Meet Our Panel
Barbara Kleban,
Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker Evanston, Former Inman News Top 100 Influential People in Real Estate
847.784.7393
Barbara.Kleban@cbexchange.com
Eric Bryn,
Vice President of Digital Innovation, Baird & Warner, Former Inman News Top 100 Influential People in Real Estate
312.368.1855
eric.bryn@bairdwarner.com
Nobu Hata,
Director of Digital Engagement,
National Association of Realtors
312.329.8279
NHata@realtors.org
Krisstina Wise,
Principal/Broker,
The Goodlife Team
Austin, Texas
512.892.9473
krisstina@goodlifeteam.com
Jeff Lobb,
Vice President of Innovation and Technology
EXIT Realty
Augusta, N.J.
973.277.2009
jeff@jlobb.com
The Best App for Storing, Signing & Sending Documents
Cartavi
Cartavi appears to be the greatest app since Dropbox, because it does so much more than just store documents – almost our entire panel couldn’t stop singing its praises. In terms of both apps and software, Cartavi appears to be No. 1 across the board.
But Dropbox still gets praise, too. “I love Dropbox more than any other storage software/app because it has become a storage hub for other software/apps,” Hata says. “DocuSign and DocuSign Ink, SignMyPad – they all have the same ‘sign and send’ functionality using Dropbox as a hub. I used them all and based what I used with what my clients were comfortable with using.”
Pros: Cartavi has a feature called “Transaction Rooms” which enables for quick access and storage of documents to everyone involved in a transaction. “My Docs” ensures private storage for secure documents, and there are different permissions to allow who in your network can see what.
Cartavi also auto-pulls from documents to send out contracts, addendums and other forms to different parties. “You can send a client a contract, along with title and mortgage forms,” Wise says. “There are no multiple emails, no scanning and no saving.”
In each transaction room, clients can electronically sign and send back documents because Cartavi is integrated with DocuSign. Compatible with smartphone or tablet use, “it has a slick interface and is a great communication tool for clients,” Lobb says. “You can easily share documents with anyone in your Cartavi network, or even through email or fax.”
Cons: Free accounts are available, but have some constraints: they can only secure 1 GB of storage, have only three Transaction Rooms available, won’t allow inbound or outbound faxing of documents, can’t archive documents in a Transaction Room and do not integrate e-signature verification or DocuSign.
PRICE: Free, but Basic bundle starts at $10 per month, or $99 per year.
Where to Buy: www.cartavi.com/plans
Runner Up: DocuSign Ink
Cartavi is integrated with DocuSign Ink so the two can work together, so if you’re a DocuSign Ink fan, there’s no excuse to not use Cartavi on some level; but, DocuSign Ink still stores and sends signed contracts, addendums and forms and allows e-signatures. In addition, this program is free at first (see our price section), so agents can test it out first.
Pros: This is a free app that allows users to sign documents on mobile devices; from PDFs, to Microsoft Office documents, to image files, to faxes, DocuSign Ink converts just about any computing file (users can even download files from data clouds, such as email servers, Google Docs and Dropbox) and allows for legally-binding signing anywhere, thereby eliminating printing, faxing, shipping and scanning of paper documents.
Signers can provide their documents via upload, and place tags for signers can be made on each document for where to sign. Agents can set the sequence of signing and set reminders and expirations for each form.
Cons: Though free, there is a bit of a catch to DocuSign Ink’s pricing; the first five documents you send are free, but after that, you will need to purchase document credits using an in-app purchase feature. Some reviews have also noted a performance lag, but nothing that inhibits the app’s performance.
PRICE: The first five documents sent out are free. After that, pay 99 cents for a single, $4.95 for a five-pack and $9.90 for a 10-pack.
Where to Buy: www.docusign.com/industries/real-estate
Runner Up: DotLoop
DotLoop’s CEO, Austin Allison, was the winner of the 2012 Innovators of the Year award for Inman, which is promising for this app’s technology. DotLoop collaborates with the clients you want to be in the loop – buyers, sellers and attorneys, for example – but has high-level security features that separate permissions into sections for who signs what and who sees what, all in the cloud. So, you could separate different clients and attorneys by transaction, or whatever you choose. This app provides paperless documentation from signing of contract to close, and there is also a mobile version.
Pros: A streamlining program its developers label “Revolutionomics,” DotLoop greatly simplifies the real estate process by consolidating all the various contracts and documents into one single, up-to-date document that is accessible at anytime online. So, whenever there are changes during negotiations or to specific terms of the deal, that single document is all that needs to change – and it can all be done for free, at no charge to the agents or clients.
Cons: What’s not free, though, is unlimited phone support and document storage, which come with a $20-a-month fee; additional features for task and business management are also only available in the paid version.
PRICE: DotLoop has free accounts, and premium accounts start at $20 per month per agent.
Where to Buy: www.dotloop.com/pricing
First let me say that I do not mean to diminish your distinguished panel in any way, but only two of them are actually from the Chicago area. Since Chicago Agent Magazine’s target audience is primarily Chicago’s real estate practitioner, I felt compelled to add my two cents worth to the conversation.
The most significant “app” that was not mentioned is the MLS itself. MRED IS the MLS for the vast majority (85-90%) of brokers, agents and appraisers within the state of Illinois. In any given month we support one million REALTOR® logons and three million consumer logons to our main MLS system. The MLS houses a database of over 5 million listing records going back decades, and these user numbers do not count use from any of our other related 2 dozen products and services.
The Best App for Storing, Signing and Sending Documents
While the applications you mention are all fine products, the problem you run into when dealing with transactional documents is that there are two sides to every real estate transaction. That means that if each party is using a different document management system there is no way for the two to easily share.
connectMLS™, our MLS system, started its life as a Transaction Management Platform and already has the ability to share transactional data among ALL of our MLS participants. We currently have nearly 1.5 million transaction related documents stored in our system. This year alone, tens of thousands of our customers have filled out forms, added service partners, and uploaded documents. Every year we collect information for nearly 100,000 sales in the Chicagoland area.
We have also integrated DocuSign™ into our system so that all of our customers have available to them, free for one year, the ability to eSign 5 packets – that’s packets, not single documents – per month. If they need more they can upgrade. At the end of the year they can subscribe and get the full nationwide discount available to all NAR members.
The Best CRM
As I mentioned previously we have over three million logons per month by consumers who have received automated emails from their REALTOR®. That’s about ten logons for every client. When they DO logon they have a huge amount of information about that property and its surrounding neighborhood, and also have the ability to collaborate with their REALTOR® on which properties they like and don’t like. I don’t know of too many stand-alone products that could match that kind of volume.
If that weren’t enough, we also provide several other related integrated products and services with which our customers may communicate with their clients.
• Cloud CMA™ – a web based presentation tool that offers property profiles, CMAs, buyer’s tours and flyers – all delivered electronically in seconds.
• The Thing™ – an interactive statistical package that easily and quickly enables our customers to generate professional, easy to understand statistics down to the neighborhood level with which to inform and wow their clients.
• Down Payment Assistance – How terrific is it to be able to find down payment assistance programs for your clients – which just might make the difference between them being able to buy that dream home or not.
• MRED DocBox™ – For those people who have not totally transitioned to the electronic way of doing business but may still prefer faxing, we have integrated the DocBox into the MLS system so that they can easily become part of the transaction package.
• RatePlug™ – How about having the ability to communicate the latest mortgage rates and compare lenders?
• ShowingAssist™ – More than 80% of our listings have been enabled to integrate with ShowingAssist™ in order to facilitate showings right from the MLS system, or from our mobile programs and app.
• MRED Social IDX – We have recently introduced a Facebook App that allows our customers to have a full Internet Data Exchange (IDX) search listing application right on their Facebook Brand page so they can take advantage of their social network, and the networks of all their clients, and directly control the conversation.
• MRED Share My Listing Widget (SMyL) – for over 2 years we have offered our customers the ability to share any or all of their listings on the major social marketing sites – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Craigslist, etc. You can also easily check out how your listings look on the various public sites. You can even generate a QR code that takes you to that listing.
• Goomzee™ – One of the best text, QR code and collaboration tools out there.
• Walk Score™ – Not only find out how walkable your neighborhood might be, but dig deeper and learn about commute times and transit scores.
All of these are available right from the agent’s desk top. Since our system is browser neutral you can use them all on any device. There is no excuse for not being in constant contact with your clients.
The Best Lead Generation Software
I think you can see from the above list we provide quite a few ways to keep in the lead generation pipeline.
One product that many people overlook as a major lead source would be Realist®, our public records subsystem. Realist® is much more than just owners name and tax amounts. With Realist® you can easily identify absentee owners, identify owners who have equity positions in their homes, identify owners who have owned their home for a while and might very well be ready to move up or scale down. You are limited only by your own imagination.
I would make one note about Market Leader that some might not be aware of – they also own the realestate.com brokerage brand. In some areas that puts them in direct competition with the very people to whom they are selling their software.
The Best App/Software for Showings
As previously mentioned we have ShowingAssist™ integrated within our connectMLS™ system. It is also integrated into our Mobile App – Midwest Homes and the connectMLS™ wireless program.
They DO have a mobile version of their product which we have been using for a while. I am not sure why when people speak mobile they lump smart phones in with tablets. Most desktop applications, and especially those that we promote, will work on a tablet without having to have a separate version. Phones are definitely a different matter since you have less real estate to work with on the smaller screen.
The Best MLS Search App
Thanks for pointing out the emergence of Midwest Homes™ – our mobile app that runs on all IOS and Droid platforms. I had difficulty following the logic about it being limited to only MLS listings – since it is tagged as an MLS app. Nor did I understand the statement that “they won’t be able to see yours if you’re not a member” since being a member is the requirement for listings to be displayed. Just a bit confusing.
The sub-branding that we have introduced allows our customers to have a complete IDX solution that they can offer to their clients and prospects so that all communications that come from a listing search using the sub-branded app will come back to the agent who sent them the app. This is a for-fee item since we cannot afford to offer it as a loss leader like the other models that get the bulk of their revenue from listing enhancements and other upsells. We would never ask our customers to pay to enhance listings on an MLS app since that would fly in the face of what an MLS is all about. Although maybe now that you have suggested it we should look at that.
The Best Neighborhood Expert
I think you have done Walk Score™ a bit of a disservice. There is more to Walk Score™ than just their Walk Score™. If you go under the hood you will see that not only do you get the walkability of the neighborhood, you can use it to computer commute times using various methods, find transit scores to see how the neighborhood stacks up when it comes to public transportation, and learn about what is nearby.
In addition to Walk Score™ we also have other ways to get your hands on good neighborhood information. We have an item called City Info Pages that is an easy way for the client to get a list of phone numbers for all the services provided by that city, and also has a link to the extensive Onboard Informatics’ Neighborhood information pages.
We also have a lot of neighborhood information and demographics available through the Realist® and MLS Data Co-Op products.
I apologize for going on about this, but at MRED we are very proud of what we have accomplished. We feel that an article that is limited to just highlighting a few products that a handful of panelists recommend does not paint a true picture of what is available to the Chicagoland and Illinois REALTOR® community. Thanks for allowing me to vent.
Russ Bergeron
CEO, Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED)
2009, 2010, 2011 Inman News Top 100 Influential People in Real Estate
1998 Inman Innovator of the Year Award Winner
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