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The Latest News from WFG National Title Company
ryantate
173
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Shout out to the FTC, and the listings chess game

This is chess, not checkers Lots of very smart people are scrambling to figure out the changing dynamics of online real estate listings and advertising. The end of the ListHub deal with Zillow has muddled the situation as Z furiously cuts deals with individual MLSs as the clock runs out…
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ryantate
134
WFG News
February 3, 2015

My Uber driver was a real estate agent

How perfect. While on my way to Real Estate Connect New York, using Uber to get to the airport in Miami, I found out that the driver is a real estate agent! He drives for Uber early in the morning and in the evening for some extra cash. So on…
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ryantate
116
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Matt Lerner: ‘We’d better disrupt ourselves before someone else does!’

Matt Lerner is the chief technology officer at Walk Score. Age: 39 Degree, school: Computer Science, Brown University Location: Seattle, Washington Social media: Twitter, LinkedIn Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Walk Score assigns “bike scores” to addresses and neighborhoods, given Matt Lerner’s enthusiasm for biking. Photo credit: Dzung Vo What’s your favorite activity outside of…
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ryantate
117
WFG News
February 3, 2015

Look what you can do with Google Earth Pro — for free

Google Earth Pro used to be $399 a year. Now it’s free. So what, you say? Check out how CityRealty recently used Google Earth and 3-D mockups of yet-to-be-built skyscrapers to show condo buyers what their views will be like when they peer out their brand-new, sky-high windows. TechCrunch’s Greg…
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ryantate
119
WFG News
February 2, 2015

Real estate search tools to add search by subdivision, HOA

Watch for a slew of online real estate search tools to add yet another layer of precision to their search capabilities. Maponics, the leading provider of neighborhood boundaries to real estate search websites, has or is in the process of rolling out data products that will make it possible to sort listings…
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ryantate
153
WFG News
January 31, 2015

New version of DocuSign goes anywhere, provides new tools for brokers

DocuSign says the latest version of its paperless real estate transaction management platform, DocuSign for Real Estate PLUS, allows mobile users to handle deals from start to finish, and provides additional capabilities for brokerages including Salesforce integration. The update also provides process automation, allowing brokerages to integrate their back-office systems with…
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ryantate
118
WFG News
January 31, 2015

‘When a******s send you referrals, it’s other a******s': Leigh Brown

When Leigh Brown can’t accept new business, she routes it to two other real estate agents in her market. One agent is “good,” so she gets the “good people,” Brown said. The other? “I refer all the assholes to because her personality fits them,” she said. That business strategy jibed…
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ryantate
117
WFG News
January 30, 2015

How to break into luxury real estate

NEW YORK — The path to becoming a “luxury agent” isn’t always a long and arduous journey. Sometimes agents can take a quantum leap into the niche. Diane Ramirez, CEO, Halstead Property That’s what happened with one greenhorn that Diane Ramirez, CEO of New York City-area brokerage Halstead Property, hired in the…
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ryantate
117
WFG News
January 30, 2015

How to convert like a tech startup

NEW YORK — Lead conversion is a complicated art, but technology is making it easier to engage consumers and increase the chances they’ll turn into business. Jonathan Aizen, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Amitree Inc., maker of a tool that walks consumers through the homebuying process and helps brokers and…
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ryantate
150
WFG News
January 30, 2015

Handling client expectations in an era of open real estate data

Real estate professionals are operating in an unprecedented time. Our clients now have access to more information than ever before. Today, by the time clients contact an agent to set up showings, it’s more than likely that they’ve already spent hours online researching neighborhoods and properties. We are no longer…
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