Jott For Realtors – Capture Your Voice, Turn it Into Text

Jott makes sure you stay on top of everything. With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, stay in touch with friends and family, and interact with your favorite web sites and services – all with your voice! Jott can even transcribe your voicemail.

Simply call Jott and tell them where you want your message to go. They capture your voice, turn it into text, and send it to the destination you chose.

Ideas for Using Jott for Real Estate

• Record notes about a home’s features for clients
• Listen to real estate news feeds on your phone
• Take notes during your weekly home tours/previews
• Create To-Do lists for client files
• Create email and text reminders for real estate showings
• Use group messaging feature to send updates to your real estate team

Introductory Video About Jott

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tszK2zmAQHU[/youtube]

Jott Apps

Jott Apps helps you stay organized the way that works best for you. Whether you want the simplicity of a desktop list application in Jott Express, you are obsessed with your BlackBerry or iPhone, or you live in Outlook or iGoogle all day, Jott has an application that works the stuff you can’t live without.

Jott iPhone App

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3iUBS81Z3s[/youtube]

How Much Does Jott Cost?

Jott
$3.95 / month
With a 1-week Free Trial!
our best value
15 second recording time
Unlimited voice to text
Apps for Outlook, and iPhone*

Jott Pro
$12.95 / month
With a 1-week Free Trial!
for the road warrior
30 second recording time
Unlimited voice to text
Apps for BlackBerry, Outlook, and iPhone*

Jott PayGo
$6.95 / 5 mins. (~30 msgs.)
Try it today!
pay per minute
60 second recording time
5 minutes voice to text
Apps for BlackBerry, Outlook, and iPhone*

Blackberry Bold versus iPhone for Real Estate

REtechy chooses post topics from the many emails we get from readers like you. Here is a question we received yesterday from Brandon Harris.

I have AT&T wireless service and I am about to purchase a new phone. Until I came to this site I was set on purchasing the Blackberry bold for it’s push through email and it’s ability to edit Microsoft documents. Now after seeing the plethora of real estate related applications for the iPhone, I am once again confused as to which phone would serve me better. I would like to know if the Blackberry Bold will have some similar real estate related applications or if the I phone would be able to edit documents like word, excel etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. – Thanks Brandon Harris

Advances in technology make using a smartphone a requisite for any real estate agent worth her/his weight. Many options are available, but two phones have risen to the top of the smartphone food-chain.

Is the Blackberry Bold or iPhone better for business?

How the heck can I answer that without subjecting myself to hostility? I can tell you this though – the Blackberry Bold is the best Blackberry ever created. The Bold was designed for business use and boasts features the iPhone does not have including: ability to edit documents & video recording.

The Blackberry Bold’s security also makes a compelling argument. The Blackberry is a preferred phone for Supra eKEY (GE Security); BlackBerry users can now join the thousands of real estate professionals already enjoying the timesaving benefits of eKEY service on their Palm and Windows smartphones.

Before you go buying a Blackberry Bold let’s talk about the iPhone. Apple’s iPhone is the 2nd sexiest thing I have ever held (1st is you honey). The UI is beautiful, the web browser blows Blackberry out of the water, and did I mention it was sexy? Apple’s App store for the iPhone holds many great real estate related applications, with new ones churned out all the time.

Let’s remember the iPhone is designed for the consumer; you can hail cabs, order groceries, make fart sounds all from your iPhone. The developer community supporting iPhone applications is large and active. If you fall in love with an application, or two, the iPhone may prove to be the best phone for your needs.

Here is the best online comparison for the Blackberry Bold & iPhone > The iPhone Blog

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl7cqFQatP4[/youtube]

PinStack.com put together the great comparison chart below. Click on image below to enlarge.

Canadian Real Estate iPhone App from ZooCasa

Searching for real estate in Canada just got easier! Take advantage of ZooCasa’s powerful search technology to save time and energy to search homes for sale nearby.

With one touch you will be able to see all properties for sale around your location displayed on a Google map. Narrowing your search is fast and easy by filtering on Price, Beds, and Baths. View details including a photo and agent contact information.

> Link To ZooCasa App

FEATURES

• Find homes for sale near you by using iPhone’s built in GPS
• Touch quick link to see a description, photo of the home, and agent information
• Get directions to the home you’re viewing from where you are
• Customize your search by filtering for price, beds, and baths
• Email the details to friends, family, or agent 

Zoocasa.com is a new, innovative way to search for homes in Canada. Combining listing information and mapping technology provided by Google Maps, Zoocasa.com allows users to personalize their search experience and discover community, demographic and lifestyle information to help them choose the right home.

ZooCasa iPhone App Map View

ZooCasa iPhone App Search View

ZooCasa iPhone App Listings View

ZooCasa iPhone App Home Detail View

Google Street View for Real Estate

Google Street View is a new feature of Google Maps that allows you to quickly and easily view and navigate high-resolution, 360 degree street level images of various cities around the world.

Many questions about properties, neighbors, and neighborhoods cannot be fully answered by information provided in the listing. Street view, by Google Maps, is a convenient tool to help answers many of those questions.

WARNING: Street view is not a real-time application and photos may no longer accurately represent the current property.

What are ways  real estate agents may use Google Maps Street View?

1. Map Showings / Choose Routes
   Get familiar with your showing routes and neighborhood homes.
2. Preview Homes
   Identify external features your clients are looking for. Use the overhead map view to check out the backyard.
3. Service Out-of-Town Clients
   Street View is perfect for out-of-town clients not familiar with the area. Send clients links to various areas; allow them to browse homes and develop a realistic expectation.
4. Check out the Neighbors
   How well are neighbors maintaining their homes? Are there cars in the front yard on blocks?
5. Evaluate Safety
   Get a sense of how safe the front yard is for kids, or even check out the local speed limit.

http://maps.google.com/

View Larger Map

Photo Editing Using Picnik.com

Photo editing is necessary for creating flyers, listing presentations, uploading to MLS, online advertising, postcards, sending files to  mortgage reps, and more.

If you’re worried about deadlines and showings you don’t have time to learn a sophisticated photo editing program. Picnik.com, headquartered in Seattle, created a web-based photo editing solution ideal for real estate professionals.

 

• Free! No registration required.
• Fix your photos in just one click
• Use advanced controls to fine-tune your results
• Crop, resize, and rotate in real-time
• Tons of special effects, from artsy to fun
• Astoundingly fast, right in your browser
• Awesome fonts and top-quality type tool
• Basketfuls of shapes from hand-picked designers
• Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux
• No download required, nothing to install

Picnik allows you to import pictures from your favorite online photo site.

What can I do with Picnik?
Pretty much everything! We’ve got amazing Edit tools that can fix just about anything that could possibly go wrong with a photograph. Lacking photo-editing prowess? A bunch of our editing tools are one-click fixes, including auto- fix, exposure, colors, and red-eye. And the others, like rotate, crop, resize, and sharpening, can be controlled with easy-to-use sliders.

Move over to the Create tab and you’ll see our custom-made Effects (most of which have the ability to be painted into just the areas of your image where you want them), an awesome text tool with dozens of fonts, dozens of shapes, including seasonal shapes for holidays and events, and some super customizable frames. Not to mention the touch up tools and new Advanced Editing tools.

What is Facebook All About?

We hear about people creating Facebook pages and that someone found someone else on Facebook. But what exactly is Facebook all about and does it have any benefits for us? Read on to find out about Facebook and if it indeed does something more than enhance your social life.

Facebook is one of the top ten Web 2.0 applications and social networking sites in the world. Started as a social experiment, Facebook was originally designed as a way for friends to keep in touch and create interesting profiles and pages for others to look at.

Many kids and college students latched on to Facebook. Members can upload pictures, leave messages on the profiles of others, and search for friends who have profiles. The problem with Facebook was the type of information people were uploading. College students uploading inappropriate videos at wild parties and such have caught on virally. This spoke to the poor judgment of the students as those videos would still be around when they grew out of the drinking phase and realized that it was no longer the “cool” thing to do.

Facebook is not just for the young teenagers and college students however. It is also a networking tool for business owners. It’s a great way to connect with other business owners and targeted potential customers. A plus for new businesses is that becoming a Facebook member is free. Every registered member gets a home page where they can then create a profile and add applications to their page for friends and other trusted users they designate to use.

Entrepreneurs can use their Facebook profile to tell others all about themselves. Many times, businesses never really have a chance for potential clients to learn more about the person or people who run the business. More focus is put on advertising, growing the business and promoting its products or services. With a social networking page on social sites like Facebook, customers and other business associates get a chance to find out about the person behind the business.

Anyone can join or create a group on Facebook. These groups bring together like minded people according to business, personal, or other social factors. Groups talk to one another; share business tips and create a useful connection in many different ways.

Businesses use Facebook pages to showcase products or give customers a place to ask questions and record comments about the products they have used. They can talk to each other and compare notes. Big businesses with famous brand names use Facebook to gain insights into consumer trends.

Facebook can be useful for communities trying to create a closer knit group of families. Homeschooling parents can create a network of support for each other and their kids. Facebook has a variety of uses both for business and personal reasons. So, now that you know more concerning Facebook, what will your page be about?