This column is a continuation of Part I , previously published.
Google Toolbar: It constantly amazes me that most real estate agents have never installed the Free Google (or Yahoo) toolbar on their browser. Why they haven't I have no clue, since it makes searching such a breeze because it is always right there atop the browser for instant access to Internet searches, images, maps, directions, facts, Froogle shopping, popup blocker, automatic form filler-outer, and literally dozens more VALUABLE tools that make each business or personal session so much easier.
I won't belabor discussion on this, because you definitely need it and you can get it at: http://toolbar.google.com.
Wikipedia, the Online Open Source Encyclopedia: Whenever you are stumped about almost any, go to www.wikipedia.org and get an answer in seconds. I suspect that when a game show host, or Regis Philbin and Kelly Rippa on Live with Regis and Kelly, call a fan at home with some contest question, that fan is frantically typing the subject of the question into Wikipedia for a quick answer within the allotted time.
Wikipedia is also great for that troublesome moment when neither you nor your spouse can remember who played the acting role of, say, Steven Seagal's gutsy female partner in his movie, Above the Law. The trivia feature alone of Wikipedia may cut short many nighttime movie arguments as it does with me and my Realtor wife in my home.
Wikipedia says that it "is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. With rare exceptions, its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking the edit this page link." Of course all entries are reviewed by editors.
Now you might think that such a setup invites errors and failure, but not so. Wikipedia has so many editors that it becomes self-correcting and makes no grandiose claims for itself as it says in its own "criticism of Wikipedia" page: "Wikipedia acknowledges that it should not be used as a primary source for serious research."
But unless you are building a rocket ship or a skyscraper, you do not need 300 percent state-of-the-art accuracy. You just might need to send a fairly intelligent answer to clients who asked you about wood drying in a flood-ravaged home for sale, or soil compaction under a new Phoenix suburb's housing tract.
For that matter, many authorities believe Wikipedia is extremely accurate. Among many supporters of Wikipediam, Discover magazine noted in its March 2006 issue that "science entries in Wikipedia, the open-source online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, are nearly as error-free as those in Encyclopædia Britannica, according to a team of expert reviewers."
Say you have a homebuyer coming to visit you from afar and he said when he called you that he was a securities analyst and you know virtually nothing about that field. Now wouldn't it make sense to learn a bit about him by learning more about his profession? Wouldn't knowing his field enable you to ask him better questions as you are getting to know each other -- often a prelude to building trust in you that could lead to a sale?
Or what about when you are representing the buyer, and the seller and his agent are feeding you something perhaps not true about the seller's water heater and his responsibility for repairing it? You can get insight into their claim and related facts by looking up "water heater" on Wikipedia.
Yes, Wikipedia even covers mundane things in the home, like that: dishwashers, refrigerators, garage doors, and problems such as mold and mold remediation, seismic retrofit, and window replacement. Now you can talk intelligently about almost any home-related subject that your buyer or seller brings up!
Wikipedia also covers most realty terms, including the more sensitive or arcane ones such as charitable remainder trust, 1031 property exchange and most everything you'd ever want to know about the minutia of the real estate field itself.
There you have them -- the four great FREE tools that EVERY real estate agent should have to save huge amounts of time over a year, and even make you less graphically-challenged and suddenly seeming smarter to your clients.
Don't wait. Go download the downloadable and check out the checkable right now, before you lose the place where your computer filed this column.
However, soon you can go back and find it anyway, using your new Google Desktop search, right?
