Any Real Estate Virtual Assistants?

[onthedottyping]

Hi

Thanks for the link - we do work for some estate agencies - they find VA services very useful as it gives the staff more time to go out getting more properties on etc.

Samantha

[CreativeAgentVA]

Hi Lisa~

I have been a Professional Real Estate VA for about 5 years, so I'm hoping I can shed light on this niche for you.

Basically, services for real estate professionals are broken down into a couple different categories:

Listing/Marketing Coordination (all online, website marketing and print marketing of selling properties, and various tasks the are involved)

Transaction Coordination (keeping track all paperwork and inspection deadlines required to close the sale of a property once it is in contract.)

Leads/Database/CRM Management (keeping track of all contacts, contact categories, managing leads and inputting them into the proper databases and assigning marketing campaigns or keep-in-touch campaigns using a wide variety of programs or email drips)

I added a very detailed article under the article section specifically for Real Estate VAs and a nice list of potential services, that should give you some ideas too

Working in real estate as a VA is an awesome niche! Feel free to contact me if you need any help!:daisy:


Laura Monroe, PREVA

[lisa007]

Hi Laura,

Wow, thank you soooooo much! that is awesome. I don't feel so in the dark anymore. I at least have some "idea" of how to organize and start I'm not one to tell people, oh sure I can do that...but truth is I'm clueless! Now I wait and see what comes my way.

Cheers,

[beyondtheoffice]

Have you had any experience working with Realtors before? Realtors can be a tricky bunch to work with. Prior to opening my VA practice, I supported local real estate offices for about three years, and there are lots of things to be careful of as a non-licensed assistant. Check with your local state licensing authority or board of Realtors to see what you are legally allowed to do as a non-licensed assistant. Generally OK tasks are assisting with marketing (all ads must be okay-ed by agent before submission to any media), mls listing maintenance, contact management, and most of the things you mentioned in your original post.

Hope this helps...

Terri Orlowski
beyondtheoffice

[lisa007]

Hi Terri,

No, haven't worked for any. As of today, I haven't gotten any calls yet, so nothing may come of it, but those are good points to ponder and think about. I'm still researching. Thank you for the insight.

Blessings,

I found that most realtors are great at selling property and customer service but are not so great at running the business side of things. Keeping track of desk fees, commissions earned, mileage and such was a huge help to many of the agents.

[Ness Lindsay]

Lisa,

Here is a list of what you can do for a Real Estate agent or team:

Top 10 ways to use a Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant

1. General Realtor® support
a. Mail, eMail, bills, reminders,
b. Birthday and anniversary cards
c. Correspondence
2. Agent field support
a. Schedule appointments and showings
b. Coordinate fulfillment stock for property flyers
3. Create and maintain intranets and online meeting rooms for team interaction
a. Attend the virtual meetings and take notes
b. Update files for the intranet areas
c. Create webpages for agendas and presentations
4. Coordinate feedback from showings
a. Gather and distribute report to agent and or broker
b. Contact seller with information from agent or broker suggestions
5. Database creation, maintenance and lead generation
a. Hotlists
b. Feedback
c. TopProducer or other farming resource
6. Website maintenance
a. Listing enhancements online
b. Upload virtual tours
7. Marketing mailouts
a. Flyers
b. Brochures
c. Just listed/sold postcards
d. Comparative Market Analysis
8. Create online multimedia
a. Web commercials
b. Virtual tours
c. Listing presentations
d. CD tours and presentations
9. Listing coordinator
a. Clerical support duties from listing to contract
b. Coordinate all support activities during listing
c. Mailout or email listing plan of action to seller
10. Transaction coordinator
a. Clerical support duties from contract to closing
b. Coordinate all support activities during process

Vanessa Lindsay

[kimhughes]

Hi there,

These are all great responses and I invite you to visit my service page to get some ideas as well. the service offers detail to each service I offer.

[YourLeftHand]

This is something I want to break into as well, but I am not "there" yet.....I'm going to proceed with more typical VA types of services.

But, I did actually meet with the agents who helped us buy/sell last year - we've kept in touch and they've been so good to us. We had a lunch together and I bounced things off of them. They both definitely think a VA is a needed thing in the area I live.

But a couple things:
- You have to be extremely careful with the whole licensed vs. non-licensed thing and make sure you are fully educated on what you can or can't do.
- The agent I talked to said he would be a little nervous about the possibility that I would have access to his listings and possibly another agent. Not that he wouldn't trust the VA, but just knowing that there is that ever remote possibility of human error. I didn't have an answer for that concern, but I could certainly understand where he's coming from.....that's their livelihood!

[ExecutiveVA]

Yes, thanks for the ideas. I am not a VA *yet* either, but I decided to work with RE Agents, I have worked with an agent in the past and I have a general idea of what they require. I am going to do some research on setting up virtual tours, I know for a fact they need help with this (when I worked with an agent he was just getting into this). Another service you could offer is keep their web site updated.