05 May Using Dropbox to Run a Successful Real Estate Business
It’s an inevitable scenario encountered by real estate professionals all the time. You’re running from appointment to appointment when a contract needs to be amended, or a client wants a closer look at the specs of a home, or the photos on a particular listing just aren’t sufficient. Thanks to the never-ending innovations of technology, there’s an app for that.
Dropbox is a free, cloud-based service that allows users to store, synchronize and share files from computers, smartphones or tablets. Devised by a group of college students who were tired of emailing versions of papers back and forth so they could be worked on from different computers, Dropbox an invaluable tool for any busy professional. However, it really shines in the real estate business as a go-to platform that can host and enable the sharing of any kind of file be it a contract, listing photo or even a virtual walk-through video.
One of the most practical and convenient features about Dropbox is that it is essentially a warehouse that can store almost anything. It doesn’t actually run user’s files meaning it can store PDFs, photos, videos, Word documents, Adobe Photoshop files- anything.
Problems in Real Estate that Dropbox Can Mend
One of the biggest challenges that real estate agents can run into throughout their day is paperwork. Between counter offers, amendments and addenda paperwork can pile up and become a disorganized mess at the drop of a hat. In addition to contracts, it is also imperative that agents have access to other documents at all times such as tax records, MLS reports, listing photos and all sorts of related files. Dropbox can help to alleviate the stress of having (and potentially losing) all of these papers by providing one place to store everything.
In addition to having everything in one place, agents have the ability to synchronize files from anywhere. If a revision is made or a file is removed from inside a Dropbox location–whether it is performed from a computer, smartphone or tablet–the edit is automatically synched to all other devices. This ensures that all agents, clients and associated parties who have access to a Dropbox file always have access to up-to-date versions of documents, ensuring that transactions can run smoothly.
File sharing has also been made incredibly easy through Dropbox. If there are multiple documents that need to be shared with any associated party in the transaction, entire folders of information can be shared with the simple click of a “Share This Folder” icon. This dramatically reduces time spent scanning and copying pages of documents.
Do you own an iPhone but use a PC in the office? If you do, there’s no more fear that files will be incompatible because of different operating systems. The platform impartiality of Dropbox enables all user to operate from any kind of device and ensures efficiency for all parties involved.
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