|
How To Choose
Web-Based Real Estate Software
More transactions, more stress, thinner margins. These qualities could describe any number of businesses, but they hit a bulls-eye for anyone involved in real estate. While most companies already have websites, the next step is to understand that a website can be more than an electronic brochure or information service - it can actually do work. When
evaluating transaction management software, therefore, it is not a matter
of finding the right website, but of finding the right set of software
tools in conjunction with that website. By
providing messaging, document storage, calendaring, email notifications,
reporting, archiving, task tracking, and showing feedback, transaction
management reduces the time spent by the average Realtor, title company,
or lender by as much as 30% -- all while impressing your customers and
boosting your marketing efforts. And note: a "transaction" is
any property you are working on, from listing to contract to closing,
which means that "transaction management software" is a tool
that will organize, track, and streamline ALL of your ongoing business.
Most of the gains are immediately achieved by reducing the time spent
in faxing, phone calls, filing, email, and travel. The Process: In
an average real estate transaction, there are typically up to 10 different
parties and 20-50 different steps that must take place before a transaction
can be finalized. There are also more than 50 forms to be faxed or reviewed,
and often more than 150 phone calls. By using transaction management software,
each party sends their documents to one central website, posts their messages
on one electronic bulletin board, and posts the transaction action plan
and public tasks where everyone can "click in" to see them.
Transaction management means that your customers have a 24x7 place to
communicate with you and to do business with you. They get a better appreciation
for the importance and complexity of your role in the transaction, they
are better informed and hence more comfortable with you and the process,
and they use your cell phone less. While
considering the following questions, keep in mind that "ease of use"
is probably the most important feature of all. Be sure to see a demo of
the actual software in use before you buy. Communication & Document Delivery: Can
the service offer secure document delivery, document sharing, scheduling,
task tracking, messaging, and group email? More importantly, review the
ability of the program to receive faxed in documents. Unless everybody
in your community uses a scanner, this is a must-have. Task Tracking and Ordering: Will
it allow you to store your own tasks as templates? Will those tasks have
automatic email reminders attached to them? Further, will it allow you
to order an appraisal, inspection, survey, or anything else you need with
a few clicks? Does the service promote particular vendors, or can you
work with any vendor you choose? Archiving: Most
services provide a continuous activity log, meaning that every message,
document, form, task, and calendar event is logged into a file you can
review online. The question is, can you easily save that log or burn it
to a compact disk (CD)? It is generally better to be able to keep an archive
copy of your electronic data off-line, since it is a leap of faith to
think that any company can keep it fully accessible for you for the next
10 years - given changes in technology, data formats, and even issues
like mergers and acquisitions of the company who provides your software. Showing Feedback and Reporting: Will
the software enable you to automatically solicit feedback from a showing?
And then post that feedback to transaction members at your discretion?
Can you see all of your current closings on a single screen or on one
simple report? Can reports be customized to give you the information YOU
need and care about? Can you export lists and reports to Excel and other
software for further analysis? Neutrality: Know
who owns the company that makes the software. Is their real motivation
to sell you other services? This is one time you want to actually read
the privacy policy carefully. Security: Is
the Web-based software you are considering hosted in a true national data
center? This is your assurance of 24/7 availability, fire protection,
power redundancy, and nightly data backups. With good hosting, security
on most web-based applications greatly exceeds the security of keeping
the same information in your own office. Scalability: These
days, scalability is less about the number of servers and users the software
can handle and more about implementation. If you are buying transaction
management for yourself only, that is one level of use. Next, you might
consider how it would be implemented for yourself and an assistant, or
a larger team. If you want to implement transaction management for your
entire office or your entire company, you will need additional administrative
and control capabilities. Ask to see the details and make sure it works
for your situation. Cost: Good software will save you much more than it costs, but how much does it cost? Make sure you figure out how many transactions you expect to do in a year, then divide the entire setup, transaction usage, training, and maintenance costs over that number of transactions. The result will give you an apples to apples comparison of the different products you are considering. You
are likely to find that prices vary widely, from under $5 per property
to over $50 per property, with some charging significant set up fees,
per user fees, support fees, and storage fees.
Also, if your new software replaces the old desktop software you may have
been using, which many people find that it does, you may save considerably
more. Conclusion: It
is no longer true that businesses are ahead of consumers in new technology.
Your clients already research communities, find builders, Realtors and
other services, and research loan pricing online. They want you to give
them access to their transaction information over the web. Don't let your
competitors beat you in this game, it's too easy to be a winner. For
more information on SettlementRoom's Real Estate Software, please visit
www.settlementroom.com or
email inquiry@settlementroom.com. |