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Author: Anne Panter
Graphics: Adam Panter
Reach us at apanter@kawartha.net
Shopping for real estate can be a very frustrating experience. Almost everyone who owns a home can tell you stories of weekends wasted touring houses that were too small, too expensive, or met none of the criteria of the "dream house" they had described to the agent. Yes, this one has a pool, but where's the fireplace? Yes it "shows well", but you can't stand up in the basement.
While "E-commerce" is a new the buzzword on the internet, real estate companies have been there for years. Robert Long Real Estate was one of the first commercial internet sites in this area. A search for "Bobcaygeon" or "Fenelon Falls" will now yield a list of several realtor's sites. I think Bert Sevink's is the latest addition.
Searching through these sites certainly takes a lot of the leg-work, and guess-work, out of buying a home or cottage. As this is the largest purchase most people will ever make in their lives, they want to do their homework beforehand. Whether you're looking for a cottage in the Kawarthas, or a farm in the Okanagan, you can check out what's available, the current selling prices, and even see photos or videos. Then you can contact the realtor, and make those Saturday morning tours.
A new service in the Kawarthas, "Real Estate Link", makes the job even easier. At www.realestlink.com, Jan Wood has designed a "one stop shopping" place for real estate. This site features listings from multiple realtors, all in one place, and indexed by category (eg. residential, commercial, recreational) as well as price. The pages are updated daily, and feature "new today", "new this week" and "open house" sections. Having grown up in the real estate business, Jan knows what is important to both her clients, the realtors, and their clients. Vendors want their properties advertised well and widely, and purchasers want access to all listings, not just those recommended by one realtor.
Jan's computer experience has also enabled her to create a very efficient site. Listings are always just "one click" from the main page. The pages are designed to load quickly, even on older computers and slower modems. To ensure this, she tests the site on different computers, as well as different browsers. Also, it's no accident that her site is one of the first listed in all the search engines. She checks these regularly, and makes changes as necessary to maintain "top billing".
Maintaining the site is a lot of work - a full-time job. At first it was hard to measure success: the very anonymity that attracts people to the internet makes it difficult to get feedback, other than a counter of the number of "window shoppers". Now, however, Jan is beginning to hear the "success stories". Her latest is a satisfied client who just sold a property to a buyer in Medicine Hat, who had found it "on the net" at www.realestlink.com
The Kawartha Internet Users Group meets on the second Thursday of each month. Join us on October 14 at 7 pm, Lions' Hall, Main St. Bobcaygeon. Newbie or veteran, you're guaranteed to learn something new.