Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Technology has helped to smooth the real estate transaction process in many ways, what with new tools for agents that let them easily upload and market homes on the web, and various applications for consumers to help them in their home search. Now, a new iPhone app called Quigler is hoping to revolutionize the entire transaction process from A to Z by providing a series of quick and easy “steps” buyers need to complete in order to buy their home.
Quigler is focused on delivering better clarity and accountability to real estate transactions while also simplifying the process. It does so by providing an easy-to-use communication platform between agents and clients. For example, each time an agent completes a particular step along the way, they can notify clients through the app. Each action is dated and time stamped, so both consumers and agents can keep track of the deal’s progress. The app also serves as a guide for newer real estate agents so they know exactly what the next step in the process is.
In total, there are 14 steps agents must complete in order for a real estate transaction to complete. Under each step there are 68 “Actions” which are necessary to be completed, based on objective, verifiable industry best practices in accordance with federal law, and the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Realtors.
“Quigler is the first app to align an agent with the best practices determined and required by their own industry and what federal and state laws require,” said Quigler co-founder and CEO David M. Michonski. “There is nothing subjective here—all of the Actions are based upon objective, specific rules required by the NAR Code of Ethics, federal laws and regulations and state licensing boards and laws.”
Michonski explained that one of the great things about Quigler is that consumers themselves can initiate the entire app-based process. The app contains a database of agents, and if a user’s own agent isn’t on it, they can quickly invite said agents to use it. Agents then proceed through each of the Actions towards completing each “step”, and the buyer will be notified the moment each one is fulfilled. In this way, Quigler keeps a permanent record of everything the agent does for his or her customer, ensuring the utmost transparency.
The app serves as a useful agent review tool as well. Once the entire transaction has been completed, users can assign a ‘grade’ to their agent according to their performance, to go alongside an automatic grade generated by Quigler itself. These two grades will then be visible on the agent’s profile so other users can review them for themselves.
“Quigler’s revolution consists of agents always being able to self-correct and thereby improve performance,” explained Barbara Fairfield, co-founder of Quigler. “Agents can look at their iPhones and if their grade is less than an A, they can immediately go into the app and correct their Actions. No prior reviewing or grading site has ever provided agents with the possibility of 24/7 ongoing improvement. Quigler does.”
Quigler is now focused on signing up as many agents as it can in more than 1,100 U.S. markets. Agents, who need to pay for access, are being offered a fifty percent discount under Quigler’s “Early Adopter Founding Agent” promotion, just $298 for a full year’s access.
The app is available to download for free in the iPhone App Store, while an Android version will be released at a later date.
