My favorite new real estate technology tool of 2008 is my brand new portable Magellan Maestro 3225 GPS unit. I’m probably a latecomer to the GPS game, but for those of you who haven’t adopted GPS, I’m going to give the Magellan a strong recommendation.
For starters, I think it is a potential lifesaver for Realtors. My old method of taking clients to see homes (if I was not 100% certain of the location), was to refer to my mapquest printouts while trying to keep the car on the road, carry on a conversation with the client and just pray that we made it there safely. I’ve been lost more than once, I am embarrassed to admit, though most times I manage to cover.
I’ve only owned my Magellan for 2 weeks, but I think that my local Costco might sell out soon due to my word of mouth advertising. Too bad I can’t get a referral fee. It really is the best $150 I’ve invested in my business this year.
My favorite real estate application is that I can pre-program my showing itinerary for the next day as I schedule the appointments with the listing offices. The next day I just have a button or two to push once I turn the device on. I leave it sitting on the center console of my car and the lovely lady inside of the GPS alerts me that I have a right turn coming up in 2 miles. I love her. When I miss my turn, she reroutes me. Her route is not always the fastest or the most efficient, but it gets me there without thinking about it.
I know GPS is not new, and many people have it built in their cars. For those of you who don’t, this little device is fun. It’s about the size of my old Blackberry, has a vibrant color screen and it comes with a bunch of accessories. I keep it in my purse all the time. Best of all, it lets me keep my mind on driving safely, which is a very good thing.
