My first computer did not have a hard drive or a mouse and had to be booted with a 5 ¼ floppy disk which loaded the operating system. Then another floppy had to be loaded with whichever program I wanted to run, such as a spreadsheet or a word processing program. The year was about 1988 and I had been bitten by the computer bug. I found it fascinating, logical and I began learning on my own.
Fast forward to 1998. In what seems like a decade that flew by, computers had exploded into our everyday world. At that time, I was a computer programmer and trainer. I taught DOS, accounting and programming classes at what was then known as Sarasota VoTech, and became SCTI, Suncoast Technical Institute. I was also a private computer consultant to small local businesses and I built and sold computers on the side. I finally decided I needed to reinvent myself using what I know and love, so in 1998, I began my career as the IT (Information Technology) Director at Re/Max Properties, now known as Re/Max Alliance Group. Back then, pretty much everything concerning buying and selling homes was still on paper; only the business systems and accounting were managed on computers.
These were the early days of transitioning to MLS software on the computer and more importantly in today’s world, moving from paper to paperless Real Estate transactions. At that time, not many of the Agents had personal computers, but that changed quickly and my Re/Max office grew and built a much larger building. It was my job to set up the entire network of hundreds of computers and related equipment in this new office to take us forward into the 21st century. I have memories of my wife Liz crawling around on the floor, hooking up the network drops for all the new computer workstations & printers for the agents. For the next 10 years, I held their hands when they were frustrated with all the new technology; I trained them on all the various software programs needed to do transactions…and we spewed out a LOT of paper! Our Re/Max office and the department I managed was one of the first Real Estate offices in Florida where transactions became paperless! We had entered the world of online forms that could be filled out and signed virtually.
After 10 years of serving the staff and agents and Re/Max…and learning from them, I decided it was time to use everything I had learned, reinvent myself again and become a Realtor. Fast forward again to today. Now I fly through home searches on MLS, sign offers and contracts online, manage my client contacts from special software programs (as opposed to a Roladex!), create timelines for all of our sales, set up property showings online, open locks with my cellphones to show homes…it’s a completely different world. And in such a short amount of time! Magic! Had it not been for the ability to conduct business online virtually, this ‘age of COVID19’ would have been devastating to our business.
The introduction and adoption of technology by Real Estate agents has clearly provided access to information such as listings, mortgage rates, fees and neighborhood demographics--previously unavailable to consumers. That increase in the quantity of available information has led to better quality information which, in turn, has led to better-informed consumers. Armed with more information, clients have demanded more specialized services as well as better service from Real Estate agents such as myself.
As it turned out, I was was heavily involved in every aspect of the housing industry, from building the product to helping design some of the original Real Estate contract online systems, to getting the property information from multiple brokerages online, and finally helping the public find the ideal home for themselves. I was literally on the ground floor of all of this…building homes, the computer revolution and selling homes. I am grateful that for the past 12 years, I have been able to pass on my expertise as a Realtor to assist my clients and help them find just the right home in my hometown…Sarasota!
