Agents are hit up daily by companies offering their services, tools, and apps. It is never-ending and exhausting. I have tried some and canceled many. In the end, here are my TOP 8 real estate tools and apps that made the cut, and that I do use daily.

1. ​Calendly: An ideal calendar tool. Calendly makes it easy to keep track of who is showing your listing and at what time. This tool documents their contact information making it easily accessible rather than buried in an email. Calendly is an excellent way to stay organized.

2. DocuSign: No matter where you or your client may be in the world, as long as each has access to the internet, documents can be signed and business performed. One can utilize Docusign on a mobile phone as well, but it is more difficult to read the fine print on a contract or disclosure, so I don't recommend it for lengthy documents unless of course the documents have been read and thoroughly understood, beforehand.

3. REveo: REveo ​All-in-one-click Real Estate Virtual Showing makes showing a home virtually, as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply CONNECT with your client from your iPhone by sending a link to their mobile device, laptop, or smart TV. Then TOUR your clients live, as you walk through the home together. The tour can also be saved and shared again later. Now REveo has a Matterport component. Go to REveo.co to learn more. Here is an example of a big REveo win for the DiMaggio & Betta Group: During COVID our clients were in New York and unable to come out to the Bay Area. So my husband utilized REveo to show homes to our clients, virtually. Show, Share, Close! 

4. Canva: As the Marketing Director of HIGHLAND PARTNERS, and for our team the DiMaggio & Betta Group, I am simply obsessed with creating ads and coming up with marketing campaigns, CANVA makes it easy to implement while providing templates you can use, edit and adjust. CANVA can be used on both your laptop or mobile device. It is an intuitive app that allows you to resize your template from Twitter to LinkedIn, Facebook to Pinterest, and more.

5. Ladies of Real Estate: Ladies of Real Estate social media and networking platform. This platform offers a variety of stylish real estate templates that can be saved to CANVA and edited to fit your needs. It also provides a referral network where Realtors are showcased. This is just the tip of the iceberg, so go to Ladies of Real Estate to learn more.

6. RealScout: A listed alert search platform that allows an agent to share listings in their desired price range. At the same time allowing the Realtor and client to communicate through RealScout.  RealScout offers market snapshots and other valuable information that can be shared with clients. RealScout is also easy to use and displays the listings beautifully.

7. Social Media Channels - Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest: Once you create beautiful marketing pieces on CANVA or other similar tools you have to post them somewhere. Each of our social media channels will have unique followers, so it is ideal to post across all platforms.

8. Dropbox: Real Estate is visual. Any agent who represents Sellers and their homes should always have professional, high res photos taken. Dropbox allows the easy transfer of high-resolution photographs for both web and brochures. Dropbox allows our photographers to share the images they shoot for all our listings with our marketing team so we can create brochures, websites, and upload them to the MLS. Dropbox is a convenient place to keep and categorize all of your photos, real estate related and personal.   

The post Top 8 Must Have Real Estate Apps, Tools And Platforms | Debbi DiMaggio, DiMaggio & Betta Group appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Project Runway mentor Christian Siriano announced the launch of his interior design firm, Siriano Interiors. Catering to residential and commercial design, Siriano Interiors is Siriano’s next major step in conquering the interior design world.

On January 5, Siriano, 35, revealed his new firm via Twitter and Instagram that wrote “New Interior Design firm, Siriano Interiors for 2021.” The social media post accompanied a picture of Siriano in a modernly designed room with the caption, “Here is a sneak peek of our midtown townhouse we just completed!”

Siriano Interior’s website includes photos of commercial and residential projects. Pillows, settees, chairs, fabric samples, and stools are also available for purchase. Siriano's designs reflects his fashion expertise with a modern, simplistic influence. Sirano incorporates textures and a neutral color palette in his designs.

After winning Project Runway, Siriano’s fashion career took off. Siriano’s fashion designs have been worn by global superstars from Angelina Jolie to Scarlett Johansson. Siriano’s fashion portfolio includes intimates, eyewear, home and bedding, and a beauty collection. In 2012, Siriano opened his first store in New York City. Siriano is also a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

For more information on Siriano’s latest interior design projects, visit the Siriano Interiors website.

The post Christian Siriano Announces His Interior Design Firm Siriano Interiors appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Once you have a listing, how do you prepare a marketing plan specific to that property?

My specialty as a Real Estate Broker is to be the Listing Broker.  In this market, to be the best, you must have the inventory.  Once I attain a listing, the fun begins.  I have a professional Photographer take photos and a virtual tour.  I enter these photos on my marketing publications and send out postcards to neighboring areas to get the word out.  Broker Tours or Open Houses are also a great way to get the word out.

What media channels do you find work best, and why do you think they work? (Print, online, direct selling, word of mouth)

The majority of my clients contact me through word of mouth or referral base.  I believe this is due to my presence in the market.  I have a heavy presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.  I advertise in a few print publications as well, such as "Home Gallery of Bucks County", which I believe is the best Print publication around in my area.

Do you find that specific media channels have become more effective for specific markets, properties, or market segments?

I feel that some media channels have definitely become more effective.  As I stated in the previous question, Facebook and Twitter are huge media channels that help me attract and attain more business.  In some cases, more than direct mail and Print advertising.  It's a huge tool that everyone, no matter what business they're involved in, should utilize.

What advice or assistance do you offer your clients when it comes to staging their property for potential buyers?

I have mixed emotions about staging.  Don't get me wrong, it definitely can take a home that is an eyesore into a more attractive home.  But, it also isn't natural. When clients look at homes, they need to visualize how they home should look while is lived in.  Not how the home looks as model house.  It obviously depends on the buyer, but I think home staging is not necessary when selling a home.  I think it's the marketing and Broker that sell the home, not the Staging.

When it is time to showcase the home, how do you decide to have an open house, or to show the property by appointment only?

When it’s time for The Joseph Bograd Team to run an Open House or show a property, much preparation is involved. We like to plan an open house at least 2 weeks in advance.  It gives us time to make brochures, market the open house.  Whether it is in print or social media advertising, you need to give time for the advertising to work.  You can't start marketing a property the Friday before the Open House on Sunday.

When showing a home, we make it a point to educate ourselves with the homes that we will be showing our prospects before the actual appointment.  This way we are well prepared and are comfortable with the client and knowledgeable about the home.

The post Multi-Faceted Real Estate Marketing: The Joseph Bograd Team On Selling Your Home appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

A retractable skylight in the main living room is perfect for gazing.

Jack Dorsey, one of the powerhouses behind Twitter and Square, has purchased a breathtaking cliffside home over looking the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco.

The home located in the Seacliff section of San Francisco was originally listed back in 2008 for more than $18 million dollars. Since then, the price has come down to a far more attractive $9.9 million, the price Dorsey snagged it for.

The cantilevered two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home comes in at roughly 3,700 feet ad features fully modernized kitchens and bathrooms. The home was built in 1965.

The home's most fascinating feature is a retractable skylight that can be opened to expose the living room to the outdoors. Inside the home there's also a rock fireplace wall, redwood accents and floor-to-ceiling windows in the master bedroom offering a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay.

There is also a spiral staircase leading to a rooftop terrace for an even better view of the Bay area.

Jack Dorsey is estimated to be worth over $750 million.

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Source: The Real Estalker

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