As technology continues to evolve, the tools necessary for success in the real estate industry have developed. Today’s real estate agents, developers, buyers and sellers must take advantages of the innovative apps, devices and technology available to support the house rental and selling process.

Ghana’s best real estate marketplace meqasa.com has explored the five tools essential to success in real estate in Ghana.

1. Portable scanner

Real estate agents can finally say goodbye to stacks of paper, by turning their smartphone or tablet into a scanner. With the amount of paperwork real estate agents have to deal with, a handy app like Evernote Scannable, Scanner Pro or DocuSign, enables you to scan, save and share important documents at the touch of a button. And what’s more, by encouraging clients to download the same app, you can send signed documents back and forth with ease.

2. Video footage

Nowadays, people are just too busy to go and see every house that they like the look of. By leveraging today’s wireless technology, real estate agents can take the properties straight to people’s desktops, mobiles and tablets, removing the hassle. Strong video footage can really differentiate a real estate agent from competitors. By providing both images and video footage, house-hunters get a real taste of the property, allowing them to narrow down their favourites before finding the time to arrange viewings.

3. Social media

You may have the most beautiful properties, however, if you’re not putting yourself on display to potential clients, the properties don’t matter. Social media pages are vital to finding new customers and engaging with potential clients. And it’s not enough to just create profiles on social media platforms; active engagement allows you to create brand awareness, sharing information about both your expertise and your business.

4. Financial Support

Buying a house, particularly for the very first time can be a very intimidating process. For many people, a visual aid is invaluable when trying to understand the value of a house, and in particular, the cost of a mortgage. Advise your clients on loans and investments, with the help of a mortgage calculator, such as Karl’s Mortgage Calculator – a free Android app – or Mortgage Calculator, available for free on the Internet. By demonstrating the long-term value of investing in real estate, help prospective house buyers to make informed financial decisions.

5. Storage – And lots of it!

Tools such as Dropbox, Google Drive are vital for real estate agents. Solve the problem of sharing and storing property images, contracts and additional housing information by simply sending a link to your client’s inbox and freeing vital space on your computer. Not only is this a great way to share information, but an ideal solution to managing your files in the cloud, without using up all of the memory space on your computer, so you can have instant access wherever you are, on any device.