Rick Rothman describes his business as real estate without walls. Wireless technology tore down the wall. He can reach his customers, pen contracts, make payments and say goodbye without the familiar encumbrances of space and time.
His real estate company, Buyers Agent, is a metaphor of how modern-day businesses are catching on to the nascent wireless revolution, foreshadowing the yielding of grounds by the wireline culture.
“This is not technology for technology’s sake,” remarked Rothman, who is president of Buyer’s Agent, full of praise for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO technology, which has enhanced his ability to do business with speed and astounding efficiency. “We wow them with our service. We blow their mind.”
Third-generation technology may be doing the magic, he said, but perfection is still ahead. However, he cannot live down the advantages he is getting so far with about a 100-percent leap in his business.
“When you get a better mousetrap, you catch more mice,” he said.
Based in San Diego, Rothman points out that he has brick-and-mortar offices, although he is rarely there. Even when he is in the office, he often operates wirelessly with his notebook and handset.
He sees his company as competing against industry mainstays like Century 21 and Remax, which work for both buyers and sellers. His business focuses exclusively on buyers. He needed to differentiate himself, and he believes he has found a cutting edge in wireless technology, thanks to the recent launch of the EV-DO protocol by Verizon Wireless, which is still focused on the enterprise space.
With his wireless notebook, he creates a database of the home market among his real estate agents around the state. The list is updated periodically, and the information automatically pops up in all the agents’ list. And they acknowledge it.
Agents can contact their buyers, who can be registered wirelessly, and it clicks in the server. The inquiry goes to the agent.
“The agent can pull off the side of the road, get the information and go to the database or the realtors, pick up the phone and call the potential buyer,” said Rothman. The picture of the home could also be e-mailed to the potential buyer.
The buyer could be asked to e-mail the agent updates on his demands and ask for an appointment. Both agent and potential buyer will meet at the house for sale. They can use MapQuest, although Rothman said they are working to install global positioning system technology, which will use a voice prompt.
If the buyer is interested, the agent can go online immediately, instead of going to the office, and write an offer. But before writing the contract he can check to see if “something new has come up on the market in the past couple hours.”
Once they arrive at a home, he could write the offer. The forms are online, including the purchase contract and other forms, which are as many as 14 pages. Using the HP450 portable printer, the forms are printed out for buyer, seller and seller’s agent.
“We can contact the seller’s agent with an offer on the spot, and we can get a response before anyone else sees the home online,” he said. “The idea is to pre-empt a bidding war.”
He said the technology makes agents aware of homes on the market.
He said they can wirelessly get loan approval because the information already is on the computer e-faxed by the lender. The material is forwarded to the seller and the seller’s agent. He said he can write and print out checks to his agents on his notebook. He can also pull down reports on sales volumes of each of his agents.
“Although I have three office locations, I would rather meet the buyer where he is comfortable,” explaining that a lot of time is wasted in traffic if everyone has to meet in an office.
Rothman said this model of business is winning the hearts of the more sophisticated people who have increased Buyers Agents’ pool of customers by 100 percent through referrals. Word-of-mouth has become the source of the business’ growth, he said.
The main problem is customer service, he said, noting that it takes time before the customer is routed to the right customer service representative. He said it is a teething problem.
