Michelle Hawco

By Toby Welch

iPads and iPhones are rapidly becoming a staple in sales reps’ lives.  On the devices, you can find an application to assist you with every aspect of your real estate career.  Most iGadget-using Realtors have an app or two that they can’t imagine living without. 

Michelle Hawco, a sales rep with Re/Max Real Estate Central in Georgetown, Ont., considers herself a “very heavy user” of iGadgets.  She regularly uses the 6 in 1 Real Estate Calculator application, a QR code reader app, GoodReader, WordPress for blogging and a TomTom GPS app, which allows her to carry one less device.  Hawco is also a fan of the Realtor.ca app by the Canadian Real Estate Association.  It is geared for consumers but she says she finds it extremely useful for tracking down property information.

Richard Killeen-Payne, a sales rep with Century 21 Team One Realty in Dartmouth, N.S., has two favourite apps – Prezi and Open House Manager.  Killeen-Payne uses Prezi to create listing presentations.  “I’ve used Prezi on a laptop but when you use it on the iPad for presentations, it’s amazing; a very different, more creative view than paper or PowerPoint.” 

Open House Manager on the iPad collects the details of buyers coming to open houses.  Killeen-Payne says: “Open House helps you keep track of the possible buyers and also emails them details and thank yous after the open house.  It’s all about the contact touches and the follow-up from the app is great.”

Michael Thorne

Evernote is the most popular app among all the sales reps that REM contacted for this article.  Michael Thorne, a sales rep with Re/Max Little Oak Realty in Fort Langley, B.C., says: “There are so many amazing apps that are perfect for our industry.  However, the one that has the biggest impact on my day-to-day business is Evernote.  Having a single place where I can find everything, anytime, anyplace and lets me be mobile is irreplaceable… and it allows me to spend more time with my clients.  I’m able to add documents, audio and photos and then share that with my clients.  An example would be the MLS details of the properties seen that day.  I can add audio notes and photos of each home’s pros and cons at any time during the viewing.  These are all created in one shareable note.”

Jean Richer, a salesperson with Keller Williams – Ottawa Realty in Ottawa, is also a fan of Evernote.  “It can be used on the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android (I think), and it can also be used on your desktop (PC or Mac).  It is a web-based application but it can do so much.  The nice thing about this app is that I can share everything with my assistant even when I am on the road.  If you need more of the features they have, you can upgrade to the paid version.  Most Realtors will never need to upgrade although the price is very affordable.” 

Jean Richer

For keeping track of open house information, Richer swears by Open Home Pro.  “It is a great way to greet people at open houses and get their real contact information.  It is also linked to an online version where you can upload your listings and they automatically show up in your application.  When people visit your open house, they register and then the application sends them a ‘thank you for visiting my open house.’  It is a great conversation piece as well.”

Diane Richardson

Diane Richardson, a Realtor with Re/Max Real Estate (Central) in Calgary, regularly uses Dropbox, ScannerPro and Keynote but the one app she likes best is PDF Expert (by Readdle).  “PDF Expert lets me do everything I need with PDF files.  Calgary Real Estate Board contracts are all in editable PDF format.  I can create new contracts and have my client sign them all within PDF Expert.  I can also email a flattened copy of any contracts directly from the app.  Being able to flatten the document is important as it makes it uneditable when received on the other end.  PDF Expert also has a decent file organizing function.”

Tim Harris

Tim Harris, broker/owner of Tradewinds Realty in Chester, N.S., is a huge fan of technology; he had an app created for Tradewinds Realty more than two years ago.  It has had more than 6,000 downloads since then, an average of over seven per day. 

Harris has more than 200 apps on his iPad and finds it tough to pinpoint which one is his favourite.  He regularly uses iCamera HDR, which takes two images and blends them together for significantly richer colour; he acknowledges that not everyone appreciates the app, though. Harris uses Cue for a social organizer so he can see at a glance what he has going on during his day.  The Facebook app helps Harris maintain his personal page as well as the two Tradewinds Realty pages.  eSign allows for paperless document signing and Dropbox is ideal for photo storage and file exchanges.

Harris speaks highly of Realty Juggler; the app not only helps with his contact management but he likes using it more than the MLS website. 

An assortment of other apps received a thumbs up from sales reps:

* Tips & Tricks – handy for iGadget newbies as it helps familiarize you with what iPads and iPhones can do.

* Documents To Go – Microsoft Office users appreciate the organization this app provides.

* Google Maps – while GPS apps abound, this one keeps getting kudos.

* Pad Folio – useful for displaying and managing PDF documents or photos.

* Dragon Dictation – this app makes notes from your spoken words.

* SugarSync – syncs your documents together from multiple computers and gadgets.

* Angry Birds – for when you’re looking for a game to play to help you unwind after a long day.

Many sales reps find an iPad or iPhone is an indispensable tool to have in their arsenal; having the right apps makes all the difference.