A Building in Motion! The individual floors rotate with the wind – it’s supposed to generate it’s own electricity! Only in Dubai would they attempt to build something like this…wow!

Dynamic Architecture – Here’s a link to their website!

Paperwork for a real estate transaction – from listing to closing – can be a real time-drain for all involved. Just sign here, here, here and initial here, here, here and here…and when your fingers are cramping and numb, we’ll have ourselves a legal document.  And with all the signatures and initials, it could necessitate a physical therapy appointment.

DocuSign (www.docusign.com) offers a legal, secure  electronic signature service guaranteed to reduce wear-and-tear on schedules and fine motor skills. DocuSign Lite is a free service anyone can use from DocuSign’s homepage. There’s no paper, no account to set up, no cost or credit card number to provide.

Simply upload the document that requires a signature and enter the email address of the recipient. Your recipient gets an email message from DocuSign notifying them of a document to be signed and you receive an emailed receipt confirming that the process is complete.

An electronic signature is enforceable and legal. (even in California!) There’s a whole section on the DocuSign site dedicated to real estate professionals and how DocuSign can speed up this necessary chore for folks on both sides of a transaction.  For more information, check out the key points from an October 6 talk by Ken Moyle, “Legality of Electronic Signatures and Real Estate” (http://docusign.com/blog/category/realestate/).

So when you hear, “where do I sign?”;  now you can tell your clients,  just click here, here, here and here…

Do you feel like a pawn in the voice mail chess game? Call – Call Back? Message – Return Message? Check – Check Mate? Well, technology has come to our rescue!

SlyDial (www.slydial.com) is a free service for your land or mobile calls that allows you to connect immediately to your recipient’s mobile voice mail without waiting for four to six rings, their outgoing message, inevitable prompts, blah, blah, blah.  SlyDial lets you go directly to voice mail.  Check Mate!

SlyDial is a real time-saver when when you need to share a bit of information and just don’t have time for a full conversation. It’s also a tool for discretion and consideration – ever disturb or distract someone when all you wanted to do was leave a quick voicemail? Like the times you remember that you need to return someone’s call… at midnight!  I hate it when that happens.

So here’s how it works: to use Slydial from a land line or a cellular phone, dial 267-Sly-Dial (267-759-3425) to leave a message for your intended recipient. The service is free to users who don’t mind listening to a little advertising, or you can pay a very modest subscription fee to avoid ads (look for the words “MYslydial Premium”.)

You don’t have to join the premium service to use SlyDial – just enter the 267-759-3425 number on your phone and you’re in business. But if you want to use SlyDial apps for your iPhone (www.apple.com/iphone), BlackBerry (www.BlackBerry.com) and Windows Mobile Smartphones, you need to be a MYslydial Premium subscriber.

There’s lots of great information (check out the FAQs) at the SlyDial website that clearly explains the value of this very simple, very convenient communication solution.

I’m always looking for ways to save time here or there and to become more efficient in my business.  Slydial is a winning deal!

I come from a corporate technology/telecommunications background… lo, many moons ago!   And outsourcing used to be the big buzz word!  Outsourcing was for management’s “pet projects”, for services we couldn’t offer and sometimes even outsourcing an entire department  to a company who could do it better for less!  It made sense… and cents.  Use the talents and resources of strategic partners; and save on staffing expenses and training.  It was a way for my company to stay focused on our core business.

Back then, I sold “services” for a video conferencing  manufacturer.  We offered everything from maintenance services, coordination of equipment installations – worldwide, bridging video calls ‘across the pond’ and around the country for international companies, build and design custom video rooms for distance learning and corporate boardrooms.

There’s no way we could have supported and managed all of those services – worldwide!  We outsourced all or a portion of every one of them.  No apologies!

What’s that got to do with AnotherME Virtual Assistants?  When you stop and think about it… that’s what the Virtual Assistant business is all about!

Do you have a “pet project” you need to get done?  Do you need a Marketing Department or a Bookkeeping Department.    If you are not focusing on your core business, then maybe it’s time to think about outsourcing!

AnotherME offers Real Estate outsourcing!  Real Estate support is our core business: listing coordination, closing coordination, marketing, database support, blogging, social media support, bookkeeping and expense management!  We also offer mailing services, general admin and graphic design.

How can you offer the best service to your clients when you’re the one doing it all?

As a real estate professional (and a small business owner), maybe it’s time to take a lesson from our friends in the corporate world and outsource.  It’s a business decision that makes sense …and cents!