Technology is here to help make our lives easier by automating the repetitive, mundane tasks we do daily. The problem is, there are so many tools out there. How does a Brokerage know what to invest in?
We polled some our Broker-friends to find out some of their can’t-live-without apps.
What makes an App Useful?
Firstly, being useful encompasses a lot of qualities, not just that the app works day-to-day. A useful piece of technology should:
Integrate: The future must include integrations! If an app doesn’t allow integrations with other like-minded apps, that’s a clear sign the technology’s lifespan is finite in nature. If you want to improve your processes and make your workflow more efficient, connecting tools is a sure path to avoid adding extra hours entering data in multiple platforms.
Be Mobile: An app is most useful if you don’t have to be chained to a desk all day to use it. These days, our phones are in our pockets at all hours or we’re on our laptops or tablets. If an app is going to add value to a Brokerage, it must work on any device that is preferred by the user.
Listen: What makes a company great is its customers! As much as a company can assume that their customers want ‘X’ in an app, their roadmap needs to stay nimble and flexible. Listening to the wants of a customer that uses the platform daily, is key to adding the right features and fixes.
Support: An app-owner needs to be available for a busy Brokerage. Ideally, there needs to be multiple ways to reach help. Do they provide live chat, reply to support tickets timely, have training sessions or offer webinars? Having a great tool to use is fantastic but there is always a learning curve with learning a new piece of technology so a helping hand shouldn’t be too difficult to locate.
In no particular order, these 7 apps for Brokers hit the mark for their usefulness!
1) BombBomb
BombBomb is a platform where Real Estate Agents and Brokers can create simple videos that get you face-to-face with more people, more often.
We all know that we prefer to watch video than read text, so it’s no different for your clients or perspective ones. BombBomb is great for email marketing, open houses announcements and sneak peaks at some of your Brokerage’s listings.
Check out this glowing review for BombBomb by this Real Estate professional.
2) Contactually
Contactually is a Client Relationship Management (CRM) app for Real Estate Brokers and Agents. It provides Brokers with the tools to track and improve Agent productivity and engagement. With an easy-to-use API and many integrations, Contactually allows you to build an Agent-first tech stack with a centralized system of record that works with how your Brokerage does business.
“What our Agents love about Contactually is its ease of use, and that it integrates with all the systems we are already using. The Chrome extension has helped us streamline all our data and makes it easy for Agents to sort contacts.” — Raq Osar, CEO/Owner, BoutiqueRE
Try Contactually free for 14 days.
3) Xero
Working in Real Estate means dealing with large sums of money on a regular basis. Check your cash flow and stay on top of taxes from anywhere with Xero’s easy-to-use accounting software. Run your business from anywhere and stay connected while you’re out and about with the Xero app.
- Sync Xero with third-party apps made for Real Estate Agents
- Collaborate with your accountant, bookkeeper and staff in real time from anywhere
- Make it easier for your customers to pay their invoices with flexible payment options including Stripe, Paypal and Routable.
Find an accountant that knows Real Estate, here.
This app seems so simple but does so much — we’re trying to figure out why it doesn’t have a jazzier name. Sorry, Karl. Regardless, Real Estate professionals love it!
Brokerages use this tool to help their clients understand how much of a mortgage they will need and a clear idea of what it will cost to own their home over time.
It calculates mortgage payments given principal, interest and term. It can reverse calculate any one variable given the other three. And it can see how the monthly payment changes when you factor in additional monthly or annual loan costs such as PMI, HOA, taxes and insurance + more!
Here’s a nice detailed video tutorial on how this Real Estate consultant uses Karl’s Mortgage.
5) Showing Time
Showing Time is the Real Estate industry’s leading showing management and market stats technology provider. Broker/Owners of residential Real Estate Brokerages wanting to efficiently schedule showings, provide better customer service or utilize state-of-the-art recruiting tools.
Brokers love their web-based recruiting tools, a way to follow Agents and identify recruiting potential.
Juhmad Hollis, from Brik Realty in New Orleans, loves it and says:
“It makes managing listings easy. It keeps you in front of your seller by providing weekly reports, so nothing slips through the cracks.”
See if Showing Time is right for your Brokerage, here.
6) Loft47
Our Broker-friends made our day by adding us to the list of useful apps that makes their lives easier. We’re humbled!
Loft47 is a commissions management engine that tracks commissions and automates Agent fees to make paying out commissions simple. Loft47 plays nicely with other Real Estate applications so you get access to best-in-class tools.
- Review / approve and comment on deals anywhere, anytime
- Create, manage and monitor teams in minutes
- Escrow and Trust compliance
- Automated accounting
- Brokerage and Agent income projections
- Production reporting and Franchise reporting
“This is easy! I am so excited that even being a new user I can easily figure out how to use the system. It feels like we are doing half the work we used to … and our feedback really counts.”–Terry Campbell, RE/MAX Commercial Capital
Find a time to chat with Loft47, here.
7) Dotloop
Dotloop is an end-to-end real estate transaction management software designed to streamline collaboration by consolidating compliance, storage, form editing and digital signatures into a single platform.
With robust reporting tools, Brokers can access instant snapshots of their entire business, from what’s currently under contract, to an individual Agent’s performance.
“Technology can never replace the human element in a Real Estate transaction. However, it can take a lot of the information processing off your hands so you and your Agents are free to be more productive.” –Ted Schaar, RE/MAX Gallery
Book a Dotloop demo to see if this tool would work for your Brokerage.
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We hope this post has intrigued you enough to investigate a new tool for your Brokerage’s tech stack. Technology is ever-evolving and the tools out there just keep getting smarter, thus, more useful. 🙌 What are some of your Brokerage’s favourite apps and tools?