Google Glass?

Five Ways Google Glass Will Change Real Estate

Mon, 2013-09-23 13:21 — Jackie Ruiz

In 2014, Google Glass will leave the testing roam and become available for consumers everywhere. The wearable tech from the search giant is the first of its kind and building hype as various industries race to use Glass to their advantage. The obvious players are there—social networks, photography, navigation—but real estate is already finding ways to use Glass in revolutionary ways.

Property search
Browsing homes and rentals online is often unorganized and frustrating. Listings have missing data, photos and information about the neighborhood. But now a person can soon walk down the street wearing Glass and see, in real time, which properties in the community are for sale and rent.

The New York Times reports that Trulia, a popular real estate search app for smartphones, is working on a new app for Google Glass that will let users see listings and info as they walk down the street. Filters like budget, desired bedrooms and bathrooms, and amenities are set so Trulia will only alert you if a matching home is nearby. With its success, other real estate sites like Zillow or ForRent.com could follow with apps of their own.

Virtual tours
With Google Glass, real estate agents can now give live virtual tours of properties which prospective buyers and renters can watch online. Agents can invite shoppers to a "Hangout" where they can see the property from the perspective on the one giving the tour. This will help out-of-towners view a new property without the travel and let the agent show the space hands-free so the ones watching can get a better look.

The video above is a tour of the Veteran's Memorial at Washington, D.C. using Google Glass. The perspective and style is a preview of what we could expect from home tours using this technology.

Safety features
Assaults on real estate professionals have been on the rise since 2010, reports Real Estate Magazine. Safety is a growing concern for the industry and Google Glass could help alert law enforcement of an attack before it's too late. Agents wearing Glass can have their locations tracked via GPS and give certain physical or audible signals to alert 911 services if that agent feels threatened. Pre-programmed gestures or words would trigger the alert and can be subtle to the attacker (like a silent alarm). 

Communication tools
Lots of back and forth happens between real estate agents, buyers and other housing professionals leading up to the closing on a sale. Inspections and evaluations take up valuable time when buyers are anxious to call their new house home. Glass could cut down on this process if inspectors and agents wore them while speaking with buyers. Imagine an inspector showing a bad roof to a buy simply by climbing up a ladder and letting the buyer see for himself from the inspector's perspective. 

Competitive integration
Real estate is a very competitive industry where agents seek out every advantage to get ahead. Companies and agents that jump on the bandwagon early with Google Glass could be seen as more innovative compared to their competitors. There are other applications the real estate industry can't yet imagine until consumers finally get their hands on the product. Google hasn't announced a release date, but did say Glass will be available in 2014.

Home Builders Forecasting Steady Rise in 2014

http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news46751/Homebuilders-Forecasting-Steady-Rise-2014

Introducing Sarah Turner

Sarah Turner is Duane Turner's wife & business partner. Together they own Waitakere Building Inspections services and are trading as A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections Waitakere & Surrounding Areas.

Sarah has been involved in the real estate business from an early age when her Mother first became a real estate agent working for the West Auckland branch of Allen's Real Estate which was taken over by Ray White Real Estate.

Sarah first became a weekend receptionist for the Te Atatu Peninsula Allen's Branch. She worked in many Ray White branches including New Lynn, Henderson, Westgate and Te Atatu Peninsula. She worked on weekends for many years and also worked during holidays while studying towards her Bachelor's Degree in Science majoring in Chemistry from The University of Auckland.

Sarah taught science and chemistry at Avondale College for several years before becoming personal assistant to John Goodrum long time Elite member of Ray White Real Estate. She has worked alongside John listing and selling real estate during this time, and has her real estate salesperson certificate.

Sarah still assists with John's real estate business but she has put her salesperson's certificate on hold so that she can assist John in running his new building inspection company: A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections. Sarah is the New Zealand Operations Manager and also owns the Waitakere unit franchise with her husband and building inspector Duane Turner.

Sarah is working towards her home inspection qualification so that she may assist her franchisees both on and off site. She brings to this business a wealth of Real Estate knowledge and a tremendous level of marketing knowledge and administration skill.

She can't believe what an exciting industry the home inspections is and is very happy to be involved in multiple facets of this fast emerging industry.    

New Franchise Announcement

December 2013

Here at A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections New Zealand we are excited to announce the following new franchise to join our growing network of building inspectors!

Please join us in welcoming ... Duane Turner who will be serving the Waitakere area.                                            

Duane grew up in living in the Waitakere ranges of West Auckland. He currently resides in Fosters Bay, Huia with his wife Sarah and two sons William and Mathew. He knows and loves the Waitakere Ranges very much and all the suburbs and beaches they support. The West Auckland Coastal franchise area fits in well with Duane and his family.

Duane is very talented in construction. He has helped build several homes in West Auckland and really understands the process well. He has worked for 20 years in the trade focusing mainly on outdoor landscape construction. Duane’s attention to detail and quality workmanship have meant many happy repeat customers over the years.

These assets he brings with him to the building inspection industry. His knowledge of
construction practices make home inspections a very interesting and exciting choice for Duane. He can see real potential for development and growth in the future and can’t wait to get started.

Should you wish to communicate directly with Duane please contact him via duaneturner@xtra.co.nz

Congratulations and welcome to the team Duane!

Best wishes,
Sarah Turner
Operations Manager 
A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections New Zealand