can you identify if a property is or is not a good investment?

·        What is happening in the neighbourhood: who lives there, what is their income scale, types of families, how much has it changed, is it going through changes? All of this can be learned through generating past, current and future demographic reports. A neighbourhood, good or bad, can make or break an investment - not to mention knowing the ratio of homeowners vs renters - this helps too.

·        How well has the home been maintained: your investor is not going to want to have to do things like roof repairs, windows and other improvements unless they get an excellent deal and have the bandwidth to get the work done. Where these upgrades have been made, highlighting them goes a long way and makes a property a better investment.

·        What’s happening with other houses in the area: have the builders moved in? Are people severing lots? Is there new construction? Looking at trends in home sales and what the future of properties in the community will look like can help to spot a good investment.

·        What is near the property in question: does it back onto a ravine, or a manufacturing plant? This matters and can impact an investment property’s potential big time.

·         Transportation and education: a GoTrain station into Toronto or a new university are excellent signs for a community and immediately boost the attractiveness of an area – getting in before they do is a great way to seize the day.

No one knows the future or hey, we would all be at the casino, but as a real estate sales professional you have the intel and the know-how to help your client make informed decisions on the investment potential of their property and realize their dreams.

To learn more about how to get the most information to display potential, call ViMO today at 1 855 999 8466 (VIMO).

Summer 2015 Design Trends

Summer is officially here, and for many of us that means firing up the barbeque, planning a summer getaway, or getting ready for weekends spent by the pool or at the beach. For others, this is a time to inspire your inner designer and use the season as inspiration to make some design changes in your home.

So what are the summer 2015 design trends that have designers hopping rights now? Check out this great slideshow from HDTV. Not only does it give you the latest and greatest trends - some of which are pricey to say the least - it also provides you with do-it-yourself ideas to help get these great designs on a budget: http://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/diy-your-way-to-designer-summer-decor-pictures.

Here are just a few of the things that are showing up on magazine covers and every design show you watch.

Shining it up: metallic pieces are big this season, and accent pieces that are high shine really seem to hit the spot.  Metallic finishes on mirrors, frames and other design pieces, as well as metallic threading through fabrics are popping up everywhere. 

Getting back to nature: animal prints and décor pieces, as well as interesting and inspiring natural pieces are great at adding a bit of the outdoors, indoors.

Big, bold colour: what better time to show off your bright side than summer? Interior (and exterior for that matter) design trends are huge on bursts of bright colour right now.

Feeling nostalgic: vintage has had a long run, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. Vintage floral prints are especially hot right now, on everything from prints to pillows, plates to pottery.

Going industrial: most of us don’t live in industrial-style lofts with exposed pipes and beams, but a touch of the industrial can go a long way to providing an edgy downtown vibe. 

Getting ready for the summer rush? Use these summer 2015 design trends at your next open house - and when staging in preparation for it! Draw in the eyes and make your client’s home as attractive and updated as possible.

For more tips, or for other tools to get ready for summer selling season, please contact ViMO today at 1 855 999 8466 (VIMO).

Questions About The Market Intelligence Report? Check Out Our FAQs

ViMO’s newest feature, the Market Intelligence Report, is garnering some great reviews - and for good reason! It makes keeping in touch with past clients easy - providing them with up-to-date data and information about market trends and neighbourhood sales.

What is the Market Intelligence Report? It is a report sent out to clients that leverages authoritative land registry data to keep clients informed about recent sales activities and neighbourhood trends!

Have some questions about this new feature? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out our FAQs to get the answers to your questions: http://marketing.geowarehouse.ca/acton/attachment/1288/f-0185/1/-/-/-/-/Market%20Intelligence%20FAQs.pdf.

Questions covered include:

-          How can I to set up the Market Intelligence Report for all of my clients at one time?

-          Is it possible to select more than one property address per client?

-          How can I save a custom message?

-          How do I set up links to my social media accounts in the Market Intelligence Report?

-          What is the local neighbourhood used? 

Find out the answers to these questions and more.

ViMO is committed to giving you the best services, all in one place - making you more competitive and effective on-the-go.

For more information please visit www.myvimo.ca today. 

Training Time: ViMO’s Newest Feature - The Market Intelligence Report

ViMO recently released its newest feature - and we could not be more excited. The Market Intelligence Report lets you stay connected with past clients, giving them up to date market information and personalized data on neighbourhood sales and trends in their area.

Better yet, ViMO will send you a notification to let you know when to send out this report.

To enable these notifications, all you have to do is adjust your settings. This guide will help you to do that:
http://marketing.geowarehouse.ca/acton/attachment/1288/f-0183/1/-/-/-/-/Market%20Intelligence%20How%20To%20Guide.pdf.

The Market Intelligence Report requires a PIN in the Property Report Address section to save the Client Market Intelligence preferences and enable the event.  To find out more about how to find an address, check out this guide:

http://marketing.geowarehouse.ca/acton/attachment/1288/f-0184/1/-/-/-/-/Market%20Intelligence%20Finding%20Address.pdf.

ViMO is continually working to provide you with even more tools to make you more competitive, and the Market Intelligence Report is just one more example of that commitment!

Keeping in touch has never been easier. Turn clients into customers and stay connected with this great new feature report. Find out more by visiting www.myvimo.ca today.

Help Make Your Client’s Moving Day a Breeze

The house is sold and moving day approaches. Your job is almost finished. It might be easy at this point to just watch the magic happen and let your client tackle moving day all on their own, but in an industry as competitive as real estate, why not take every opportunity available to beef up your reputation and increase your customer satisfaction. Giving that little bit of extra attention on moving day can make a big impression.

Here are some tips to help make your client’s moving day a breeze:

Start at the open house stage (yes, you read that right). When a client is staging their home, they are probably going to be packing away a lot of stuff, so help by getting it done right, the very first time. Give them some tips on how to pack boxes properly, and remind them to clearly label the contents.

Build a moving day checklist, one that you can email to your client to help get them ready for moving day. Start at the one month marker, then 2 weeks, 1 week, day before, morning of. Remind them about the things that they may forget about in this often incredibly hectic process. Include things like calling the utility company, visiting the post office, making childcare arrangements, and unplugging the deepfreeze!

Know a reputable moving company? Help strengthen your connections by suggesting this company to your clients. It has become difficult to differentiate between those companies looking to make a quick buck (or worse, take your clients to the cleaners with one of the many moving day scams) and those that actually take pride in what they do. Help your client out by giving them the number to one you know actually does the job they are hired to do.

Once your client has moved in, and is settled, consider sending a card or small “welcome to your new home” gift. This, along with everything mentioned previously, helps cement you in their mind as a trustworthy and helpful real estate professional, one they know they can count on. And, if they can count on you, they are likely to tell others about the experience!

The entire house buying process can be stressful - as real estate professionals we all know this - so don’t just end the process when the papers have been signed. Give that little bit of extra by helping to make your client’s moving day a breeze and the results will only be positive.

For more tips on making moving day a breeze, or the entire home buying process easier on both parties, call ViMO today. We have the tools that make it simple: 1 855 999 8466 (VIMO).

Adjusting to Change: Is Real Estate Getting Harder or Is It The Technology?

Real estate - an industry that enjoys a vast and varied history - but a history that has always been changing. With the advancement of technology, this change seems to occur very fast, and with every new change, real estate professionals are finding themselves adapting, or, well, you know the old saying…

But is technology making things harder? Or, is the hesitation when it comes to having to adapt more about having to change your own routine? We are creatures of habit, and for some people change is annoying, time consuming, or just downright painful.  In the past, this was often the case, but with the newest advancements, you are actually far better off to make a changes, than falling into the habit of your old ways.

What kind of change are we talking about? Well, firstly, the move towards paperless real estate is a huge one. Not only is this way better for the environment, it also means far more organized files and desks no longer littered with documents. This paperless craze has been most impacted by the ability to sign documents electronically. This has eliminated the need for all of the back and forth and endless meetings just to acquire a signature.

Not only has technology made our paper management easier, it has also made communication far more efficient. These days, the telephone no longer rules the roost, and now instant messaging, texting and video chatting has made meeting and conducting discussions with out of town clients much easier on all parties.

Research has also benefited greatly from the tech advancements impacting the real estate industry. Things like researching properties, generating comparables, obtaining property sales histories, and finding out neighbourhood demographics can now be done from an iPad anywhere that you receive a wireless signal. Generating reports is also quicker.

Increased collaboration is also made easy, thanks to apps that let you connect and network: share referrals, connect with others in the industry, build a strong, respectful relationship with other professionals.

50 years ago, every meet and greet needed to be in person and all documents kept in files. 10 years ago, everything electronic required a big bulky computer - one that didn’t necessarily make working on-the-go easy. Today, in 2015, the tech advances have given real estate professionals the ability to accomplish far more.

Still reluctant to take that big step? Start with baby steps. Get an iPad and start there, using a real estate app like ViMO, your virtual mobile office, and see just how easy it really is.  Master researching properties, and once you feel more comfortable, move on to signing forms electronically.

Sometimes change is overwhelming, but in this case, refusing to change will quickly leave you in the dust.

Competition is strong - take advantage of everything real estate technology has to offer. Call ViMO today for more information: 1 855 999 8466 (VIMO).

Getting to Know ViMO: What’s the Buzz About?

Have you heard the buzz? ViMO is a mobile app for real estate sales professionals that enables you to do more - research properties, areas, market to clients, create electronic forms and more - all while on the go and right from your tablet, making you more competitive and helping you stay in touch with clients easily.

The ViMO app has improved how you do business. With cutting edge technology and property data that puts you ahead of the curve, ViMO helps you work better, faster, and completely paperless! And now, we are launching its newest enhancement: The ViMO Market Intelligence Report that allows you to turn contacts into clients, get referrals, and repeat business. All from your ViMO iPad app. The customizable report leverages authoritative land registry data to keep clients informed about recent sales activities and neighbourhood trends.

Want to take ViMO for test drive? Find out how here: http://marketing.geowarehouse.ca/acton/form/1288/00fc:d-0001/0/index.htm.

Find out more about everything that ViMO, your virtual mobile office, has to offer by visiting www.myvimo.cawww.myvimo.ca today.

Social Influence in Real Estate – You Simply Can’t Ignore It

We have all heard it before: “You need to use social media.” Social media remains a hot topic in the real estate world - but it is surprising to learn that many real estate professionals remain incredibly hesitant when it comes to adopting the social media practices that have come to be common place in many other industries.

So why the hesitation? It is the same reason others don’t make use of this free and diverse tool - they still don’t see the ROI of social media and social influence.

If you are one of the many still refusing to jump on the social influence bandwagon, we won’t sugar coat it - you are missing out!! Big time! Social and mobile apps are vital to your business.

That statement not enough? Of course it isn’t. Don’t worry, here are some stats to chew on they may just be the numbers you need to see to change your mind.

-       84% of real estate sales professionals are using social media, but only a small number make use of more than just the top 3 sites (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn).

-       Only 12% are taking advantage of YouTube - but over 70% of homeowners say they are more likely to list with a real estate professional who offers video listings! That is a very small segment of the real estate pool.

-       Those using YouTube are far more likely to be high income earners (82%) versus middle income earners (67%).

-       More followers and friends = higher income: 1/3 high income earners have >1000 friends, whereas 2/3 middle income earners have <500.

Keep in mind that, if you are using social media, just having a Facebook page or a Twitter account is not enough - you need to be posting on a regular basis, engaging customers and proving them with information that is of value - otherwise you are missing the opportunities inherent in this marketing medium.

And social influence ROI isn’t just about the numbers. 10 years ago, people got their information largely from the phone book. In 2015, the phonebook has become almost obsolete, the majority of buyers and sellers finding real estate sales professionals online. And social influence has far more power than it used to. Advocates of your brand, those who speak to your reputation or post positive reviews about your service, have a far greater reach than the phonebook.

Anything that is real estate specific that promotes listings and connects colleagues and customers should be considered. Those apps that couple real estate tools with social networking are a major player on the field, thanks to both their accessibility and their convenience. Apps such as ViMO from Teranet, your virtual mobile office, can help you start and stay connected.

Don’t continue to discount the value of social media. The longer you wait, the longer it will take to become established. Check out everything social media has to offer. ViMO is a great place to start - we make it easy. Call us today at 1 855 999 8466 (VIMO).