Tag Archive - Smartphones

The RentJuice Blog Weekly Roundup – January 20, 2012

By Sarah Gabot on January 20, 2012 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

rentjuice roundup

Image by USDAgov via Flickr

Here’s what happened on the RentJuice Blog this week.

How to Use Your Smartphone to Help Close Leases – Learn how to use Smartphones to close deals with renters.

Will Rental Leasing One Day Be Completely Digital? – Are we seeing the last days of paperwork and face-to-face meetings in rentals? See what direction technology is pushing the rental business.

10 Must-Have Smartphone Apps for Rental Real Estate Professionals – Don’t know what apps to download on your Smartphone? Start here. These apps will help make your job easier.

How to Use E-mail Marketing to Keep Your Rental Vacancies Filled – Learn how to use e-mail marketing strategies to reach out to prospective renters and to keep current tenants’ business.

4 Reasons You Need a Smartphone for Your Rental Business – Smartphones are helping rental professionals everywhere with their business. If you’ve been on the fence about getting a Smartphone, read these compelling reasons.

How to Use Your Smartphone to Help Close Leases

By Sarah Gabot on January 20, 2012 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

Close leases on smartphones

Photo credit: tillwe (Flickr)

As discussed in our previous post, the rental real estate industry is going digital rapidly. At some point, the way that rental professionals interact with prospective and current tenants will happen over the internet.

Previously, we gave you 4 reasons to start using a Smartphone for your rental business. Now that you finally own one, learn how you can use it to seal the deal with renters.

Check to see what other listings are available in your database.

At a showing, if a current property isn’t resonating with one of your prospective tenants, you head back to the drawing board. It can cause you to go back to your office, because you need the computer to look through your inventory database.

Access to your online database through your mobile phone allows rental professionals to truly work anywhere, especially while on-the-go. As we all know, as your schedule starts to fill up, the time you spend behind your desk decreases. Some rental marketing software allows you to access your database on mobile devices. So, when you’re out at a showing, and you don’t have a match, quick access to your database will allow you to make another match in minutes.

Carry your documents in your phone.

Is your renter ready to sign some paperwork? Whether a prospective renter wants to fill out a lease or an application after visiting a property, you may find yourself carrying extra papers with you or sending digital copies when you get back to your office.

Smartphones can store lots of data, especially your important documents. Save your paperwork in a PDF form and store it in your Smartphone. Use an application like DropBox to sync files between your office computer, Smartphone, or any other digital device. So, when you’re at a showing and your renter is ready to go with paperwork, you can immediately send all the documents to them by e-mail within seconds. Also, if you own an iPad, you can also use this to have them digitally sign documents with PDF applications that allow users to type in fields, such as Noterize.

Will Rental Leasing One Day Be Completely Digital?

By Sarah Gabot on January 19, 2012 in Agent Tips with Comments Off


Digital leasingProspective renters used to turn to the paper’s Classifieds to find their next apartment, circling and highlighting potential properties, then inquiring by phone call on a landline phone.

Today, the newspaper Classifieds is a seldom-used medium for renters to find their next property. Renters turn to online listing sites like Craigslist or Apartments.com, fill out online forms, or find the location of the property in maps embedded in listings.

The digital world slowly crept up on us and is replacing nearly every once-manual task in the rental prospecting procedure. Renters get video tours of an apartment, analyzing how “walkable” a property is by its Walk Score and even deciding who to give business based on online reviews.

So, the next natural question is: What’s next?

In my opinion, the rental industry’s digital usage is still in its infancy. Paperwork and face-to-face interactions will dwindle. One day, renters won’t need to attend showings or fill out paper applications, because it’ll be handled digitally. Rather than stopping by a broker’s office, renters will start to video conference through medium like Skype or FaceTime.

The rise of digital tablets and Smartphones are game changers, also. Renters don’t need a computer to browse listings, and can do it on-the-go. Those looking to move are checking listings anywhere and everywhere on their downtime – on the bus, waiting in line, or even on their lunch break. One day, renters will be able to find a listing, talk to an agent, take a tour and sign a lease in a swift series on their mobile device.

Technology in rentals is moving forward, and it’s moving fast. The tasks that you’re doing manually now will one day be performed digitally. To those who are reluctant to incorporating technology into their rental business: What will you do when the renters start signing leases straight from their iPads or Smartphone? Getting in front of technology isn’t an easy job, but as more renters adopt new technologies, you should as well.

 

10 Must-Have Smartphone Apps for Rental Real Estate Professionals

By Sarah Gabot on January 18, 2012 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

Smartphone applications for real estate

Smartphones are one of the most important technology tools that a rental professional owns. A rental professional’s Smartphone has the capacity to perform all of the tasks that would be done at an office desk.

Here are 10 Smartphone apps that are helping rental professionals:

1. Evernote – (Free)

Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry

Never worry about carrying a notebook with your when doing your rental business ever again. Take pictures of your units that you want to save for later use or jot down any notes you have from your showings. Tag your notes to organize them, and never worry about saving your notes, since all notes are auto-saved.

2. My Measures & Dimensions – ($5.99)

Android, iPhone, iPad

It’s hard to imagine a room with only the dimensions. Give renters a better idea of the size of your property with this application. Take a picture of your unit, and add arrows, angles and text. Send your picture with the added dimensions to renters straight from the application.

3. 360 Panorama – ($0.99)

Android, iPhone, iPad

Give renters a 360 degree view of your property. This application turns your phone into a 360 degree camera. It’ll give renters a feeling of what it’s like to be standing in the property. Also, post your 360 pictures straight to Facebook.

4. Curbed – (Free)

iPhone, iPad

Get the latest news in Real Estate, design, and neighborhoods in major metropolitan cities and nationally. Stay on top of the news in both the sales and rentals industries.

5. Zillow  - (Free)

Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry

Get the rent ranges an apartment can be rented for. See what homes and apartments are up for rent, and share them by e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.

6. Craigspro+ – ($0.99)

Android, iPhone, iPad

If you try to look at Craigslist on your Smartphone’s browser, you’ll end up zooming in, zooming in, then zooming in more. Check out your Craigslist listings out on a user-friendly interface with this application, making it easier to navigate through Craigslist listings.

7. DropBox – (Free)

Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry

It’s a hassle to take pictures of unit and later connecting your phone to computer to upload them. Eliminate the cords and wirelessly upload pictures and any other documents from your Smartphone and access them on your computer. Your files will live in “the cloud” and will appear on any device you download DropBox.

8. Walk Score – (Free)

iPhone, iPad

Want to know the Walk Score of a particular apartment? Get the Walk Score of any location and get a map of nearby amenities. Tell renters how walkable your unit is on the spot.

9. iMovie – ($4.99)

iPhone, iPad

Make a professional-looking movie of your rental property. This application allows you to edit your videos and easily add pictures, sound and themes. Publish your videos from your Apple device directly to YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo.

10. RentJuice – (Free)

iPhone, iPad

Okay, okay, we know this one is a little self-serving, but we promise it’s a worthwhile app. Rental professionals can carry their entire database wherever they go and update listings in real-time. Instantly update property photos from your iPhone. Even call, text message or e-mail your agents, tenants or landlords straight from the application.

 

4 Reasons You Need a Smartphone for Your Rental Business

By Sarah Gabot on January 16, 2012 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

smartphones for business

Today, there are more Smartphone users than ever before. An increasing number of rental professionals are using Smartphones as a business tool to help them manage their rental business.

If you’re not a current Smartphone user, consider these 4 reasons you should start using one.

Reason #1: Always have e-mail on hand.

Forget printing out, writing down, or memorizing any information from your inbox. When you have your inbox in your pocket, you can check your e-mails on the go almost anywhere at any time. This is useful when you have several available apartments up for rent and you’re on-the-go doing multiple showings or doing other business. You’ll also be able to respond to rental inquiries from prospective clients while you’re out because you’re not tied down to a computer. Smartphones will help you be extra efficient with rental business.

Reason #2: It has lots of memory.

Do you need to jot down a few notes or enter in several contacts? Smartphones can handle it. Smartphones have the ability to hold lots of data because it has a lot of memory. That way, you can store lots of information in your Smartphone without worrying about losing notes or contact information.

You can have all the information you need in your hand. Using a note-taking application like Evernote can help you access your notes on all your devices such as a tablet, computer or mobile device. Also, some Smartphones sync to your Facebook, and adds pictures to your address book. That way, it’ll help you quickly keep track of all the rental leads and other contacts you have.

Reason #3: It comes with a camcorder and camera.

If you need to take a quick picture of your property and forgot your digital camera at the office, your Smartphone can be a convenient quick fix. Most Smartphones have both recording and picture taking abilities, so you don’t have to worry if you’ve forgotten your digital camera. Many Smartphones have quality cameras, such as the iPhone, so you can have clear pictures of your property.

Certain rental marketing software also has applications that allow you to upload your photos straight to your database. This makes it easier for rental professionals to quickly attach photos to their listings without having to use a computer.

Reason #4: Social media applications.

Many rental professionals use social media to gain rental leads. It’s difficult to manage several social media accounts while on the move. You really can’t afford to sit at the computer all day dealing with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Smartphones allow you to manage your social presences away from your computer. That way, if any rental leads reach out through social media, you’ll be alerted and you’ll be able to respond right away.