Destin Florida Short Sales & Real Estate by Wendy Rulnick

This Monday morning started out well.  I was sorting through emails and structuring my week.  One of my assistant's was working on improving our short sale system and was going to add a field to our ACT database.  ACT is excellent contact managment software, where one can completely customize all fields, keep detailed notes, and manage thousands of entries. ACT can be networked with multiple users accessing the information from different computers.  In my custom set-up, I have fields such as short sale "approval deadline", "loan numbers", "negotiator name", "payoff" and dozens of critical fields.  I have hundreds of notes on phone calls and actions from time of short sale submission through approval.  I also have records of every buyer and seller I've ever worked with since I got the system.  There are almost 3000 records in my database.

This morning I asked my assistant to add a field referencing title work completion for each short sale.  We do this as a matter of course when getting a new short sale listing, but I wanted a more organized location to check it off.  She needed authority as "administrator" to modify the layout so I changed her authority level. Well, something went seriously wrong.

My assistant buzzed me and said she could not change the records and ACT closed down.  I tried to log in and the software crashed.  We tried from different computers, same result.  I shut down and restarted twice. Same result. We could not get into the database. Basically, without ACT we are out of business.  No records, no telephone numbers, no contacts, no history and no information.  All was lost. This was not a good Monday morning.

Thankfully, I had backed up the ACT database on Friday.  I use an external hard drive and Acronis True Image software for disaster recovery.  I restored the database with Friday's data and I am back in business. If you are not backing up your data you are making a serious  mistake.  Acronis can also back up exact disk images should your computer or data be destroyed.  Backing up to an external hard drive makes sense if you are in an area with hurricane evacuations or otherwise need to physically remove the information from your office.

I used to back up when I remembered to do it. Now I have a new ACT reminder that pops up.  You know what is says?  "Back up data daily!".

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Destin Florida Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Two weeks ago, my life changed.  I finally got rid of my four year old, push-to-talk Nextel flip phone.  It was literally cracked, peeling and had glue on it.  But it still worked.  Even though it shut off as soon as it was turned on, and had to always be turned on twice.  You see, I keep equipment for a long time.  I run computers to the ground for years.  I am not a “trade-up” type of girl. My philosophy is “If it works, don’t replace it”.

But my Nextel phone was about to die.  It had exposed wires, for goodness sake.  So before its imminent demise, I pondered and researched.  I was torn.  Should I get a Blackberry or an Apple iPhone? My good friend, Bryant Tutas, loves his iPhone and is always telling me about it!  My other good friend, Eric Reid, said he loves Blackberry and that iPhones were toys!  So,  I read all the online reviews.  The fact that the iPhone did not have buttons concerned, me, since I am tactile.  But in the end, I made my decision.  I bought the new iPhone 3Gs 32 GB.

All I can say is WOW!  Where have I been all this time?  Sure it is fun!  But I have immediately found its business usefulness.  Here are the examples of how I am already using my phone:

I received a voicemail from a buyer on a Sunday.  I “shared” the contact with my on-call agent and emailed her the lead from my iPhone.  I also texted her the phone number.  Saves yakking time.

I installed an application, (called an “App” and there are thousands of them ) , "Palringo", which allows me to IM (instant message) my team with Microsoft Windows Messenger, so I am not even wasting texts.

I installed “Fliq Notes”, much better than the pre-installed note app.  You can change fonts and font sizes, and easily type info. I took down a phone number while I was talking and emailed a reminder to my business email for reference  - from my phone in just a few seconds.

I installed the Triple AAA Roadside App.  When I am traveling, I can check for area discounts, and get a map giving me driving directions from where I am.  The app also has a GPS locator to send triple AAA if I have a car emergency and need a tow.

“Where”- an App that will tell me what is nearby for shopping, restaurants, golf, Starbucks, hotels and more when I travel.

“ESPN Score Center” OK, Eric, I do have to have some fun!  I get updated sports scores and even plays as they happen, go Yankees!

News – AP, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, more

"Shakespeare Quotes" – We have to stay educated and inspired, don’t we?

"Pandora" – a great App with music “channels”.  You tell it what type of music you like and it plays similar pieces.  I have a “”Frank Sinatra channel.

"History Lite" – I give my husband a daily history test, as this App tells major events in history for that day.

Google App for iPhone – It has all the Apps you use in your online account.  Bryant is starting to get me hooked on this.

Facebook App for iPhone – I can talk to my buddies and post and email them.  Good for business networking, too.

Tweetdeck – Just like the online application you use for Twitter

Safari – This is Apple’s web browser.  You can get a readable version of Activerain and catch up on all the pleasant comments on your blog posts.

So I don’t get bogged down by the hundreds of emails I get at work, I installed simply a Gmail account.  I can then instantly email from my contact list or to my office when important.  But the iPhone allows multiple email accounts, so I could add my full business email if I wished.

There is a great Voice Control that allows me to state a phone number to call, or a name from my contact list, or to tell the iPhone to play music from my Itunes account.

The iPhone alllows me to go online with wi-fi or through its 3G network, which is the fastest internet option currently available over cell phones (where available). I could go on and on, but I think you might be getting the picture?  Oh yeah, speaking of pictures, it has a 3 megapixel camera and camcorder.  I haven’t even started “playing” with those yet.  And more.

Negatives?  I am still getting used to the touchscreen keyboard.  Missing push-keys takes getting used to, and I do make typos because of it.  But overall, the iPhone is the most fantastic electronic tool I have purchased in years.

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Destin FL Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com for agents

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Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com