Being a land geek has its advantages. I have been able to leverage technology to be able to get twice as much done to focus on deals and not be bogged down by paperwork, mailings and flying on planes to research land.
We are in the Golden age of real estate investing. It used to be a slow and arduous process to get a deal done just because of all the due diligence and paperwork involved. Today, using technology I have found five great web sites and services to allow me to focus on what is going to make me money… Closing deals.
The first website I utilize on an almost daily basis is www.docusign.com. Whether you are a realtor or real estate investor, docusign is an invaluable resource when you have to get your customers to sign on the line that is dotted. What used to take several days in document preparation, regular mail or FedEx and their associated costs I can now do in a matter of minutes. Plus, the future of computing is mobile phones and tablets. Docusign allows me to view, sign and edit my documents on the iPad, iPhone or an Android phone. Plus, the monthly fee is small compared to the monthly FedEx fees I had to incur in sending my contract out to my various customers throughout the country. The turnaround time is instant and the dream of a paperless office is now a reality with services like Docusign.com.
the 2nd website I find invaluable is a map making site www.expertgps.com. Oftentimes, I used to have to rely on a professional surveyor to create a map for me to show my online customers the GPS coordinates of the property, the driving directions to that property and the topographic features of that parcel. Instead of paying a surveyor over $100 an hour to prepare these complex maps I now utilize a $200 software program named www.expertGPS.com. by simply typing in the Township Section and Range of a property, expert GPS will create a map for me. It works in conjunction with Google Earth and I can then manipulate that map several ways to show my customer the driving directions, the GPS coordinates as well as the topographic features of the property. What used to cost money and time in map making now literally can be prepared in minutes. In fact, I have created a 3 part video series for my land geek coaching clients to teach them how to create these maps online using expert GPS.com in conjunction with Google Earth.
Another great time-saving website I have found is www.simplecertifiedmail.com. When need to get someone’s attention, a great way to do that is to send them certified mail. Unfortunately, when my note clients are late on their payments I find that certified mail is an effective way to get their attention in order for my note payment to become a priority. However, it’s a pain to have to drive to the Post Office, stand in line, and then hand write a certified mail label. For a small fee, simplecertified mail.com allows me to print by certified mail postage online and they provide the certified mail envelopes and I can even track when my recipient receives their certified letter. This wonderful online service saves me time and gas not to mention the frustration of waiting in long Post Office lines! If time is money, then you really owe it to yourself to check out www.simplecertifiedmail.com.
The fourth time saving website I have found extremely useful for my due diligence is a new service called www.wegolook.com. I always tell people never acquire property sight unseen. Yet, I often have to buy property sight unseen because even using Google Earth and all the tech tools at my disposal nothing replaces a human being going out and stomping on the property. However, to save me time and money and allow me to do deals throughout the country I utilize the people at www.wegolook.com to go and find the property, take pictures for me and basically do a phase 1 inspection of the property. If the people at www.wegolook.com can’t find the property, then most likely my potential buyers won’t either and that is a good indication that no matter how fantastic the deal looks I should pass on it. Plus, the service is ridiculously inexpensive starting at only $49.
The last service I use is like a de facto escrow company for me. When dealing with inexpensive raw land, sometimes I will simply do a title search on my own and save the money using the title company and an escrow service. The way I do this is utilizing a company online named www.notarypro.com. For example, I send an offer letter to a potential seller whom then accepts the offer. Using expertGPS.com and Google Earth as well as wegolook.com I thoroughly research the property and discover that it’s a fantastic buy. So to close the deal, I send all of the documents to the notary, they set up a time with my seller whom then signs over the property to my company. The notary notarizes their signature, gives the seller a cashiers check and then sends back all the documents to me. As a result, I save money on escrow fees and my seller gets a quick close. Moreover, I have a faster turnaround time as well with all of the paperwork. I have found this way of closing deals safe, effective and my sellers love it.
Have I missed an excellent website? Please leave me a comment on how you use technology to either research transactions, close transactions or just save time and money.
