Last
Update for your viewing pleasure: 9/17/2003
This
is one of those topics that could go on forever and
will get old very fast. Such is technology. We use,
or have used, almost all of these tools regularly.
There are a few that will be noted as "on the
radar" and we'll be getting them soon. We'll
update the reviews when we do.
Like
all of the pages in this section...we want this to
be a valuable resource for you. If we left something
out that you think should be in here, please let us
know.Use the Contact
Us page for that. We'll try to add it so this
is more valuable to those that follow in your footsteps.
Hopefully, you'll find resources of value here.
Software:
Top
Producer
We
started with them awhile ago. We used TP version 6i,
networked. We are in the middle of moving to a different
platform. Some people love this software. We'll pass.
I can't put all of my feelings/observations here.
If you want the rest of
my opinion, eMail me. If I put it all here, you would
get the impression I'm a really bitter monster, which
may be true (hope not).
AgentOffice
also available at www.GaryDavidHall.com
This
is the other main Real Estate specific software. I
hear it is a lot better, easier, more powerful. Their
marketing isn't as aggressive as TP. Maybe that's
why they are more obscure. Gary Hall has an article
comparing TP and AgentOffice here.
He is also a reseller and I would highly recommend
his services. We spent a lot of
time on his site when researching Contact Management
software. Check out his site for lots of information.
ACT!
I've
(Mark) tried to get into ACT! several times over the
years. I'm now committed to changing our business
over to them. There are lots of reasons. Mainly, it
works well with the programs I use to create and produce
our marketing. It is also more powerful and flexible.
I like tools (toys?) that I can make work the way
I want to. I would highly recommend getting a Real
Estate specific template (see below). Building "campaigns"
in ACT! is not nearly as powerful
as it should be. And we believe "campaigns"
are a "mission critical" component of the
overall business.
Trans-ACT!
Residential version
This
is the ACT! add-on that makes the campaigns much more
powerful. It has a Real Estate specific setup that
is just a little limited.
I have specific needs that aren't covered, but, with
the overall power of ACT!, these can be modified to
my taste.
ACTive
Agent
This
is another ACT! add-on. I wasn't aware of this program
when I paid (committed) for Trans-ACT. It looks good,
but I'm not sure it's better than the other. But,
it would have been nice to compare before the decision
had been made. Now, you can do that.
REMS
This
is brand new (as fall 2003) and I wish it had been
out a few months ago. It adds Real Estate specific
features and "campaign"
capability to Outlook. This is the first attempt we've
seen to add this kind of flexibility to Outlook. We
hope they have good success and that it works like
crazy. It is from the same people that provide ACTive
Agent, above.
Goldmine
We
looked into this briefly before going with ACT. It
seems comparable. It also seems more large enterprises
use this than ACT. Hmmm. There is also a Real Estate
specific add-on. We don't have a link for that (sorry)
but when we do, we'll
add it. Try a Google search.
Other
Software: (in no particular order)
Pocket
Real Estate
If
your MLS supports this, it is very handy to have the
active properties in the palm of your hand. Customer
support is great. I used to hate being out with Buyers
and trying to track down information on a sign we
would see. Invariably, the other
agent wouldn't be around and their office had no idea.
Now...instant info. Very cool. It supports either
Palm OS or Pocket PC OS, but one version won't support
both.
Tarasoft
Titan
If
your MLS supports this service you might find it valuable.
We compared this service with SOAR (web tools page)
and ended up going with Titan for a couple of reasons.
The first reason was the cost. This is a one time
fee verses an ongoing fee for SOAR. If I remember,
the fee was $249 or $299). The second compelling reason
was that it did a live search of our MLS database
verses other IDX solutions that can be up to 24 hours
old. In our market that has meant the difference of
getting my clients a property (fast) or knowing about
a property one of my competitors just sold (slow).
That's a difference we want. We now use this for all
of our own daily searches. There is a BIG drawback.
SOAR lets web bases prospects enter their own information.
With Titan, I had to set up a form and have the information
emailed to me. Then I have to enter it manually. That
is a HUGE design flaw with
this software. I've talked to tech support and they
just kind of role their eyes and try to get off the
call. BTW, tech support has left me cold more than
once. See if it fits your game plan.
Microsoft
Streets and Trips (specifically the 2004 version):
This
software is GREAT! New in the 2004 version is virtual
real-time updating of GPS modules. We just got this
version last week and a GPS unit for the laptop. It
worked in minutes. YEA! The earlier versions updated
the GPS with a 15 second lag. Too much. Currently,
after rebates, it's $29.99. Here's how we use it.
I have an Access database I set up with all the Expired's,
FSBO's, Foreclosures, Probates and any other properties
I might be interested. I import the area I'm going
to visit. Then I let the software automatically route
them in the best order. Then I tell it to give me
directions. And away I go. I can map, route and get
directions for 30 properties in 3-4 minutes. Very
cool. If I ever finish this website, I'll get to try
out the GPS in the field. (next week, hopefully!)
I
decided to put a couple of examples on a separate
page. It you want to look a little closer, click
here. This will open a new window. The map is
a quick import of some Foreclosure properties. Import
to routed map with directions was about a minute.
We use it like this for caravan as well. Love this
stuff. BTW, we don't sell much besides
Real Estate, but we do have an Amazon account. If
you want to get this software, you can follow
this link to a page setup on Amazon. We get a
buck or so (how exciting). E-commerce at work. OK...
enough on this software.
Adobe
Acrobat also check ebay.
This
is different from the free "Adobe Acrobat Reader"
software. Why couldn't they have picked a name that
was a little different. Anyway, this helps a lot with
document management. The software installs a printer
driver so you can "print" right to the software
and create a "PDF" of what you are printing.
We use it all the time. It makes eMailing documents
very easy. And storage is simplified. It's not inexpensive,
but we think it was a good investment for us. BTW,
the PDF files made with this are smaller files than
what some of the PDF file maker
software creates. Picky point, but something we felt
was important. Version 6 is the current version. It
is $299 from Adobe. I just checked ebay and version
5.0 (what we have and will NOT be upgrading) and it
was going for $105.
Dragon
Naturally Speaking Pro
Lisa
has laughed at me for years as I would anxiously grab
the latest release of this software. Ah, but now,
she is a believer. Finally. And soon to be a user.
This software allows you to dictate to your computer
and it converts it to typewritten text. I use it with
Microsoft Word 2000 and it does very well. But, be
forewarned. I'm on my third sound card and have a
very expensive headset/microphone (that doubles as
my phone headset). The setup was fairly painful to
get just the right combination of equipment. Version
7 just released and I'll pony up the $99 upgrade fee
soon. It seems it might be worth it. Also, if you
have the right digital handheld recorded, you can
have the recording transcribed
into written text. "No!" you say. Yes, I
say. "Get out!" Seriously, it does it and
it works. Could work better, but how cool is it to
have my notes turned into text for property inspections..
or whatever. (see hardware for a review of the recorder)
Macromedia
Dreamweaver MX (and Studio MX)
This
is the big dog for creating and maintaining web sites.
It is what we used to put this one together and maintain
it. Learning curve is a little steep, but the program
does just about all that could be needed for a web
site. Also, in the studio is Fireworks. We use that
for most of our photo file editing. It may not be
the absolute best, but it is pretty good...and it's
what we know. Lastly, Flash is part of the
Studio. I'm (Mark) pretty sure this will be a major
cornerstone of delivering media rich content over
the web. We are learning it now and plan to redo anything
on PowerPoint to Flash. If real estate work would
just stop getting in the way 
.
Trillian
This
little program is the best. It is a "chat"
client that logs into AOL Chat, MSN Chat, Yahoo Chat,
ICQ, and IRC. All in one program. Often, Lisa and
I can "IM" (instant message) easier than
shouting back and forth. It works great if either
of us is on the phone and we need to get a quick message
without seeming distracted. Oh, how I wish our Escrow
company would use this. Quick updates would be so
easy! And... it's FREE! I (Mark) have a version
on the laptop, so I can IM Lisa or an Assistant with
a quick message. For this purpose, it works much better
than eMail or SMS or anything we have found.
Call
Corder
This
is a neat utility that can record a phone call onto
your computer. We have a line that goes to both our
telephone handset and computer.
This will pick up that line and record the conversation.
For legal reasons, make sure the other party knows
the call is being recorded, but if you have the need,
this is very cool and comes in handy.
Pop-up
Stopper
Lisa
doesn't like this software. I do. I don't like pop
ups, pop unders, pop-anythings. And this gets rid
of them. It's free and I have it set up on the desktop
and laptop. (Lisa's note...."It beeps, and then
you have to hit another set of keys to bypass it....too
much work for me. I just close everything down at
the end.")
Spybot
Search & Destroy
We
surf the web a lot! Many of the web sites will put
stuff on our computers. We could set the security
setting so high that we would catch all this stuff,
but then we couldn't get enough surfing done. So,
we let them download cookies
and other stuff. Then we use this software to "clean"
them out. There are several programs that do this.
Many people swear by this one. Many swear by the next
one. We've heard that it is prudent to use both. So,
that is what we do. We keep them up to date and run
them every other week. And, they're both free.
Ad-aware
This
is a program just like the one just above. The user
interface is a little more interesting. If that was
the only thing it had going
fo it, it wouldn't have made this page. Again, we
use this and Spybot regularly. Oh yes, this one is
free, too.
Webshots
This
is a great free software package to manage your desktop
wallpaper. Each day they have new pictures you can
download. The pictures cover any and all topics and
are really gorgeous. I especially like the Lighthouses
series, Waterfall series and
Ocean waves series. Hey, we can have a little fun
while we work, can't we. They have a slightly enhanced
"premium" version that we may try. It's
about $1.50 a month. Big risk there. Enjoy.
ItsTime!
This
is a little software program Lisa uses to remind her
of events while she is at the computer so she doesn't
get so involved she loses track of time. It pops up
on her computer. I've tried it and prefer
to use the contact manager for most things. This is
handy to catch all the little things that don't fit
your CM. It might work for you.
Eudora
I
(Mark) needed to have my non Real Estate eMails outside
of Outlook and using Outlook Express doesn't seem
appealing. Many people rave about this program and
the times I had tried it in the past just proved too
frustrating. OK, so I finally really needed to suffer
through the learning curve. And I am very happy I
did. This program just
seems to work a lot better than Outlook. Now, I use
both this and Outlook and think my eMail management
is the better for it. It's free. (they will allow
you to pay, but you can use the free 'sponsored' version
that has commercials) Highly recommended.
3D
Photo Builder Pro and Pano Viewer Pro
Someone
mentioned this software recently on RealTalk and we
are going to try it out soon. It looks like a good
tool to make your own Virtual Tours and host them
on your own server (or your web site host's server).
It looks like you would have all the functionality
of the much more expensive services, but the cost
is much more reasonable.
Certainly, something to consider.
Hardware:
Pricewatch
I've
(Mark) been using this site for many years. I've tried
other sites and keep coming back to this one. They
are a great place to comparison shop quickly and get
really geeky computer stuff very inexpensively. Motherboards,
hard drives, LCD monitors, computer memory, HP printer
mentioned below. all have worked out great. Couldn't
be happier. And you'll feel proudly geeky. (is that
a good thing?)
ebay
Sorry
we can't provide any great secrets here about ebay.
We can only tell you our experience. We've made maybe
15 to 20 different purchases and all but one have
been great. The one that wasn't great had the word
"refurbished" very small and we overlooked
it. It was still an OK deal. The most we've spent
on any item was probably around
$200. We always check here to get an idea of the bottom
level on prices after we've researched the item elsewhere.
So far, knock on wood, we've had good luck and would
recommend them.
Matrox
G450 dual video card
Both
Lisa and I have this card installed on our desktop
machines. This graphics card allows you to have two
monitors as your desktop. Some people can't comprehend
why you would ever want to do this. Some people are
curious if it would work for them. Some people have
to have them. I had to have it. Desperately! And this
had been the most effective way to get this solution.
I've had other solutions, some of which cost over
$1,000 (yes a thousand bucks!). This card cost about
$120 (check prices on Pricewatch above). The performance
is great. Your productivity will really be enhanced.
Techy talk: it will work in an AGP slot, which is
a good thing.
Lisa
was in the middle category of curious, but not wanting
to spend the money. Once she tried it, she was completely
hooked. One of her monitors went out (old LCD) and
she tried to go back to just one monitor. She bravely
made it work for a month or two, but finally broke
down and had me replace the broken monitor. Now, she's
happy with me again. Thank goodness it doesn't take
much.
FreeColorPrinters
This
is a very interesting program we heard about on RealTalk.
We thought it sounded great, so we got involved in
December 2001. It has exceeded our expectations dramatically.
The program is to sign up for a high end Xerox color
printer and agree to buy the ink from them (free black
ink for life of the printer). The ink is pretty expensive,
but we would be buying it anyway. The printer is different
now, but still high end. The one we got is a Xerox
Phaser 860 with a high capacity tray included, network
ready. It retailed for around $4500 at the time. Now
that could have been a "hype" figure, but
we did check it out and it was in line. You have to
make a minimum number of copies (ours is 2000 a month)
and purchase your supplies from them. The quality
is great! One small annoyance: the ink is wax based,
so doesn't feed well through automatic document feeders
like scanners, faxes or copiers. We would do it again,
although the color printer landscape has changed.
BTW, there is a copycat program at FreeColorPrinter
(no "s"). This program looks quite inferior,
so be careful you are at the right site.
Now
that these printers have been out for a while, there
are places you can get a factory refurbished one with
this option package for around $2000. Then the ink
could be purchased cheaper (about 1/2 price) At the
time, the cheapest color laser printers were around
$2500. Some models were cheaper but didn't have the
duty cycle we needed. So, now purchasing is more reasonable.
This program still makes a lot of sense, but not quite
as much as it did back then.
If you do want to look into this and decide to pursue
it, we'd love if you used our account number are the
referral source. We get a small bonus. Thanks!
HP
450 cbi
This
is the coolest little toy. It is a compact portable
color printer that runs on a battery. It also has
Bluetooth capability (you have to buy another $100
chip and have a Bluetooth capable computer/PDA). So,
you can be totally wireless. The print speed is excellent
and the color is pretty good (not excellent). We got
ours from a site on Pricewatch
(see above) and got a rebate from HP, so the total
(with $50 battery) was something like $275.00. Much
better than retail pricing. This is definitely a T.T.T.
(Top Ten Toy).
Visioneer
We
were ready to go out and buy an automatic document
feed scanner, printer, fax combo unit for about $800,
when we heard about this product. OK, we were a little
slow to come to this realization. We have all the
printers we could want, so why "re-buy"
that part of the formula? This would work well for
a whole lot less money. It's not the fastest model
they have, but the price skyrockets for the faster
units. The speed looks fine for the price. So... good
find. We don't have it yet, but plan to get it in
the next month or so. We'll update this to let you
know about the performance.
Sony
digital recorder model ICD-BP150 (this is the
Dragon page of compatible recorders)
This
may seem like a boring entry. However, there is a
lot of excitement in this package. OK, enough of the
buildup. Almost everybody has one of these. This model
is a little dated already, however it was a very affordable
device. We both have the same model. It has tons of
capacity. However, the single best feature (and why
we paid a premium for this model) is that it works
with Dragon Naturally Speaking to convert recorded
messages into typewritten text on your computer. What
a great idea! In reality, I've (Mark) given up trying
to train the thing. I mean,
I've got a web site to build. Who has time to play
with every toy? I will get it to work, but that priority
has dropped quite a bit. Maybe when I get Dragon up
to the next version, I'll try again. Great concept,
but not a great reality yet. The recorder is still
quite nice and it seems like a good price just for
that functionality.
Olympus
D-380 Digital Camera
My
(Mark) first digital camera was a Kodak DC 50. It
pains me to think, but if memory hasn't completely
failed, it was something like $1700 with all the bells
and whistles. Some people have more money than brains.
I resisted upgrading until recently. Lisa is the family
photo bug. I just wanted a basic unit. I got the camera
mentioned in the title. I think I spent about $250
with an upgraded memory card. It's basic, which I
wanted. There are models out there
(Kodak, I believe) that charge in the cradle and use
the cradle to transmit the pictures. I wish I had
gone for that. This uses the batteries far to fast.
So, I'd have to say this wasn't the best purchase.
Oh well.
Nikon
CoolPix 800 digital camera
Lisa
is a long time photographer and this is the camera
she decided on. It is functioning as a really nice
Real Estate camera. This model has interchangeable
lenses, which is very handy. We use it with a wide
angle lensfor our Visual
Tours and they come out great. Of course, with this
technology, it's outdated when you buy it, but we
feel this will stay in production for a long time
to come. Thumbs up!
Handspring
Visor Prism
Should
I even include this item? It's what I (Mark) use.
Mostly for Pocket Real Estate. It's a little old now
and the memory seems tiny. We get picky quickly, don't
we? Well, I will say, it beats nothing by a long shot.
If you are just getting into PDA's, this would be
an excellent start. It has a nice color screen and
is handy. You can probably pick
up one of these very inexpensively. The iPaq below
tops out over $600. That is a heck of a test. This
might run $100. So, consider this a PDA with training
wheels. I do like mine, but long for more power.
Pocket
PC iPaq (HP's home page. Click on "Handheld
devices")
Pocket
PC's seem to have taken the lead in power for PDA's.
If we were starting over, we'd probably go with this
operating system. And, for our money, Compaq has the
lead with their iPaq series. They are a lot of money,
but Lisa likes small and powerful. We would have to
repurchase some software so this is a little further
in the future. I (Mark) would skip right to a Tablet
PC (see below) and try to exist without a PDA. Is
that possible anymore?
Navman
GPS
This
is the unit we just bought (Sept. '03) to work with
Microsoft Streets and Trips 2004 edition. It was $119
at out local electronics store. If you are going to
get Streets and Trips 2004, then get that first. We
could have gotten the GPS unit for
$20 less with a coupon in the Streets and Trips box.
I (Mark) hate blowing 20 bucks. Oh well. Anyway, the
unit worked out of the box in about a minute. It is
a USB model for the laptop. We'd give it a thumbs
up.
Tablet
PC (generic site for Tablet PCs)
This
is near the top of my (Mark) NEED list. Lisa thinks
it belongs on the "wish someday" list. It
seems like a very good WOW for presentations and very
functional for many Real Estate needs. The first generation
seems like the screen is pretty small, but, they have
to start somewhere. The Compaq model is in the top
two. It has many interesting
features, but one glaring omission is the lack of
Bluetooth or the ability to add it. So, Compaq tablets
can't talk to Compaq wireless printers. No good. The
Toshiba 3505 is also a top contender. Bigger screen
and a little more power. We'll see who wins this argument.
Hope your pulling for me (Mark)!
Jotto
desk
The
last entry for now. This is a mobile desk. I (Mark)
usually drive our Expedition and this is set up to
mount under the passenger seat. It swings a fully
adjustable desk over the center console. There is
a mounting pole that is in the passenger side, but
it is not in the way. I'm 6 feet tall and big boned
(a little overweight) and it does not get in my way
as a passenger. If I were going across the country,
I'd go crazy. But, for a typical showing drive, the
benefits far outweigh the very minor inconvenience.
It is very sturdy. So, with the laptop, Microsoft
Streets and Trips, the GPS software and access to
the internet, clients have all the latest wiz-bang
tools right with us in the field. With the offer contracts
and disclosures also on the laptop, we can get a contract
put together almost as we drive. Pretty cool.
