Techy Interviews – Daniel Gibbons

I have always pushed Realtors to become more tech savy. Not only as a way to learn about more efficient ways of working but also as a way to keep them up to speed with the tools that are coming at them.

Another huge benefit of being tech savy is the bonus of meeting tech savy people. Why is it a bonus? Tech savy people buy real estate in a much more efficient way than not so tech savy people. Take me for example, when I want to purchase a home I do almost all of the research myself. Then when I’m ready to take the next step I contact my Realtor and get the process running. Notice, that I do all of the leg work. I drive myself around the neighbourhood, I attend the open houses myself and I ask the questions that I’m interested in asking. So when it comes time to take the next step and put in an offer, my Realtor has very little left to do except deal with the paper work, advise on pricing and help make the potential transaction smooth.

A non tech savy person, will call a Realtor and have that Realtor drive them all over the place, looking at listings, talking about neighbourhood and discussing the potential of putting in an offer on something.

The difference is in the time spent. Dealing with more tech savy clients minimizes your time spent doing a deal. So why not focus on the tech savy community?

I have asked a few colleagues of mine some real estate questions in hopes that it will give you an idea of how they think when it comes to real estate.

Here is the first interview:

Currently, Daniel is the CEO at Carrie & Danielle, Inc. a Board Advisor at Tagga Media and a Director at Lypp.ca. You can see his whole profile at Linkedin or you can check out his blog.

Q1. When you search for real estate, where do you look? (online; where? offline; where?)
A1. Online, usually at mls.ca, sometimes on the Sotheby’s site; offline by walking through neighbourhoods

Q2. What do you look for in a Realtor?
A2. Reputation, track record of selling similar properties, avoids meaningless realtor jargon and cliches.

Q3. How did you pick your Realtor when you sold your home?
A3. Recommendation from a friend.

Q4. Do you look for real estate on Craigslist?
A4. No.

Q5. When you see a real estate listing with no pictures, what do you do?
A5. Ignore the listing.

Q6. If you were a Realtor, what would you do different than any other Realtor you have seen?
A6. Admit that generally realtors are unlikely to have profound insights into the market / broader economic conditions, and be honest: who knows where markets are heading, but generally it’s always smarter to buy real estate rather than sit on the sidelines.