Welcome to our Virtual Office Group!

Hi, I started working from home as a Realtor about a year ago, in order to save money. I just could not afford the fees for being in the office. Now I am starting to feel a bit alienated from the daily stuff going on and miss the commradre of the other agents. Our office has tripled in size and now there are no open spaces for me to come back in. Bummer.

What are you doing to stay on top of life without the office support?

Jerri, I agree that working from a home office can make you start to feel isolated after a while. My advice is to GET OUT of the office every day and talk to people. That can mean simply riding your bicycle to the store to pick up groceries & giving out a few business cards. Or you can stretch your legs and get some exercise by walking your FARM area with flyers (accomplish 2 things simultaneously). Of course, attending your local weekly Realtor meeting and caravan is critical. I also recommend that you attend a weekly networking event, such as BNI, which generates synergy and referrals. Talk to people (prospective leads) everywhere you go -- gym, church, kids' school. And last but not least, network here online! I keep abreast of the industry by watching webinars and by participating in social communities such as ActiveRain and here on RealTown!

Regina P. Brown
Real Estate Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
California Coast & Country
web: www.CaCoastCountry.com
Home Retention Consultant
book: www.Stop-Foreclosure-Fast.info

Regina,

I own a 60 agent office, yet I do the majority of work from my home. I think agent can have he best of both worlds, working at home for me gives me more time with my family which considering the busy schedule, it's a huge plus. My agents want to see me more, our best agents are busy and know how to reach me when they need me. Anyway, some of the things that helped is our online forms, a higher qualify fax machine, even though the majority of our faxing is electronic these days. I need a better scanner too, my HP 7650 just takes too long and can mess up often. Best improvement has been moving up to Vista Windows and a quad core computer. Purchased from Dell Outlet online scratch and dent model, huge savings and a wonder to use, so much better and faster. I'm just thrilled with the investment. Blackberry communications for emails from REOTrans, HUD and our own Company websites are very helpful. Keeps me in the loop while on the road, vacation, etc. If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to share some of the things I have been doing to help me keep a much more, actually wildly busy sellilng schedule. PDF writer software, Outlook 2007, online company forms and an online listing and purchase doc's loading is critical to being able to manage my business without having to go into the office to drop off forms and files. I even send PDF attachments of the purchase files to my office to go with the Earnest Money Checks now. Anyway, got any questions ask away...

Randy Haney, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI

American Associates, Inc. Realtors

Rhaney@aarealtors.net

Randy, thank you for sharing all this great info. Having a virtual office can greatly reduce a broker's overhead and they can then give their agents a more generous commission split!

Are you going to NAR convention in Nov in San Diego? I've applied to speak on the subject of a Virtual Office for Real Estate Agents, it would be great to have you contribute your advice!

First of all - Thanks Regina for spearheading this group. I'm not a techie per se, but I do subscribe to technology allowing us to work smarter and operate in a very competitive environment. Like Randy, we upscaled our tech piece and literraly drove everyone out of the brick andmortar. Meaning, while we do maintain a small presence our staff must operate "virtual" or from their home office. For us this makes sense because the trade off allows us to maintain the scale for higher commission splits. The trick is finding staff who are truly dedicated and will produce versus others who have a notion but simply lack discipline to engage face to face. Finally, I agree wholeheartedly with Regina .........all of our technology is great and unless your business is booming, you need to maintain some very basic networking as part of the mix. i.e., board meetings, caravans, continued education, etc. to allow you to engage with the public and keep a pulse of what's going on in the real world.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Everyone have a productive week.

p.s. - also, due to the nationwide economic crunch.....cities and other agencies are cracking down on those who work from their homes as "low-hanging fruit" to obtain additional licensing and other fees. We're just coming off an IRS audit and the examiner told me they are focusing on SE and/or those who file schedule C. The good news is as long as you have documentation, etc. there is no need to worry but the reason I bring it up is so you are alert of what is happening to those who have a home office.

Thank you for reminding me of the importance of still participating in the office and caravan. I have slacked off of the caravan since I primarily work with buyers and seem to be previewing all of the time. But the Caravans are more than looking at houses. It is the social thing as well.

I am going to commit to it again, starting with tomorrow's.

I seem to have fallen into a hole of online classes and webinars, Active Rain and other at home, alone activities. I need to GET OUT THE Door!

I did join CREIA, the Carolina Real Estate Investing Association the meets several times a month. It has been a great learning tool and I have enjoyed the people a lot.

I am lucky in that my office is only a 3 minute drive from my house so I am lucky that I can rely on the office equipment for scanning and a computer if mine dies.

Thanks for this group. I just came back to Real Town. When I first joined it was a list serve and I wasn't sure how to use it. This is a great format and in one two days I have joined 3 groups and have learned a lot.

Thank you all!!

Jerri

Jerri, another great idea is to get a friend to partner with. A fellow real estate agent, he/she does NOT have to work at the same company or even live in your area. A "workout partner" with whom you can be accountable. Someone that you should call every day and "check in", since you don't have someone watching you at the office.

There are several types of networking you can get out and do: (1) with other agents (2) with other business people (3) with prospective clients. All 3 types are valuable.

Fredyt3, I agree that the IRS loves to audit people who take the home-based business deduction. Home-based businesses get audited 10 times more than other businesses. They know that home-based business professionals cannot afford to hire attorneys to defend their audits. That is why I advise that home-based professionals (1) get a BUSINESS membership plan with Pre-Paid Legal, so they can have access to a top attorney for only a small monthly fee (2) do NOT take the home-based business deduction on your taxes, unless you really have to. You should have enough deductions without it, if you're diligent in keeping track of expenses.

Does anybody know a good, free, on-line fax service. i.e. somebody wants to fax me something, but I don't own a fax machine anymore. I know there are services where the faxer faxes to a phone number, and the service turns it into a PDF and emails it to the reciever.

It seems nobody uses faxes anymore (a good thing) except the banks when taking Short Sale paperwork. Every once in a while I get an agent who still uses faxes. I usually say (jokingly) can't you send it by telegram? Guess not everybody embraces technology at the same time!