Real Estate Advice

Do you really want to capitalize your wealth in real estate investing? if so, you’ve got to read about the ten phone apps that every single real estate investor should have on their phone. Whether you have an Android, an iPhone, a Google phone, whatever. You should have all ten of these apps on your device at all times. They will help you make better real estate investing decisions on the go; even better than your computer.

Honestly, we should stop and celebrate sometimes that we are so lucky to have apps available to provide information the way that they can so quickly and effectively. There was a time, and it wasn’t very long ago, that you the internet didn’t exist. You had to wait on other people through snail mail, and you had to go to the courthouse yourself to get documents on a property. You also had to pay all sorts of fees to get any of this information. You can now get it for free in your bedroom before you go to sleep if you want to. The advances in technology have really allowed real estate investors to be more successful than ever before.

Utilize the tools we are fortunate enough to have these days

Therefore, if you aren’t utilizing these tools that we are so fortunate to have, it’s really a shame. There’s almost no excuse for not being able to find specific information on a property. Granted, if you are looking for comps, a lot of that information will be either outdated, or based on factors that you won’t be able to find on the internet, you’ll have to personally figure out things about it.

These apps are also going to help you be far more productive. When you are out during the day, you can open them right when you need them. They can seriously help you determine if you should do a deal or not if an opportunity comes up while you are out. They can give you information that will help you make an informed decision when it comes to a deal. Here the the apps that you’ve got to download right now. Just about all of them are downloadable from any type of mobile phone. The apps you’ll want to look for are:

Google voice
Local MLS
Realtor.com
Zillow rentals
RealQuest
JotNot Pro
Puffin
Youtube capture
Evernote
GoogleMaps

The apps above will make your life exponentially easier, and certainly more productive. You’ll find your life much more convenient, and you’ll also find that you’re making better decisions. They’ll help shed insight on what to do, and what not to do based on the information. Bear in mind that these apps aren’t going to make you a millionaire, but they are going to help you with your investing business.

Actually, you should know right now that technology itself isn’t going to make you wealthy. If you think that you’re not doing well in real estate because you aren’t good with a computer or iPhone, you’re wrong. However, these apps aren’t going to decide whether or not you’re successful. They’re simply tools.

Why are they so useful?

These apps are incredible because you don’t have to constantly open your laptop throughout the day. You can do it while you’re running around during the day. Sometimes you’ve got to make quick decisions and aren’t in a place where you can sit and open your computer screen. Moreover, if you’re successful enough in real estate, you don’t have the time to. You’ll likely not be in an office from 9-5. You’ll need to be able to pull up (accurate) information, quickly.

Google Maps

This is an incredibly useful app. Obviously, it helps you find a property. The special thing about it, though, is that it shows you property lines. This is critical information. Now, they’re probably not going to show you the survey property lines. But it will give you a general idea of information that you’ll otherwise have to wait a little while for which can be very, very helpful. You can also switch to satellite mode, which will show you the bigger picture, like where it is in comparison to other properties. Some properties have a street view, which is really incredible. You can decide whether or not you even want to view a property. You simply press arrows, and can go down all the little streets without even having to drive there. Most of the time, the pictures are updated as well. They’re usually not too outdated. It’s called Google Street. How incredible? It also shows you what the traffic is like.

If you’re looking to buy properties, know right now that you do not want to select a residential property in a high-traffic area. They can be extremely hard to sell. Google Maps has all sorts of features. Once you download it, you’ll never go back. Yes, iPhones themselves have some great features, but not near what Google Maps does.

Google Voice 

Now this is an incredible app. What makes Google Voice so unique is that they have both call and text features. You can have as many phone numbers as you want. You can even use Google Voice as your business phone! Actually, sellers have gotten really into texting, and Google Voice allows you to text. Bonus: you don’t have to give out your real cell phone number! Don’t underestimate the power of Google Voice; it’s a very useful tool. There will be many times throughout your real estate investing career that you will not want the other person to have your real phone number. Why? Some people can be shady. And if something goes South, or they end up being insane, they can find out everything about you just by looking up your phone number. That being said, Google Voice is an extremely useful app that you’ll use all the time.

The Local (Multiple Listing Services) MLS

The MLS system is a wonderful tool. The app is even better. Having quick, instant access to the MLS makes a gigantic difference in how you are really able to see what’s active on the market, what’s been taken off, what’s been added, and what’d been closed. You can obviously do this on your computer, but the app is extremely easy to navigate and you can do it on the go.

What’s more, is that you can set up a shortcut that’ll link you directly to the mobile version of your local MLS so that you can see what’s currently in the area. So, whether or not you have the app, you probably still have access to the mobile version of it. The MLS system is critical to selling properties.

For one thing, buyers often have filters set up by their real estate agent that automatically forward the listing to the buyer, based on their criteria. It’s highly possible that they have been waiting for a property like yours to come up, and will jump on it when they check their e-mail. It is naive to think that you don’t need your listing on the MLS. Even more naive to reject offers and let your home sit on the MLS for too long, but that’s for a whole other article.

The MLS is going to be your best friend. Even if you can’t access it, you need to be sure that your property is on it. However,r at some point, you are going to need to get your real estate license to gain access. You won’t get too far in real estate investing without it. You’ll be able to manage for a while, but you won’t be able to do as well as you can as you would if you had access to it. Also, always be sure that the description on the MLS is carefully worded. There’s a study that was done that proved based on sales and Days on Market (DOM) were affected negatively in terms of profit, simply by one word or phrase written in the description of a property for sale.

Realtor.com

Another incredible app is Realtor.com. This app is useful for a super easy way of viewing active homes. You can do a local search of all of the homes for sale in the local market, and it will show them to you on a map. One thing to highlight is that Realtor.com has the most accurate information. Many people think Zillow has the most accurate information, but they do not. In fact, Zillow has gone through many court cases that have taken away their rights to the most up-to-date information in regards to properties that have come up. Realtor.com is in real-time. It makes it very easy to see what’s new, and therefore what your recent competition is.

ZillowRentals

Zillow Rentals is an incredible tool that’s fairly new. It lets you see what other properties in the area are renting for. Zillow has always made it pretty easy to see what homes are selling for, but not what they’re renting for. Now, you can skim the area quickly to get an idea of rental rates while you’re drinking your coffee. Young people really take these apps for granted. Some years ago, you had to actually get in your car and drive around and look at all of the “For Rent” signs to see how much they were renting for. Of course, the information isn’t going to always be exact or up to date, but it’s going to give you a pretty darn good close of what it is.

RealQuest

Realist is a text-based version of the property information of a house. If you do not have access to it, there’s another app called RealQuest that’s available to the public. It is all public record. Realist is more directed at tax record information. This app is centered around government data; it has everything to do with what the government’s take on the property is. The number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, square footage, and the like. Having the app will help you make better decisions far faster than without it.

JotNotPro

JotNotPro is just as it sounds. You don’t need to take notes, you can take photos. You may not have heard of this app yet. JotNotPro is a fantastic phone app. What it is, is it lets you take a photo of any document, and turn it into a PDF that can be e-mailed instantly. Most legitimate documents must be in PDF form to be valid. This app will let you take all of the seller’s documents and put it into digital form. Whether it is mortgage information or the deed to their house. How incredible is that? It’s incredibly quick, and easy to use. Now, if you’ve got fifty or sixty pages, it’s a lot easier to just use your iPhone camera. But if you just need a few fast photos and have the document in your hands, this app is perfect.

Puffin

Puffin is another app you may not have heard of. It’s really more of a mobile web browser that makes online surfing a lot easier on your phone. It makes a tiny circle when you press something; this makes it really easy to know what exactly you’re touching on your phone. It comes in handy really well when your goal is searching on government websites to find data such as property information.

Youtube Capture

Youtube capture is an app that lets you shoot several videos. You can shoot from all of these different shots and then combine them altogether in one video! This is a wonderful app if you’re trying to make videos of the properties you have but you don’t have (or feel like) using an actual camera and editing. Youtube capture is incredible, and you won’t want to forget to download.

What is EverNote, and why is it so helpful?

Evernote is phenomenal. You can literally keep track of everything. You can take pictures, put your notes. It sounds simple, and you’re probably thinking, “I can do that on Notes or Pages in my iPhone.” Evernote is far better than that.

To conclude the article, these apps are not only convenient, but will make you far more productive throughout your day. Real estate investors have to make quick, informed decisions throughout the day and these apps will help you do just that.