Realty Tech: I LOVE my iPad (with caveats)

Mary Fallin signed the bill last week that allows the use of electronic signatures on Real Estate contracts, so I’m one step closer to going paperless.  Other agents who are contemplating getting an iPad for Real Estate use, possibly with the aim of reducing the RIDICULOUS amount of paper we use … this bud’s for you.

OKCMAR started offering Transaction Desk while I was taking a break from selling Real Estate, so it was a pleasant surprise when I got back in the game.  There they were!  All the forms!  Wow!  You didn’t have to go to the Filing Cabinet of Doom in your office printer room and hunt for the right forms through its archaic grid organized by sadistic trolls, or anything!  The only problem was you still had to print them out, on paper, and physically sign them with a physical pen that you physically stole from the title company down the hall.

So I decided to buy myself an iPad.  And it’s been great — but there are a few things I wish I’d known.  For now, these issues prevent me from using my iPad as my sole work computer, but don’t keep me from using it on a daily basis as a very useful business tool.

USING THE MLS

You can’t access the current full version of Tempo (our MLS system) in Safari.  (You didn’t hear this from me, but I think there’s work being done to make the next incarnation browser-independent.  I can’t WAIT.) I wish I’d understood this before I bought it — not that I would have changed my mind, I was just very surprised and disappointed when I found out.

There are two things you can do:

You can pay an extra fee to OKCMAR for Tempo Wireless.  (ETA: Tempo Wireless is now Kurio Mobile.)  Yes, I do, because it’s actually a very easy-to-use site you can see and navigate easily from most mobile devices and is great for when you’re on the road and need to search for specific properties or run a very basic Quick Search.  You can also — if you need any of the more advanced MLS features — remote desktop connect to another computer that runs Internet Explorer, and log into the MLS that way.  It’s slow and clunky, but if you absolutely must do it, you can.  I use iTeleport to connect to either my home laptop or my work desktop and log into the MLS through it.

FORMS AND DOCUMENTS

More bad news … you can’t access Transaction Desk from your iPad, either.  You can access the feature-limited DocBox 2Go they have — so you can see the forms you’ve already created, but you can’t edit or create new ones. Unless (again) you do the Remote Connect thing — and it’s even slower and clunkier on TD than it is on the MLS.

So here’s what I do.  I use my desktop to create and edit the forms in Transaction Desk when I’m in the office, and then I’ve also created PDFs of my major file packets — contracts (with different packets for loan type and whether it’s an in-house or co-op transaction) and listings (pre- and post-1978).  Once I have the contract packets in PDF format, I use an app called GoodReader to create annotated copies of the blank form packets.  I put text fields with placeholder text in the different blanks, and I can just edit them as needed for each new transaction.  I can use the Draw — Freehand tool to sign it, and then email myself and my clients a copy of the filled-out and signed documents.  For the signing, I finally broke down and bough a higher-quality stylus, the BoxWave Capacitive iPad Stylus, and let me tell you.  Worth every penny.

Also, for what it’s worth, I use DropBox to store my files and keep them accessible from both the iPad, desktop, and home computer.  This way … it’s easier.

GRAPHIC DESIGN & WORD PROCESSING

I don’t do much graphic design these days; we have a kick-ass graphics department at my company so there’s little reason.  And since I’m most familiar with and quite like Macromedia Fireworks that I have on my other computer, I haven’t done very much with the iPad options.

As far as word processing, I’m a big fan of MS Word, so even though I’ve downloaded Pages and I’m sure it’s wonderful, I’m just not there yet.  I’ve used Information Architects (iA) Writer for some writing and journaling, but I’m finding the screen keypad too awkward to woo me away from my desk- and laptops permanently (and I’m too cheap (so far) to get an external keyboard yet).

So all told, while I like the idea of using my iPad as my primary work and play computer, I’m not there yet.  I’ll probably be a lot closer whenever Tempo & Transaction Desk become easily accessible on Safari, and when I get an external keyboard.  I’ll keep you posted.