Austin entrepreneur, Dylan Schleppe, has announced a partnership of his company, DriveBuy Technologies, with real estate industry leader, Top Producer Systems. The partnership will provide the seamless integration of real estate’s best sales and marketing software, Top Producer 8i, and the leading interactive mobile marketing software, DriveBuy Technologies.

DriveBuy, allows listing agents to provide a "Short Message Service" (SMS) text codes on property promotions and yard signage, making it easy for prospective buyers to receive detailed information about property on their mobile phone. The technology can be used in combination with toll free hotlines or in lieu of them.

With the addition of Top Producer 8i, the prospective buyers’ information is automatically entered into the agent’s contact database, making it easy for agents to follow-up.

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By DeeinAustin™

I receive questions each week from real estate agents, small business owners and other professionals about mobile marketing tools and where they can find more information.

Mobile software is used on mobile devices such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, PDAs, and/or other cell phones and handheld devices. Some are specifically for real estate while others have more general applications.

This article lists the the top mobile real estate or business tools that stand out in today’s marketplace.

Top Mobile Real Estate Tools for Home Buyers

Home buyers typically want to search for listings information from their phone. Besides listing information, some mobile sites and software provides also provide local real estate information and chat. A few top home buyer tools:

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By DeeinAustin™

Quick reminder today about some great news! TexasRealtyBlog will be moving to our new site, Austin Real Estate Today BETA, next week.

The site is currently up for testing, with changes being made each day. BETA will be a soft launch, importing our past 500+ posts.

The longterm vision for Austin Real Estate Today will be realized in subsequent phases. The goal is to work with you and other audience members to create an interactive online community for hot issues, builder alerts, market updates, and discussion around key topics affecting Austin real estate.

We’re Looking for Austin Real Estate Today Sponsors and Partners

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NOTE: This article is part of the forthcoming book, the Gotcha Guide™ to Buying or Investing in Real Estate. by DeeinAustin™

I was elated to see the Home Warranty of America (HWA) announcement of their GreenPlus Program earlier this year.

GreenPlus is an upgrade to HWA’s 13-month contract, which covers appliance and mechanical systems. GreenPlus makes Energy Star exchanges, replaces your water heater with a tankless version, and upgrades your heating system to 90% efficiency upon disrepair.

This is especially useful in Green cities like in Austin, where our mayor is preparing to roll out a Climate Protection Plan, requiring all Austin home owners to make green upgrades before they can sell their home.

The Dark Downside of Home Service Contracts

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By DeeinAustin™

We’re excited to announce big changes to the Texas Realty Blog website!

Upgrades will occur within the next few weeks and completed by end of April. Planning has been in the works since last Fall to create an interactive Austin Real Estate community.

You spoke. We listened. Here is the Press Release Sneak Peak…

"AustinRealEstateToday.com is the virtual
water-cooler and interactive online community for Austin real estate news,
developments, builder alerts, market updates and insight."

Top ‘Austin Real Estate Today’ Features That You’re Going to Love

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By DeeinAustin™

I received a notice yesterday that Austin’s Home Auction Live! website launched. You may not realize that home auctions are one of the fastest-growing businesses in this national housing climate.

Increased foreclosures and luxury home inventory are the top real estate sales at auctions.

Have a home that won’t sell? Need to get rid of land or home inventory? Have equity, but no time to go through the real estate sales process? A real estate auction may be right for you.

Even better, the process is actually quite simple.

HOW THE REAL ESTATE AUCTION PROCESS WORKS

1. You or your real agent will contact the real estate auction website or auctioneer. You will need to have equity because you will sell at a discount.
2. The auctioneer will gather all details of your home. Some auctioneers will research and produce a marketing plan for the home if it’s an upper-tier.
3. The potential buyers will inspect the property 7-14 days prior to the auction, so you need to provide full access or risk losing money at the auction.
4. Auction Day! If the home is listed with an agent or broker, they will usually need to be in attendance. Same thing goes for a buyer’s agent.

WHAT CAN YOU BUY OR SELL AT A REAL ESTATE AUCTION?

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