Benfits of a High Tech agent

The Benefits of a High Tech Agent

Provided by Jay Burnham

Unsophisticated home-shoppers tend to select a real estate agent based on a chance encounter at an open house or a friend-in-the-business referral. Savvy home-shoppers, on the other hand, do their homework, contact several successful agents and prepare lists of questions to ask these agents during how-can-you-help-me-buy-a-home interviews. Some of the questions should concern how involved the agent is in the high-tech aspects of real estate. All other qualifications being equal, here are six reasons why a tech-savvy agent can be a good bet.

1. High-tech agents use e-mail to keep in touch with their clients.

If you want to communicate with your agent via e-mail about houses for sale, purchase negotiations and the status of your real estate transaction, you obviously need an agent who not only is equipped to send and receive e-mail messages, but also actually uses e-mail. Even better would be an agent with a laptop computer, alphanumeric e-mail pager or other on-the-go e-mail capability.

2. High-tech agents have great access to information.

It's no secret that the Web contains massive amounts of pertinent, informative and helpful information about real property and the business of real estate. A high-tech agent can find neighborhood profiles, mortgage qualifying calculators, real estate news, markets trends reports and much more with a few mouse clicks.

3. High-tech agents can steer you toward educational Web sites.

First-time home buyers, in particular, need to educate themselves about the wide world of home-buying and homeownership. A high-tech agent can recommend Web resources that explain everything from how to shop for a mortgage and why you need title insurance to how to pack your belongings and where to get seeds for your vegetable garden.

4. High-tech agents can help you house-hunt on the Web and by e-mail.

The days of squinting at tiny blurry pictures in a proprietary MLS book, then driving around for hours in the agent's car are fast coming to an end. A high-tech agent can point you to the best and biggest house-hunting Web sites and use e-mail to zap new listings that meet your criteria directly to you.

5. High tech agents network online with other high-tech agents.

E-mail is becoming a popular means of communication for real estate agents, who use it to promote their listings to one another and keep in touch with market developments. In some communities, agents who don't use e-mail are falling out of the loop.

6. High-tech agents have their own web sites which provide content-rich information.

The best high tech agents have their own web sites that are more than just online personal brochures. Look for an agent that has information you can use to help you make your purchase decisions easier. If you find a site with a visible "counter" in the 10's of thousands, you've found an agent, and a site, that consumers deem worthy of accessing.

JAY BURNHAM, VP
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
PREVIEWS International® Property Specialist
54 Dodge Street
Beverly, MA 01915
978.233.2828

Designations Earned: CRB, CRS, GRI, RECS, SRES