Representing Clients in Neighbourhoods That You Are Not Familiar With

No one ever wants to pass on a deal, and whether it be the result of online marketing or a referral from a friend or family member, sometimes you are approached by clients who have a home to list or are interested in a particular neighbourhood that you are not familiar with.  

 

Many real estate sales professionals have differing positions on this. Some real estate sales professional stick exclusively to defined areas and will not take on business outside of those areas. These real estate sales professionals may tell you that this is because they are acting in the best interest of their client and that no real estate sales professional should veer outside of territory that they know well. However, other real estate sales professionals may argue that this is not a luxury that one can afford – and so will offer representation outside of their usual area.

Fortunately, with the advancement of technology, it is not so risky these days to represent a client in an area you are not familiar with. There are things you can do to find out everything that will enable you to work with a client in an area that you don’t usually work in. 

·        Take advantage of aerial imagery – using different online tools you can view aerial imagery of a particular neighbourhood to identify both positive attributes such as parks, schools and transit, as well as negative attributes like train tracks, factories, highways and other issues that could be a concern for your client.

·        Test comparables – pull comparable sales of properties in the area in question to get a sense of what things are selling for.

·        Demographics – like aerial imagery, there are tools available that enable you, at the click of a mouse, to learn demographics information about a particular neighbourhood such as family make-up (couples, families, seniors), schools, income ranges, types of residents: owners vs renters, and more…

It all comes down to research, and fortunately the internet has placed the tools we need at our fingertips. This is coupled with the fact that the emergence of real estate apps for real estate sales professionals takes you from only being able to perform research in your office to being able to perform research on the go on your iPad. 

It seems that by embracing technology and both online tools and apps for real estate sales professionals, one can take on a client in a neighbourhood they are not familiar with and do a fine job representing them through performing the research required to do so.

 

For more information about how to access important demographics information, sales history information, aerial imagery on a property or area, visit www.geowarehouse.ca 

Real Estate Sales Professionals Who Care – An Excellent Initiative Sponsored by OREA

From time to time we like to highlight the good work of organizations who are giving back to the community. This month, we take a look at The REALTORS Care Foundation. For the past 15 years they have been raising money and granting funds to more than 20 shelter-based charitable organizations in Ontario. Watch this video so you can find out how you can get involved:

Heartbleed

Teranet would like to assure you that GeoWarehouse or ViMO have not been affected by the “Heartbleed” virus. 

At this point, no risks have been identified following a thorough review by our technology team, and we have not received a single customer inquiry or concern.

Nonetheless, we will monitor all our platforms and services on an ongoing basis to ensure you enjoy full access to the Teranet solutions that you count on every day.

How to Order a Condo Status Certificate Online in Ontario

In the past, Condo Status Certificates have typically been a pain to obtain. The old process (and still the process some real estate professionals are using) was to request the Status Certificate from the condo corporation in writing, enclosing a fee. The condo corporation would then deliver the Condo Status Certificate to the requestor within 10 days.

 

Fortunately, this process has become a whole lot simpler. With innovations like the D-Tech Conduit Property Management System integrated into systems like GeoWarehouse (a web-based, centralized property information source that provides state of the art mapping and research tools, as well as professional reports), it has become far easier to obtain a Condo Status Certificate online. 

If the condo corporation from which you want to request a Status Certificate is participating, you may order and fulfill that order online in the GeoWarehouse Store and receive your document electronically. This eliminates the need for couriers, trips to the bank to obtain certified cheques and other hassles associated with obtaining a Condo Status Certificate the old way.

You must be a GeoWarehouse customer to purchase a Condo Status Certificate through GeoWarehouse. If you are a GeoWarehouse customer here is how to request a Condo Status Certificate online:

 

1.            Firstly, locate a subject property by performing a search on the GeoWarehouse homepage.

2.            Once you have located the property, click on ‘Property Details.’

3.            Beside the Condominium Information heading, if there is a little orange GeoWarehouse Store icon with the words ‘Condo Status Certificate,’ this means that a Condo Status Certificate is available.  If you have performed a search and don't see the icon, this means that the GeoWarehouse Store doesn't currently have a Condo Certificate for the subject property.

4.            After clicking on the icon, a window will appear directing you to the Conduit website where you can login and complete the purchase of your Condo Status Certificate.

5.            If you have never used Conduit and don't have an account, you can create one. Once you have a Conduit account (and anytime you see that a Status Certificate is available on GeoWarehouse), you can use the service to obtain your Condo Status Certificate online.  

For more information about how to order your Condo Status Certificate online please visit www.geowarehouse.ca, or for resources on this topic please visit http://www.geowarehouse.ca/marketing/resources-geowarehousestore.php.  

Real Estate Sales Professional Says GeoWarehouse and ViMO Best Toolset!

We recently interviewed Paul Mangion, real estate sales professional from Axxess Realty, about what tools he uses most often when signing up a new client. While he mentioned using GeoWarehouse, MLS and even MPAC to perform various tasks relating to due diligence, one major thing was clear – the only  tool that enabled him to validate sales history information on a property and other properties, research property ownership information, search comparables, validate assessment values, generate reports and more, all in one place, was GeoWarehouse.

 

GeoWarehouse is a web-based, centralized property information source that provides state of the art mapping and research tools, as well as professional reports. GeoWarehouse services real estate sales professionals and other land professionals across Ontario. Using GeoWarehouse you can learn about a particular property, properties in a particular neighbourhood, property information such as ownership and sales history information, neighbourhood demographics information and more. You can also use the GeoWarehouse Store to dig deeper, accessing Parcel Registers, instrument images, Condo Status Certificates, surveys and more.

We also shared information with Paul about Teranet’s new mobile app for real estate sales professionals, ViMO is an amazing sales and marketing support tool that helps you close more business, enhancing your personal brand and enriching the face-to-face client experience.

“Things are changing faster than ever before. Real estate sales professionals have to adapt. The idea that Teranet has introduced an app that compliments GeoWarehouse so nicely is exciting. Knowing how I rely on GeoWarehouse, adding the app capability, it seems that GeoWarehouse and ViMO will be the best toolset out there for real estate sales professionals in Ontario.” This was Paul’s opinion after looking at what he currently has with GeoWarehouse and what he stands to gain by also having the ViMO app.

Paul closed our interview by sharing with us how excited he is about changes in technology and how they will positively impact his ability to offer a better service and ultimately do more business. For more information about GeoWarehouse or ViMO visit www.geowarehouse.ca or www.myvimo.ca.