There are only a limited number of essential tools and apps for real estate agents and Realtors, although there are a large number of other helpful apps that save time, improve efficiency, and enhance an agent\u2019s ability to assist clients in buying and selling property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The one absolute essential tool is access to the local\/regional multiple listing service (MLS<\/strong>). This is a subscription-based online service owned by local Realtor associations and available to real estate agents and certain other qualified people (such as licensed appraisers). Although the offerings and capabilities of vary, the core is a database of properties that are listed for sale on the MLS as well as a database of properties that had been listed and usually includes those that have sold, those that haven\u2019t sold, and those that have been withdrawn. It usually contains the listing as it appeared when listed, and also tracks price reductions and increases. It\u2019s searchable by date (date listed, sold, withdrawn, days on market), house and property characteristics (number of bathrooms, bedrooms, square footage of house, size of lot), location and distance from a designated point, and many other characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Also:<\/strong> Is It Worth To Get A Real Estate License As An Investor?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most\nMLS systems allow an agent to set up an automatic search for properties. For\nexample, a buyer may be looking for a four bedroom, two bath Colonial on a\nthird-of-an-acre lot in a specific zip code \nno more than 10 miles away from a specific location and priced under\n$450,000. Such a search is simple to set up and the results can be sent to the\nagent and\/or directly to the buyer. Further, the search can be set to run at\nany time on any day, and the results are \u201creal time\u201d\u2014a listing entered 10\nminutes before a search is run will appear on the search. (In contrast, online\nservices such as Zillow may run days behind.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nMLS also contains rental properties listed by agents. The same searches that\nare run for buyers can be run for renters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Often\ntied to, and accessible through, the MLS is the area\u2019s real estate tax records<\/strong>, generally in a searchable\ndatabase similar to the MLS. The tax records can show a history of the house\u2019s\nsales, prices paid, assessed value, whether tax payments are current, legal\nowners, and more. In most jurisdictions, individual tax records are available to\nany user online, but the tie-in to the MLS and the searchable nature of the tax\nrecords makes the tax records accessed through the MLS much more useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\nreal estate agents who are also Realtors (all Realtors are licensed real estate\nagents, but not all real estate agents are Realtors\u2014members of the National\nAssociation of Realtors), there\u2019s an online service named NARRPR<\/strong>\u2014short for National Association of Realtors\u2019 Realtor Property\nResource. This ties into all the MLS systems in the United States and contains\ninformation that isn\u2019t found on most MLS systems. This includes demographics in\nan area, economic conditions and employment figures, flood zone maps and \u201cheat\nmaps\u201d of real estate activity, and more. Further, NARRPR has nearly a dozen\nbuilt-in customizable reports designed for buyers and for sellers. It will\ncalculate the estimated value of a property\u2014similar to Zillow or Redfin\u2014but\nwith greater deal and more customization options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a number of helpful tools for agents<\/a> specially when they are starting Brokerage<\/a>, particularly for non-agents and those without access to the MLS. Note: Some require payment, usually a monthly subscription fee, either for the basic service or for enhanced services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First,\nthough, there\u2019s Google<\/strong>. Plug in an\naddress and you may uncover past rental or sales information, zoning code\nviolations, information on the owners, and other useful data. Equally valuable\nis Google Maps: Street View. Street View consists of linked photographs of most\ncommunities in the United States as viewed by specially-equipped vehicles that\nhave driven those streets. A user can view a specific property. Further, the\nuser can modify the view to show the houses of neighbors, or even to \u201cdrive\u201d\nthe streets to inspect the neighborhood. One slight drawback: In more populated\nareas, the photos are likely to be only a year or two old. In less populated\nareas, the photos may be older and, thus, somewhat out of date. Nevertheless, Google\nMaps is an extremely helpful tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another category of useful tools are online communities of Realtors, real estate agents, and\/or investors. The most active and probably the most useful is Active Rain<\/strong> (www.activerain.com<\/a>). It\u2019s designed and mostly populated by Realtors, but investors and others also participate and can benefit from it. Active Rain has a section for blogs and another for posting questions. It also offers webinars, courses, and podcasts.<\/p>\n\n2. Real Estate Tax Records<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. NARRPR<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Helpful Tools<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Google<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Active Rain<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n