May 2000 Published by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
May 2000 Published by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
| Topic: | |
| Title: | Online Exclusives - May 2000 |
| Headline: | Tap the Internet as a Virtual Assistant |
| Language: | English |
| Writer: | Michael Antoniak |
| Editor: | Christina Hoffmann Spira |
| Article Page #: | |
| Copyright: | Copyright ©2000. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® |
| Getting to closing fast Tap the Internet as a Virtual Assistant Project management Web sites keep you, buyers, and sellers on the same virtual page. |
| BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK Wouldn't it be great to have an assistant available around the clock to provide answers and assurances to clients and customers and to make sure everyone is meeting their responsibilities so a closing will be completed on schedule? Such a virtual resource is already available--and it's free--at eProject.com. Created and maintained by the Seattle-based company of the same name, it provides the tools and templates that make project management as easy as entering data and clicking a mouse, though it isn't geared specifically to real estate. All that's required is a computer, Internet access, and a Web browser. Real estate practitioner Tom Christensen, The Christensen Company, Madison, Wis., has found it to be such a valuable tool that he recommends it to anyone with Internet savvy. He was looking for a way to centralize all the information related to a closing and make it available to everyone involved, when he learned of the service. “Before I started using eProject I was taking and making a lot of calls, to assure the buyers and sellers and make sure everything for a closing was completed on time,” he explains. "Now I just set up an eProject, and give everyone access to it." He sets up each eProject program as a timeline of tasks, identifying who's responsible for each, and sets deadlines that must be met for the closing to proceed as scheduled. An eProject program can involve a project calendar, document sharing, task management, and a message board for posting comments. The site provides up to 250 MB of space on its server for each eProject program. These features alone certainly aren't new. Many real estate practitioners already rely on their computers to manage all the information related to the buying and selling of property. What the Internet and a site like eProject add is open access. When you manage a project on your computer, all data must be channeled through you. At eproject.com, access can be restricted to a few, or all involved can view project content, monitor progress, and check off completed tasks. For example, a representative of the title company, buyer, or seller can all log on, assess progress toward closing, or update the information. “And, as soon any task is completed, everyone receives an e-mail to let them know the status of the project has changed,” explains Christensen. He's found that eProject allows him to make more productive use of his time. “It greatly reduces the amount handholding and explaining I have to do with buyers and sellers,” he says. "And it gives them the assurance of always knowing where we are for the closing. When they have a question or they want to talk to the title company rep, or each other, they just have to e-mail them,” right from the site. eProject is by no means the only Web site with project management features and functions. Firedrop's Zaplets, which I covered in “Zap Your E-Mail with New Capabilities” (April 2000), offers similar functionality. More solutions will certainly follow as users discover online tools like these really can save time, foster collaboration, and boost productivity. “I've passed the word around about eProject to everyone I work with,” sums up Christensen. “It's been a real help to me, and it doesn't cost anything.” |