Architerra.org: Love Between Realty and ICT Finds a Perfect Home

Architerra.org concretizes a long-held dream of mine to combine two passions: the love for finding the perfect home for global professionals and their families, and the desire to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a strategic marketing tool.  My research over the Net to find a good realty marketing software led me to Point2Homes website.  The rest is history. 

Having worked in technology marketing (electronics and hardware) for almost 8 years, then diversifying into a full-fledged real estate career for another eight years, I designed my dream in 1998 to become one of the first 'cyber realtors'. I was aware that the the term 'ahente' (real estate agent or broker) did not carry a good connotation here in the Philippines. I saw that a number of them, though good people and really knowledgeable about the neighborhood properties, were dressed so casually, were ill-prepared for presentations, and didn't carry a proper proposal!  They kept much of their listings in a written diary.  Their information though sufficient, was many times inaccurate.  Much of the trippings (home viewings) would be without a map, leaving you guessing where in the world is that spot on Earth that they are presenting.

And most striking of all, a number of them weren't licensed. 

So, I first I took the broker's exams.  Then I invested in a laptop, put my property pictures on the screen, created my own mortgage calculators in Excel with pre-defined fields--practically put all of marketing brochures on the computer.  I guess it must have impressed people 'cause it was easier to convince them of the benefits of the property.  It gave more three-dimensional reality to what I was offering. I guess it must have been the closest thing to 'rich information' that they could get from a real estate professional.

The Net wasn't as widely used then, but it was sufficient for me to sell my first condominium at Php 12,000,000.  That was in project selling.  A year after I decided to go into brokerage and automated all my 300+ home listings in Access, and I got to sell and lease properties with ease.It was easy to index, look up, and pinpoint properties within the range of preferences of the client. Point 2 does this  and much, much more! It really is my office on the Web.

More importantly, I maintained a relationship with my clients, both buyers and sellers, over the years, just by maintaining a constant relationship with my database. I remembered birthdays, homes, their hobbies, their anniversaries!  Those who bought properties from me became my friends. They became my clients, too, for other products I would offer.  But this was a great reinforcement for me to continue using technology over the years to market products.   Point2 allows me to build relationships with buyers, and to help me understand their search needs.  Just look at the stats on the control panel in the Office tab, and you'll have all the listings visits tracked. Amazing.

As Internet access grew more ubiquitous in Metro Manila and later on in Singapore, I became a heavy user of e-mail, e-groups and virtual learning environments. I learned to design websites, and use social software for building online communities (something I picked up from my Masters in E-learning studies) to create a relationship with people from different cultures over the world.  Now, I feel that I find homes and offices for people literally from all over.

I feel that with the addition of Point2's blog feature, my craft has also found a more permanent home in Point2.  So thanks Point2!  I'm on a test drive of the blog, so I'll be sharing my experiences about using this Beta feature.  Beyond this, please look forward to goings on in my corner of the world.