Escrow Coordinator PLUS+

Aug 31

Simple Overview of Cloud Computing and How it Helps a Real Estate Business

Cloud computing is a hot topic lately as a newer type of technology that makes work, collaboration, and sharing information much easier. This is a quick and simple over view of what cloud computing is, how it works, and how it can specifically make your real estate business more profitable and easier to run.

The parts: Cloud computing is based on having a centralized server like a giant hard drive connected to the internet similar to the one in your computer but probably much larger. This stores information and allows information to be accessed off of it from anywhere that has internet. Any good cloud system is up 24/7 and is encrypted with great security features and also has an extra backup so the user’s information can never be lost or stolen. The other part is the portal and how you as a user accesses it. This is the platform that you will use to access your information and share the information. It will be formatted for some specific work like Real Estate, or pictures, or some other purpose. This is so all of your work doesn’t look like a big jumbled mess when you get to it. These are usually provided in the form of an App or website that will provide you with a great robust cockpit that is easy to understand.

How the Cloud works: When you access the cloud from the portal you can upload information into your files from anywhere that has internet, a lot of times from any device. From there the information is stored and backed up. Now your info and documents can be accessed from anywhere when you open your portal from any computer you want from any location which is why it is so easy and convenient. The reason it is accessible from multiple locations at the same time is because after information goes in only once. This is because the cloud will create mirrors of your file so when you access the portal, or share a link to the portal the cloud will mirror what is installed in multiple locations at the same time allowing you to download documents or edit the information. When anything is changed it automatically updates the mirror allowing any other viewers to see the changes within seconds. This now allows everything to be done at amazingly fast speeds and takes up little space. It’s like giving yourself and others a window to see into a central space where you can work together in real time like your all in the same room.

How does this help Real Estate: There are two main ways that cloud computing can help real estate agents. Real estate is a prime candidate for this type of technology because we all work from mobile locations a lot and the cloud will save you tons of time. We don’t spend all day in one location behind a desk so with cloud computing you now have a portal to your entire business from a cell phone if you want wherever you are at. This allows you to spend more time out showing houses while you can still access all of your files, contacts, and information without even needing to come back to the office, or have the work pile up on you. The alternative is to carry all of your files and big white board with you. It’s much more efficient to just carry a smart phone or ipad to share information or manage your escrows.

The cost: The best benefit in this economy is cost savings. The great part about cloud computing is that it will save you money because you only need one copy if you even print documents at all. Think about how much you spend on paper and printer ink. I recently read that the average employee spends $15,000 a year in paper alone. That will put a dent in the bottom line. Another one is storage costs which will be wiped out with cloud computing as it will be stored for you automatically. Lastly, with increased efficiency you can probably cut down on staffing with a lot of steps being done automatically for them with the cloud, which includes transaction coordinators. If you have help to manage your workload, they can access the portal for you to speed up work and spend more time gaining more business. An average real estate brokerage right now runs at a 5% profit margin. With cloud computing you can cut down overhead by about 40% and push those profits closer 10% doubling your revenue.

With cloud based technology you can easily manage all aspects of your business to save time and money. I think that with a couple years it will be almost mandatory as real estate brokerages won’t really need brick and mortar offices. The work will flow more easily cutting down on delays, human error and the time it takes you to get paid.

If you want to try downloading from the cloud just click on this link to download a FREE marketing e book I have shared with everyone HERE

Manage your business from the ECP cloud free for 45 days with promo code: Free trialEscrow Coordinator PLUS. Only $15.00 a month after that.

Aug 25

REO, and Short-Sale agents, Grow your business with Tech.

The benefits of Real Estate Software can help any business grow and become more efficient. The reason other
industries have turned to software to run daily operations is because of the amazing cost saving benefits, and increased productivity provided by having a business at your fingertips. Below are some examples of how the ECP software will benefit you daily tasks.

REO: Manages the multitude of tasks required in managing REO listings. Organize tasks and checklist during the pre listing period during work bids and cash for keys. Manage utility bills and inspection orders during the listing. Manage the offers and required escrow docs and timelines until close. All from any device.

Short-Sale: Manage Extensive lender required documents and paperwork needed for approval of a short sale. Manage the important updates and progress on the time and date stamped notes section. Schedule lien holder call time reminders and track important contact information. Organize all of the offers and back up offers received on the short sale. Easily process the transaction and required escrow documents to close. All of this from any device.

Buyers: Maintain contact information of your lead and schedule showing appointments. Store lender approval letters, and track houses shown with feedback notes. Give the buyer access to the file portal for increased transparency allowing them access to updates, documents, and appointment schedules any time 24/7. Process the escrow easily and thoroughly protecting all parties from litigation. All from any device.

Sellers: Create marketing plans and schedule seller updates. Manage offers and counter offers which can be accessed directly with notes through the client portal in real time. Schedule when there will be shown and organize showing reports and feedback. Manage the closing and documentation in compliance to protect your clients from litigation. All from any device!

Aug 23

Quick guide to Google Plus and an invite for you

You have maybe heard about Google’s new social network called Google+. It appears to be a mix between Facebook, and Twitter in Google’s quest to be in EVERYTHING. A link to the front page is here: http://plus.google.com

Here is a guide I put together and I have a bunch of invites to give out if you would like to join! Now that it has over 10,000,000 users it may be fun to join and maybe use it as another business tool. I will keep this short and simple and you can do most of the exploring yourself and chitty chat with the ECP team. I have also added the links to shorten your URL below.

The Google Plus system is broken down into a few different components listed below.

Circles: This is your different groups of friends. You can categorize people you’re “following” in these different circles so when you post something you can decide who sees it. The great part about this is you can share that picture of you doing a keg stand with everyone except your co workers. Like twitter if people follow you, you do not have to follow back but they can see your posts if you make them public. By clicking on the different circles you follow you can categorize what you see, which is great if you follow a bunch of people.

Sparks: I don’t think anyone knows what this is supposed to do? It’s basically like a quick search or RSS feed of your favorite topics but it’s not really specific to what the spark is. I have Real Estate as a spark and any site that says real estate is on the list with mountains of information I don’t really care about. My guess would be that this will be like the “interests” section on Facebook, so ads can be targeted towards what your sparks are when they are released.

Hangouts: Now this is a cool feature. It’s like a group video chat that uses Google talk. The camera will zoom to whoever is talking and lets you to invite as many people as you want. Most places would charge you for this kind of feature but it’s all free with Google plus. You could have an office meeting on here, webinar, and talk to clients face to face. This is probably the best feature of Google Plus.

It’s a new network that has started off strong and if you want an invite just send us your email address to admin@escrowcoordinatorplus.com and we will get that invite out to you ASAP.

If you want to shorten your link and have a vanity URL just visit one of these sites: Gplus.to, Glpl.us, Plusya.com, Gplus.name, gPlusNick and they will provide a short link you can advertise.

(Source: blog.escrowcoordinatorplus.com)

12 Real Estate Tech tools any agent can use

Here is a list of some things we think are helpful in the world of real estate. You may have already heard of them or are already using them but feel free to share this list with your fellow agents or add additional websites/ tech tools you think are helpful!

www.photosynth.net- This is a cool new virtual tour program that allows consumers to tour a house in 3D just like they are in the house. Users feel like they are actually walking through the house and can really get a feel for the layout. Works great with QR codes, wordpress, v flyer, and hootsuite.

www.bullzip.com- This software turns any document into a PDF. You can turn request for repair lists, pre qual letters, and anything else into the PDF format. This program also has a downloadable printer drive so users can easily print into PDF.

www.pdftoword.com- This is a counterpart to bullzip. This program turns PDF documents into word docs. This is great for making small changes without having to retype the entire doc. The conversion is usually accurate and doesn’t usually turn letters into random symbols.

www.postlets.com- Postlets is a program that lets you easily make property flyers and sends them to a syndicated bundle of sites automatically. Flyers are clean and professional looking and is a great way to advertise properties for sale. This program works great with QR codes, craigslist, and hootsuite. Also Postlets has recently been purchased by Zillow and has made pro accounts free! I can’t tell the difference, but hey free is good.

www.escrowcoordinatorplus.com -Business management and document storage platform for real estate professionals. Share documents and keep track of appointments and items needed with this robust system from any device any time. Works great with e signature programs and dropbox. Get a free trial HERE.

www.qrcode.kaywa.com- The QR code is a cool new little tech tool that a lot of people are talking about. This site will quickly generate a barcode that can be scanned with a smart phone and can be put on anything including signs, flyers, water bottles, or anything else. This is great for lead generation as you can send users to a wordpress sign up form for (more houses, free CMA), a facebook page, a property flyer or a virtual tour.

www.docusign.com,www.echosign.com- These are electronic signature programs that allow anyone in the transaction to easily sign documents from anywhere in minutes. It’s a huge time saver and clients appreciate the convenience of the process. Some lenders will not allow e sigs but echosign has a signature that looks real because the user actually signs with a mouse online. Works great with escrowcoordinatorplus.com.

www.hootsuite.com- Hootsuite is a social media tool that allows you to post across all of your platforms like facebook, twitter, wordpress, and linkedin with the click of a button. You can also schedule when posts will be sent if you have a lot of stuff to share but don’t want to be the annoying person who floods pages all at once. Works great for sharing your property listings with a lot of people really fast.

www.dropbox.com- Dropbox is a program that lets you store stuff online and is accessible on all of the user’s devices that have it installed. You can also access the documents and pictures online. This works great with escrowcoordinatorplus.com to put your items into folders for labeling.

www.wordpress.com- Wordpress is an easy to use blogging site. Users can post market updates, important news, or just talk about anything. A great feature of this site is the forms creator. Offer a free list of homes, or a CMA to anyone who fills out the form for instant lead capture. Works great with hootsuite and Postlets.

www.pagemodo.com- This website helps users create custom landing pages for facebook. It’s simple enough for anyone to use and looks great. The program even uploads the page up on facebook for you. Make a cool welcome page for your facebook telling people about yourself, or offer them something cool.

www.icontact.com, mailchimp.com- I contact is an e mail campaign platform that is great for sending out newsletters to the users’ sphere of influence. The messages can even start sending automatically when new consumers sign up. The reason this program is suggested over other programs is the fact that it’s free for up to 500 contacts, compared to other programs that charge $30-40 a month for the same thing. E mail templates look great and easily customized. Works great with v flyer, wordpress, and QR codes.

These tools should cover just about all of the digital portion of any real estate business, and put you on the road to success! Dont forget to check out our new site for more tips at

http://blog.escrowcoordinatorplus.com

Aug 10

My Thoughts on Opportunity in Real Estate

This article is about spotting opportunity and being able to execute. I thought of this after talking to the creator of the “Nehemiah program” which made a huge push to make homes affordable for everyone. Most people in real estate have probably used it to get a client into house if you were in business before 2009.

In the current economic climate, it sometimes feels like you don’t have much control which can cause you to freeze up and unable to make a decision. I think there is still and will always be plenty of opportunity to succeed in this real estate market, regardless of what the news outlets say .The hard part is identifying, and knowing how to react to opportunities in a way that will benefit everyone involved.

I have noticed a common trend when presenting deals to investors, myself included, most apparent is that the level of objections rise dramatically if I bring them what I said I would. I find the house, do the analysis, and the return will be 15% which is what suppose to be delivered. The investor looks at the deal and because the numbers match up they feel the deal is too tight. I thought it was a perfect fit? It could be fear, could be uncertainty, it could be a lot of things that make us unable to react.

I am attributing this to maybe a feeling that opportunity is supposed to have so much room it could never fail. In a perfect world that would be great but if it were real we would all be crazy rich. Not every deal or idea will be a home run like Facebook, and a lot of times you need to just hit a lot of singles and doubles that will add up. In doing this the risk is much lower and the opportunities become more abundant then trying to swing for the fence every time.
So how do we spot opportunity? Most of it comes down to what you want, what your reason for doing ____ is, and what is actually possible.

The greater the competition, the smaller the possible return will be. This means you will need to be very specific in what you are trying to find. Write down the rules and limitations you want for yourself as in what is the least you will take. This plan will be dictated by the market at any given time to get a realistic number and it will increase your odds of finding what you’re looking for.
When looking for the angle you will work at, look for any piece that is missing, what is changing, or a problem you can solve in your market. If you look through and see a gap you like, look at how many people fall into that gap to see if you have a market.

If you have taken these steps your chances of spotting opportunity and properly executing those opportunities will be much easier. Preparation is everything and if you’re prepared you will succeed (the saying goes something like that).

After seizing an opportunity I like to think of it like a pair of pants. I haven’t worn pants 10 times too big for since like 6th grade when everyone did. They have to fit just right, and will conform to what you need and want. It basically comes down to being a 1+1=2, you don’t need a massive buffer or try and fabricate wishful numbers to make it work.

You can probably count Murphy’s Law now and again to jam everything up but in the long run it will wash and you will have gotten what you wanted. All we can really do is hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

I hope this article will help when creating your game plan. Good luck and happy hunting.

Manage your business with Escrow Coordinator PLUS

Aug 08

WE HAVE MOVED!

We have just moved our blog over to http://blog.escrowcoordinatorplus.com Much more organized and much easier to read and connect. Let me know what you think!

Aug 03

Work with Investors? Here is a cool Setup to stand out.

This is a system that I put together for investor clients as a way to cut through the delays of asking a specific investor about a specific house and getting signatures and everything else that slows the acquisition of a great deal. The system is basically an incubator that is very flexible and investors really like it because of the speed and ease involved.

First thing you obviously need is clients or money. Regular investors, self directed IRAs or lines of credit should all work. As you talk to the investors you can figure out what the criteria is like what the capital cap is, what the desired return is and what they will do with the property.

The second step is to get yourself an entity such as an LLC or any other type you see fit. This is done for personal protection and to avoid tax withholding upon sale (in CA at least) and avoidance of some USURY laws like limits on loan rates. You will be the signer for the company, and they take about 15 minutes to make. The TIN number can be made on the IRS site in about 5 minutes.

Now you can create official corporate documents and agreements for you investors as an acquisition and holding company for the investors almost like an asset management company. Depending on your level of service you can take a percentage of profits, maybe partner on projects, or charge a flat fee for the service if you want more than just commission.

Step three is now to purchase property for your investors. having a system to find the best deals in your area would be ideal, and you can really focus on just picking these units up and can do all the signatures and all the vesting paperwork yourself without having to run around tracking down signatures or hand hold.

If you are able to find the deals, the money will be the easy part to get, especially showing a deal that offers a good return with a bunch of due diligence time (unless you’re at trustee sales). This will really streamline the process and allow you to scale up to any size you need.

Once you have a property in escrow you can close by just having the investor wire in the funds and use a third party deposit form if required, but most places don’t care. As for security and vesting with self directed IRAs the IRA owner will be required to be added to title near close, with all others you can file a 1st deed of trust for the investor after close, add them to title after close, or just transfer the entire property over after close depending on what the situation is.

The greatest benefit of this program is the service it provides, making it easy for the investors to get in and out with little time. The process can also be branded and advertised, and can be scaled to any size.

An example of what I have set up is a program where the investor puts up the cash. We then purchase a property, manage repairs, insurance, utilities, and disposition for half of the profits generated from the deal. You can easily create one and charge a flat fee for the use that will help you clients avoid tax withholding if they only want to do one or 2 a year. Another great example I have seen is to set up a big IRA fund to syndicate larger deals like apartments with a multitude of investors.

There you go. Before attempting this type business make sure to check with an attorney and make sure you understand the SEC regulations and state laws. If you can put this fund together and avoid making any mistakes, you will be able to collect the easiest real estate checks of your career.

Manage you Real Estate business online with www.EscrowCoordinatorPLUS.com

Aug 01

Editing Escrow Information from the Profile Page and Sales Sheet

As most agents know escrow information can change daily. We want to ensure that your escrow will be up to date and current with any changes that have been made so we have made it easy to change any escrow information from either the escrows profile page or sales sheet. (This is a long post but it is very detailed with all information needed to edit your escrow information through the sales sheet!)

The information that is edited on either page will automatically update in its correlating fields throughout the program.

On the profile page you can edit the following escrow information:

-Price

-Seller Credit

-Contingency Removal (CR) Date

-Close of Escrow (COE) Date

To edit the field just simply select the edit button, update the fields, and select the save all changes button at the bottom of the page and the information will be updated throughout the entire program with your newly added updates.

If you would like to update the following information you can do so through the sales sheet. To get back to your sales sheet, select the Edit/View Sales Sheet button under the contact information on the Profile Page.

On the Sales Sheet you can edit:

-Property Information

+Address (changing the street address will also change your file name)

+City

+State

+Zip

-Seller Information

+Sellers First and Last Name

+Email, Phone, Address (including the street address, city, state and zip)

-Listing Broker

-Listing Agent(s) Information (updating the Name, Office Phone, Email and/or Fax will change the agents contact information on the Profile Page)

+Agent(s) First and Last Name

+Office Phone (This field is what is used for the agents contact phone number on the Profile Page, enter in what phone number the agent is best contacted at for a better user experience in this field)

+Cell Phone, Fax, Address, City, State, Zip, Email

+Percent (This is used for agents co-listing a property to define the % split)

-Buyer Information

+Sellers First and Last Name

+Email, Phone, Address (including the street address, city, state and zip)

-Buyers Broker

-Buyers Agent(s)

+Agent(s) First and Last Name

+Cell Phone, Fax, Address, City, State, Zip, Email

+Percent (This is used for co-buyers agents to define the % split)

-Escrow Information (updating the sale price, seller credit, CR date and/or COE date will change those fields on the Profile Page.)

+Sale Price, Listing Price, Deposit Amount, Date Sold, CR Date, Estimated COE Date, MLS#, Year Built, Type of Financing, and the Credits

+Escrow Number (This is the ONLY place the Escrow Number can be changed from in the program. It can be changed multiple times if necessary but only from the sales sheet)

+Title Company

-Escrow Officer (updating the Name, Office Phone, Email and/or Fax will change the escrow officers contact information on the Profile Page)

+Escrow Officers First and Last Name

+Office Phone (This field is what is used for the escrow offices contact phone number on the Profile Page, enter in what phone number the escrow officer is best contacted at for a better user experience in this field)

+Cell Phone, Fax, Address, City, State, Zip, Email

-Loan Information

+Original Loan Amount, Deposit Increase

-Loan Officers Information (updating the Name, Office Phone, Email and/or Fax will change the Loan Officers contact information on the Profile Page)

+Loan Officers Name (First, Last)

+Lender Name

+Cell Phone, Fax, Address, City, State, Zip, Email

-Additional Contacts

-Commission Information

-Items Needed for Escrow (If selected these items will show on your items needed list on the Profile Page along with your Primary Documents. These have been added because they are the most commonly used items.)

-Pest Information

Once you have completed all your changes select the Submit button and all changes will be saved!

There are additional fields that the information on the sales sheet is pulled from so ANY changes made on either the Profile Page or the Sales Sheet will be updated in all additional areas throughout the program for your convenience.

Hopefully you will find this information useful and make your experience with Escrow Coordinator PLUS as easy and enjoyable as possible!

Remember if you have any questions feel free to contact us!

Thank You from Escrow Coordinator PLUS!

Jul 29

How to upload your escrow documents, add folders and label documents

When you receive a document for your escrow it is easy to upload them to the ECP program.

First you will save the document to your desktop to easily find and upload it to the system. Once you have saved it to your desktop log into your ECP account.

After you have logged into your account you will select the escrow from the main page to open the profile page. On the profile page you will see a button under the contacts section that says “Upload/View Document Library” and select it.

In the Document Library you will see the 3 preloaded folders; Disclosures, Contracts and Files. You can at any point add an additional folder by selecting “Create New Folder” at the top of the page. If you would like to add a new folder just select “Create New Folder” enter the folder name then select “Create Folder.” (For example: BPO Pictures, Short Sale Documents) You will then be able to upload documents to your new folder.

You will upload all your documents to their specific folder like you would with a filing cabinet. You will decide what folder your document needs to be stored then select the appropriate “Choose File” button to browse your desktop for the doc. Once you select it hit the “Open” button as you would with any upload form then select the upload button and your document will be added to the folder. You can open the document by simply selecting the file name.

You can upload any type of document whether it’s a PDF, JPEG, DOC it doesn’t matter it can all be stored in any folder.

Once you have uploaded the document you will have the ability to label what exactly is in the document. Say you receive on PDF but it includes 3 different things, well, this is where your primary documents list comes in. Next to doc you will see the words “Add Label” when you select it you will see the list of all your primary documents. All you will need to do is select the names and select save then your labels will be attached. As an added benefit, once you select the label name the item will be removed off your “items needed” list on the escrows profile page. That way you will easily know that the item has been received!

The document library has been created like a virtual filing cabinet giving you the ability to file your escrow documents without the need to print and store a paper copy. All uploaded documents will be stored on our secure servers for 3 years. Even after an escrow has been closed, you will have the ability to view the documents.

By using this feature you could virtually become a paperless office and drastically reduce your overhead cost!

Remember if you have any questions feel free to contact us!

Thank You from Escrow Coordinator PLUS!

Jul 28

New Trulia recommendation program just released.

If you are a real estate agent or broker you can now get clients to recommend you on Trulia.com. This is great because other consumers will actually see it. You can invite recommendations via email or facebook. Here is the link http://www.trulia.com/recommendation/request/email/

Send us a link to your page so we can recommend you also!

Manage your real estate business on www.EscrowCoordinatorPLUS.com