There is an unsightly lack of holistic information that is being made available to consumers by full service brokerages. Until now, brokerage mobile applications provided plenty of information about properties for sale, but little information about brokers’ other service centers in mortgage, title, insurance, commercial properties, and property management (rentals). Long and Foster partnered with Xome’s Real Estate Digital division to deliver mortgage information to consumers through their real estate mobile application in an impressive way.
For those of you who know Long and Foster, they provide a full array of real estate services through their company owned providers. Under the guidance of Long and Foster Chief Marketing Officer, Barry Redler, the firm is reaching across boundaries to provide consumers with “easy access to information” that combines comprehensive property search with mortgage calculation offerings.
When Xome set the strategy of working with brokers, one of their touchstones was to advance mobile technology for enterprise brokers that think more broadly about the business that can be generated for mortgage and other broker service lines. In the case of Long and Foster, this application invites mobile visitors to the Long and Foster website to access the mobile application and get the same or greater access to information on their mobile device – including cost of ownership information like mortgage payment.
Another great feature of the new Long and Foster mobile app is called Virtual View. If you are planning to attend the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear convention, you may want to download the app and experience this new search experience. Using your phone’s camera, you can point to properties and get information about them. It’s fantastic. I believe that Elliman was the first firm to debut this functionality in a mobile app.
