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Back in 1999 I was taking a
real estate course. One of the
instructors told the class:
“Whoever doesn’t get into
technology right now will be out of
the game in two years”. At the time,
we all considered this as an exaggeration. Today, I think this is an understatement.
Statistics in the 2002 US National
Association of Realtors Profile of
Home Buyers and Sellers show that in
1995, about 2 per cent of all buyers
used the Internet to find a home. That
was 1 out of every 50 buyers. In 2001,
six years later, this number had multiplied
to 41 per cent, or almost one out
of two buyers. The trend continues to
be a sharp increase in the use of the
Internet, with a simultaneous decrease
in the use of older mediums (such as
print, yard signs, television). There is
also notable decrease in the use of
other information channels such as
relocation companies, referrals, and
open houses. Confidentiality, convenience,
and autonomous research are
the most likely reasons that these
trends surfaced.
The widespread availability and
affordability of fast and reliable
Internet access makes the World Wide
Web (www) a primary sales channel
for reaching new clients and serving
existing ones. It is no longer an option
but a necessity for any successful realtor
to be at the forefront of technology
and its many uses; we need these tools
to be in constant touch with clients and
associates in an electronically connected
world. A survey of Internet buyers
conducted in early 2002 by the
California Association of Realtors indicates
that an overwhelming 79 per cent
chose their agents from the Internet.
Agents and brokers who want to stay
ahead of the game are realising the
importance of ubiquitous wireless
access to the Internet, through the use
of mobile communication devices such
as the Blackberry and other portable
digital assistants (PDAs). “Gadgets”
that may have been considered somewhat
frivolous or a luxury a few years
ago are now “tools” in a highly competitive
market where accessibility, reliability,
accountability and a quick
response time to client needs have
always been essential. The fast evolution
of these electronic tools entails an
increased need for success-minded
realtors to stay educated by training on
their use and implementation.
As a child growing up in Athens,
Greece, I remember the day in the early
60s when my father brought home a
bizarre black box with numbers on it. My brother and I were looking at it
wondering how this machine called a
“telephone” was supposed to make our
voice heard on the other side of the
cord as he dialled for our uncle Nikos in
Thessalonica; the far north of what was
then the known world for us.The help
of a seemingly omnipotent operator
was also required to dial to another
city. Years later, in Washington, when
my children and I were showing grandpa
how the fax machine transmits a
document to another continent, he was
at a rare loss for words as he saw uncle
Nikos’ handwritten message unfolding
before his eyes.
Today, Global Owner Property
Consultants, the international real
estate company I founded six years
ago, conducts business with clients on
both sides of the Atlantic, and around
the world. Recently we participated in
the Dubai Global Real Estate Show,
where we had our laptops connected to
the Internet and browsed US properties
with prospective clients using the
Multiple Listing System databases,
back in the US.At the end of each long
day it was great to unwind on our
veranda with tropical refreshments and
the same laptops - now wirelessly connected
to the Web - catching up on email,
chatting online with our colleagues
and clients globally, and completing
an entire proposal for a commercial
property online. It went back
and forth several times and when the
final version was agreed on, we printed
a hardcopy in our room, signed it,
scanned it back onto the laptop and
“faxed’’ it over the Web.
The Internet is an indispensable tool
for following up with clients and associates
with no constraints of geography
or time. Global Owner’s mission is to
provide international property consultancy that allows our clients to seamlessly
and efficiently transact across
borders. At no time does the Internet
replace the need for our professionals
and the subject matter experts we collaborate
with, to be fully engaged with
our clients and deal on a personal basis. Instead it is an enabler, a facilitator of
better and constant communication. The seamless quality which we aspire
to in our vision is achieved, to a large
part, by being “next’’ to our clients and
associates - down the hallway, across
town, or nine time zones away.
Last year, our office relocated the VP
of a large corporation from Paris to
Washington, DC with most of the work
accomplished via the Internet.We visited
and took photos of several properties
on the market, created a virtual tour of
the short-list interiors, and compiled
information on the neighbourhood and
schools tailored to the specific requirements
that we discussed via e-mail and
instant messaging. We e-mailed this
information to our client and the family
chose the home they liked best. Next, we did a comparative market
analysis to confirm the right pricing of
the property, and then lined up a
Lender, Appraiser, Inspector and Title
Attorney and put them in touch with
our Buyer.The sales contract was executed
online, he provided his electronic
signature, and the deal was
done! The family flew to the U.S. one
day prior to signing the settlement
papers. We had exchanged a total of
230 e-mails by the time they moved
into their home.
One word of caution, regarding signatures:
if you cannot be certain that
the electronic signature is verifiable
and acceptable always revert to the
fax. As in all cases, legal and regulatory
requirements, as well as local
business ethics and practices should be
your guide.
It is not only the Buyers that benefit
from this service. For each international
property Global Owner lists for sale we
follow a unique marketing plan that
includes inter alia an average of 1,600
colourful e-mails with photos and description
that are sent out to individuals and
corporations in all parts of the world.
Today’s realtors are using email for
marketing their services and electronic
web sites for keeping current and
prospective clients informed on properties
and services that are available to
them. Buyers and sellers are far more
inclined to log onto the web to conduct
research on their needs, as opposed to
using older forms such as print media. The Internet also provides anyone who
is in the market, from the first-time
home buyer to the seasoned investor,
with a plethora of resources to support
an educated decision.
Information is constantly in demand
in the rapidly changing and dynamic
field of real estate. Many of the bigger
real estate companies provide their
realtors with email addresses, Internet
access, and an area on their web site
where sales agents’ listings and agent
profiles with pictures are posted. Additionally, online internal, templates
and databases (such as on a company’s
intranet) provide realtors and brokers
with shared access to contracts, addendums,
and required disclosures forms. This allows for certain data to be
entered once and automatically be
transferred to all other required forms. These systems are engineered to facilitate
the need for shared and accurate
information, but also provide sales
agents with the most important asset of
all-more time to deal with clients on a
person-to-person level.
Within the mortgage industry,
upgrades in mortgages are effectively
facilitated when Web services-driven
origination networks (IONs) are implemented
and widely utilised. The network
gives the lending corporations’
users access to primary applications,
automated underwriting, Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) systems,
loan origination systems, and the
company’s data warehouse.
Today, the majority of international
requests for selling or purchasing property,
are primarily received through
web sites like www.globalowner.com. Companies offer basic tools that allow
visitors to refine their requirements
and communicate their needs regardless
if they are in the market to buy or
sell a home or investment property.
When considering the larger scope of
services offered by brokerage firms
today, the use of technology and
expansive networking is the lynchpin
in ensuring that clients receive expeditious
replies to their queries and have
available to them the basic resources
they will need in every step of process
in their needed transaction.
Angela Eliopoulos has lived and
worked in the Washington, DC metro
area, in Europe and West Asia. She
started her Relocation Consulting practice
in 1990 (www.GlobalOwner.com). Her background spans both the private
and public sectors, in Marketing, Public
Relations and Administrative Services
of Diplomatic Missions in the US and
abroad. Ms Eliopoulos is
currently the Chair of the International
Forum of the National Association
of Realtors in USA
(www.realtor.org/international). She is
also the President of FIABCI USA’s
Washington DC Council (www.fiabciusa.com) and the worldwide President
of the Internet Task Force of FIABCI
(reaching 1,500,000 international real
estate professionals in 60 countries
around the world).
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