Customer stories


Emailrealty.com

Alaska-based real estate broker finds innovative niches in his business for FileMaker Pro 8 database tools

Alaska real estate broker Greg Erkins believes in taking full advantage of the latest technology in managing his ever-growing business. His company, Flash Realty LLC, and its Emailrealty.com division, emphasizes a full range of up-to-date tools in serving its clients, from email distribution of listings to slickly-produced custom DVDs containing extensive, illustrated portfolios of information on specific properties. Behind all this innovation, FileMaker Pro 8 plays a vital role – and not just for Greg. Now these innovations are being made available to other brokers as well.


Business Challenge

Real estate is a business built on information. With every property listed, every home sold, there are thick sheaves of supporting documents, forms, photos, and details, all of which have to be carefully organized and thoroughly examined over the course of each transaction. Meanwhile, brokers need to be able to compare and analyze recent sales and current listings in detail to determine the best market prices for a given place and time. Early on, Greg Erkins discovered that FileMaker Pro could handle it all. "I've used FileMaker Pro since 1986," he relates. "I went to see my brother-in-law, who's also in real estate, and he was running FileMaker Pro on an early Mac. He showed it to me and said 'look what you can do!' I went 'wow, that's great,' and started getting into it – and since about 1989, it's been pretty much my program to use. I got all the forms into FileMaker, and could work by myself – people would ask, 'don't you need an assistant?' And I'd say, 'no, I got FileMaker!'"

It didn't take long for other brokers, agents, and multiple-listing services to discover Greg's secret – and before long, he was doing a brisk business on the side developing FileMaker Pro tools and form packages for the real estate business. And he's been at it ever since, with steadily increasing success.


Successful Solution

Greg's most significant FileMaker Pro projects cover two of the most complicated chores faced by real estate professionals – distribution of listing information and analysis of market data.

To take on the first task, Greg's devised a FileMaker Pro 8 database containing all the facts and figures that make up each current listing – there's descriptions and inspections and tax statistics and photographs – even QuickTime full-motion views. All this data is collected and then exported onto custom DVDs – which are then presented to prospective buyers. It's a far cry from a thick sheaf of photocopies, a blurry cut-out from the newspaper, or a rain-soaked flyer on a bulletin board – and it's made practical and affordable by FileMaker Pro 8's powerful multimedia capabilities. "We've even got a singing commercial we put on at the start of each DVD," Greg notes.

FileMaker Pro 8 also powers a potent tool specifically designed for agents working with multiple-listing services. This database stores and provides current rankings for various real estate offices by sales volume and by dollar earnings. "It might seem simple," Greg continues, "but there's two sides to every listing – the buying side and the selling side. One company might be claiming a certain number of sales, while another company might be saying the same thing – but they're both talking about the same property. By organizing the data according to buying and selling, this database helps them to be truthful in what they're saying."

All in all, Greg is running about 10 FileMaker Pro 8 databases to cover his own real-estate functions as well as his own ongoing development projects – down from nearly 50 in previous versions of the software. "I'd often have to enter information into four or five different databases," he explains, "but now I'm able to combine functions and eliminate redundancy, making it a lot easier. That helps a lot!"


Customer Benefits

With his decades of experience in FileMaker Pro development, Greg knows firsthand how a powerful, easy-to-develop database platform can enhance everyday operations in any line of business. "I've never needed an assistant when everyone else did," he maintains, "and that's saved me maybe $24,000 a year right there. And because of the improvements in productivity thanks to FileMaker Pro 8, we've really grown – in fact, our business is 400 percent larger, and we're expecting to take in three times the revenue this year compare to the year before. People start to notice – and that's happening to us."

One of the specific improvements FileMaker Pro 8 brings to Greg's business is its pop-up Calendar function. "You need to know a lot of dates in real estate – when you're going to have inspections, when you're going to have appraisals, when you're going to do this and when you're going to do that, and you're always looking for a calendar. With FileMaker Pro 8 you can make a pop-up calendar, and swoosh! There it is!"

FileMaker Pro 8 continues the move toward simplified developing that began in previous versions --- and Greg is already working on plans to provide online access to his database system for access by both agents and the general public. "The enhanced web functionality is important," he declares. "The more you can get FileMaker Pro onto the web, the better." He's also expecting to make use of the full range of FileMaker Pro 8 refinements, from the Relationship Graph to the PDF Maker function, as he continues to develop and improve his own software tools. "I see the next step being having all the best things a real estate agent could need on a FileMaker Pro 8 system," Greg concludes. "There's a lot that could be done!"


Because of the improvements in productivity thanks to FileMaker Pro 8, we've really grown – in fact, our business is 400 percent larger, and we're expecting to take in three times the revenue this year compare to the year before. People start to notice – and that's happening to us.

Greg Erkins, President, Flash Realty LLC/Emailrealty.com



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:

Greg Erkins
President
Flash Realty LLC/Emailrealty.com
(907) 562-3382
gerkins@gci.net
http://www.emailrealty.com


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Real estate broker specializing in innovative distribution of listings and related information to buyers and sellers.
  • Based in Anchorage, AK
  • 6 employees
Industry
  • Architecture/Real Estate
Solutions
  • FileMaker Pro 8 databases provide rapid cross-referenced access to up-to-date listings of available properties, ensuring agents are able to provide full service to both buyers and sellers. Information is exportable into custom-made DVD files distributed to interested parties instead of old-fashioned paper listings.
Benefits
  • FileMaker Pro 8 Calendar function provides agents with a convenient, always-up-to-date system for organizing their schedules
  • Simplicity of development greatly reduces operating costs by up to $24,000 a year , with no need for assistants or outside developers.
  • Enhanced efficiency in handling listings and responding to client needs leads to tripling of revenues over a one-year span.