Home Buying in the Cloud

Me & My iPad - wireless & paperless
 

It's official! PlanoHomesandLand.com is totally in the cloud!

This doesn't happen overnight but it takes a while to get it right.  Some apps work & some don't but you know that!  There is nothing I can't do or information I can't get for you on the fly.  And it doesn't matter if you're a buyer or seller.  If you want your real estate fast, I got it.  If you want to know everything about a property at a moments notice, write a contract, I got it covered.  Want a real estate experience that will get you there quick? Contact us.

You know we love new technology and the home search is number one for everyone especially on your cell.  That's what makes us different and we use all of it for efficiency and better service and because well, we're geeks at heart.  Totally mobile. so here you go...

Long story short - the app was written by some students who wanted to find a rental and didn't like just lists of properties so he wrote an app for mapping the property. How cool! And it works great!  It's fast and accurate.  Realtor.com app is really good too...but if you know the area and want to see things on google maps - get it.  You can also see photos of area (which some are weird) and stats for zillow (not so accurate) and it will have all the listings. Yay!  Detail info is kinda sparse but gives you the basic intel. The part I like best is to watch the pins rain down like a video game...they are color coded by price range.  Best and fastest apps for iphone is NearBuy and Realtor.com and for my blackberry it's the whole MLS that's now available.  So, I can answer any question on the fly.  Love that!  NearBuy is a free app.

Take a look at the video below:

[75093,Plano, TX, nearbuy phone app]

Houselogic is a new web site for the consumer by NAR (National Association of Realtors).
It's in beta form so take a drive and see how you like....

What is this so good?

Being a consumer advocate I look for direct sources that benefit the client.

What is it?



It's a detailed site with knowledge about anything to do with real estate, how to spend and save money on various real estate projects.  Basically, anything to improve and maintain your home and make the right financial decision.

I bet a lot of you don't know that Realtor.com is not owned by the NAR.  They sold the name back in 1996, not understanding where the internet was going.   They have no control over the ad content of the site they only make a royalty.

So this is NAR's attempt to take all their incredible information and build a web site in house for the consumer!  It's sophisticated and smart - owner smart as they say.

In my opinion and it's been for the last 5 years, the best real estate technology has not been in the real estate industry but has come from outside, like Zillow, Truila etc. etc. etc.  These add model sites are great, informative and entertaining but the AVM (automatic value model) is not always so accurate when information comes from public data. Especially in Texas where sales price of homes is not disclosed.

Why are they building a site for you?



Well, a couple of things, they want your email address to alert you to legislation that is current in congress. Also, they have invested in Cyberhomes which is a value site like Zillow but could be a bit more accurate using appraisal and MLS data as well as public data, that's the plan. By the way, they will not share or sell your info to anyone, it's on the site.

I think this is great that NAR has built such an awesome site for public use, free.  They have so much information to share.  Of course, this will eventually be an ad model site too but they won't have to share revenues with anyone. Looks like this could be a win-win for everyone.

[where: 75093, Plano, TX, houselogic, real estate]

Big Changes Coming October 28


The MLS rarely does updates, in fact,  it's kind of behind but with great sites like Trulia and Zillow that have pushed the envelope as far as what consumers want and demand, they are making progress.  Accurate information is key and using technology is mandatory.  Here are 3 great things for you to look forward to:

• For example, by the end of this month 25 photos will be allowed to be entered for each listing on NTREIS, North Texas Real Estate Information System).
  

• All Open House Dates and Times will be on all full customer reports and all IDX feeds (Internet Data Feeds) those are the listings that come directly from the MLS, like on this site.

• And Clarus Market Metrics, California MLS's have been using this for awhile, you can run reports on the median home prices and many other report options pulled directly from local MLS data, results can then be sorted and distributed to clients and/or posted online.  Any agent will be able to target a specific zip code for their report and in some cases a map code or even a school district. It will keep you up to date information on local real estate market trends and conditions. Current and historical data already in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is used to produce detailed, highly visual and easy-to-interpret reports that help you buy and sell real estate. Whew...Can't wait!
  

Being the data geek I am you will find reports posted online here.  Anything to make the home buying and selling process easier. And using actual MLS data is far more accurate than public data assembled by algorithims.  That's the one thing about all the information online, it's great -  but can you trust it?

[where:75093, MLS Update, NTREIS, real estate]

Feel cooler now?

Well, we have officially hit the dog days of summer, although early this year, it's only mid July!  If you didn't know Bing - Microsoft's new search engine is awesome and a little more interesting than a white page.  More and more people are using it and many are finding this site through it, we come up first for Plano homes and Plano real estate.  Everyday there are new photos from around the world to view.  The particular photo above is Kilauea lighthouse in Kauai HI, just a little photo to beat the heat and if you haven't tried this new search tool give a it a BING!

[where:75093, Plano, Texas]