Here’s Part 2 of 3 focusing on how you, the buyer, can and should be using technology to your advantage in the home buying process.
READ MORE: Part 1 - Carlsbad Buyers: Are You Using Technology to Your Best Advantage?
In this section we discuss how technology will play an important role in helping your select the right REALTOR to help you in your home search.
Should technology be your only approach? Absolutely not. But you can learn a great deal about prospective agents:
- Do you want one who focuses primarily on how great they are, the number of areas they service and that sort of thing?
- Or do you really want to get to know who they are, what they know, how they work and how THEY can help YOU.
READ MORE: What do You Want to Know about Your Agent?
After all, the home buying process is ALL about you, not the agent. Ask yourself – What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)?
FINDING AN AGENT
Some buyers find their agents through networking with friends and family, and by getting referrals from those in the know. This is a good method, but certainly not the onlyone.
Others use the Internet to research prospective agents to help in their home purchase process.
Blogs provide a terrific means to learn a great deal about the agent(s) whose posts you are reading. Since you are reading this on ActiveRain you probably already know all this.
READ MORE:
9 Advantages of working with a Real Estate Professional Who Blogs
Are You Relocating and Need to Find a Great Agent to Work With?
How to Find YOUR Agent on the Internet
In addition to learning about communities, the buying process, potential problems that can arise and much more, you will gain insights into how the agent works, their style and temperament, their experience, their ethics, the kinds of things that will make you feel comfortable with that person, or not. Over time you establish an on-line relationship that can become a positive real life one. There’s no commitment until you are ready for it. YOU are in charge, as you should be.
Agent websites can work well too, but they tend to be less dynamic, and so many focus on more generic information than about the person itself. But don’t ignore these as you gather information about the services that different agents provide, the areas they work in, and so on.
Email, voice mail, and text messaging should be part of your arsenal. Perhaps not so much in actually finding the agent but in testing out how they respond and use technology themselves.
- If you like text messaging you will likely want an agent who does too. Or at least find someone who is willing to work with in when it makes sense to do so. Here's a link to a great site of text messaging lingo.
- If email is your preferred more of communication, working with an agent who does not respond to email, or doesn’t use it properly, will lead to problems.
- Most folks have voice mail but do they really use it effectively? Do they even listen to it? Do you know about Voice Cloud?
- That’s another thing you can test out. Leave several messages and see what happens and when. You may be encouraged, or frustrated by the results.
If you are looking at homes in a new location far from your current residence, a tech-savvy agent will be your best friend. Using video and digital photos to capture the homes and communities you are interested in can help you narrow down the search without even being there. And of course when you are conducting a house hunting trip you will likely use your digital camera and perhaps a video to help you keep it all straight.
So these are just a few tips about using technology to find your agent adn things to consider about their use of technology.
Stay tuned for the final article on using technology as part of the communication process throughout your transaction.
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An excellent article and also sounds like a tutorial for the professional to connect with the IEC. Very well done and certainly well worth the read. Thanks for sharing your expertise about this subject.