3 Mobile Apps You Should be Using

Millions of mobile applications have been created to date, and hundreds of thousands are downloaded per day. With the overwhelming amount of apps available, it may sometimes be difficult to find the ones that are actually useful and effective in real estate. Luckily, we found some of them for you.

 
 1.  Genius Scan

This app turns your phone into a portable scanner!  Genius Scan scans documents and saves them directly to your phone as JPEG or multi-page PDF files.  For agents or brokers who need to send time-sensitive contracts, sales agreements or even handwritten notes, this is the perfect app.  Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.  

 
 2.  Cloze

Don’t miss the opportunity to strengthen your relationships with your contacts!  Cloze organizes your contacts from social networks and email according to who matters most to you.  Your contacts are tracked by message, tweet, social post, or even job change so you always know when and how to connect with them.  Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

 
 3.  Mailtracker

This app monitors your email analytics, allowing you to see if and when your email messages are read.  Mailtracker also monitors how many times the email was viewed, and for how long it was viewed; it even shows what device the email was opened with.  Convenient “call” and “reply” buttons are included in the app so you can take immediate action.  Compatible with iPhone and iPad.

 

Have you ever used any of these apps?  If so, what was your experience?  Do you have any other great app suggestions?  Let us know!

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Gardening Tip:

Raised garden beds are a great idea, but most of us lack the skill or time to make one out of wood.  That’s when cinder blocks come to the rescue!

After you’ve got a level place to start your garden, the rest is pretty simple!  Just place the blocks in whatever fashion you like, and line the bottom with cardboard or a piece of plywood.  You can make the bed as big or as small as you want, and it can easily be rearranged later.  Fill the holes with soil and you’re ready to plant!

What’s really awesome about using cinder blocks is that the holes in the cinder blocks make it easier to separate your herbs.

A much easier and less expensive alternative to building a wooden garden bed, this raised garden bed is a fun project that can be completed in an afternoon!

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Work for a cause, not applause.

I’ll put this simply:  It doesn’t matter what you’re doing.  If you’re doing it to impress or prove to others your worth, YOU ARE IN THIS FOR THE WRONG REASON.

So, who are you trying to prove?  If that answer is anyone but yourself, it’s time to reevaluate.

 

Starting today, your goal is to tell yourself that you are doing this because you want to.  Because you’re a good person.  Because you care about your work.  Because you have no one to prove but yourself!  You may find that you’ll be more 

 

What is your cause?  What will you prove to yourself?  Let us know in the comments!

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

Real estate agents and companies across the country have been receiving letters threatening lawsuits for patent infringement without actually having done so, or realized that they have done so.  It’s not a scam.  It’s patent trolls.

A patent troll is a person or company who creates a strangely particular or vague patent.  The party who creates the strange patent often never actually plans on using it; instead, they wait for other companies or people to use this “patent” and extort them by threatening to sue them for patent infringement.  The company or person who uses this service or feature is now in hot water for infringement for a patent they did not even know existed.

The victim is then either forced to settle or fight to win the case.

The victim typically settles, even if there was no actual infringement, because it’s always the cheapest option. The troll gets money.

If the victim fights and loses, the troll gets money.

But what if the victim wins the case?

Currently in the US, patent trolls are not required to pay legal fees to the victim if they lose the case.  However, next week, a bill will be voted on by Congress to change just that.  In addition to being forced to pay the winning party’s legal fees, patent trolls will also be required to reveal the name of the person or company who will be directly gaining money from the lawsuit.

If this bill is passed, patent trolls may be discouraged from suing companies for fear of losing money.

What can you do to help?  Sign this petition.  Re-blog this post.  Show Congress that this bill is important to you and your company.  Help stop patent trolls!

Click here to learn more about the Innovation Act.

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Originally posted at: Lafayette Real Estate News

 

This cannot be stressed enough!  Human connection is what grabs readers’ attention.  Authenticity gains their trust and loyalty.