Gadgets are changing the way that many industries are doing business. Real estate is one field of expertise that has seen nearly every aspect of the trade change due to high-tech gadgetry. Real estate agents have found that the five most significant changes in their line of work have come through the use of technological gizmos and gadgets.
Communicating with Clients
Using smartphones is how most real estate agents communicate with their clients. However, it’s not by calling them. Real estate agents use their smartphones to send emails, texts and tweets to clients to give them pertinent information about new listings, updates on paperwork and other essentials of the process.
The Zillow App
Both agents and potential home buyers can download the Zillow app. According to this blog on Boston.com, the Zillow app can give you directions to homes for sale and allow you to record your thoughts about each place that you visit. The Zillow app is currently available for Android phones and should soon be available for the Apple watch.
Remote Sharing of Properties for Sale
If you’re looking to buy a property that is located far from your current residence, you can work with a real estate agent to tour homes in a real-time fashion. When your real estate agent dons a Google Glass setup, he or she can show you the property and you can ask questions and get them answered all at the same time. The home listing service Trulia plans on an app that will work exclusively with Google Glass in 2015.
Drones
Drones may be the next biggest thing for touring large properties or homes that include acreage. Real estate agents can use these high-tech gizmos to show clients the far reaches of a property during any season of the year. Home buyers can also see the larger neighborhood or community around a property that is for sale. You can expect the Federal Aviation Administration to weigh in on the use of drones for this commercial purpose in 2015.
Gaining Access to a Property for Sale
Real estate agents must take great care in who they allow into a property that is listed for sale. One way they can do this is to screen potential tenants and buyers carefully, explains this blog on Green Residential. Once a buyer or tenant has been screened, the KnocKey app allows the agent to give the home buyer access to the property. The buyer is provided with an internet address, user ID and password. The buyer then has 30 seconds to input the password and the home’s door will unlock. This way of accessing a home is meant to relieve some of the burden on agents who until now had to use lock boxes with a four-digit code to allow a potential buyer or tenant to gain access to the property. The owner or agent can give access from anywhere.