Estate Agents: Let's Stop Talking About Collaboration, Let's Just Do It!

The real estate industry and legal profession have long been plagued by a lack of collaboration and ineffective communication among its stakeholders. Estate agents, solicitors, home buyers and sellers, mortgage brokers, and others involved in the sale of residential property often find themselves operating in silos, leading to inefficiencies, delays, and frustrations for all parties.

It is now 2023 and most definitely time the real estate and legal sectors woke up and start providing services like virtually every other industry and sector does, by delivering a 24/7 fully interactive experience to their clients. But how can estate agents and solicitors do this without investing heavily in new technology and services? Won't that be expensive?

Introducing A Centralised Communication Platform That Brings Everyone Together!

WiggyWam is THE solution! We promise to revolutionise the industry with our centralised platform that has built-in communication tools and property workspaces that facilitate collaboration and enable seamless interaction 24/7. And the best bit, it costs less to be on our platform than the average estate agent or solicitor probably spends at Costa Coffee for the month! Also, WiggyWam has a built in property portal and all listings are included in that very low outgoing, so agents could one day ditch that dominant portal that charges rediculously high fees for nothing more than property listings! 

But why is this needed? What's wrong with how estate agents and solicitors do things now? Why are email and phone calls not sufficient? Isn't WhatsApp good enough for collaborating? Lets explore these questions and also the reasons behind past failures. Once these elephants in the room are addressed, we can finally embrace this innovative approach to address the industry's challenges once and for all.

Email, Phone And WhatsApp

None of the above were designed for tracking progress or keeping multiple people updated. With Email, agents and solicitors can quickly become overwhelmed. You can create rules to manage incoming messages but you would need to do this for every single case, clients and other parties. It is simply not practical. Phone calls are a drain on time and should only be used for urgent situations where an immediate response is needed. 

With regards to WhatsApp, we covered this in a bit more detail in this recent article where we explain why this is not a good solution from both a practical or security perspective. As we outlined in that post, WhatsApp is a global, social platform and certainly not the safest solution for dealing with someone's biggest asset. 

Past Failures: A Disjointed Industry

In the real estate industry and legal sector, collaboration has been a long-standing challenge. Each party involved in the property transaction process often blames someone else for the failings and delays. For instance, estate agents may fault solicitors for slow document and search processing, while solicitors may point fingers at agents, or mortgage brokers even, for incomplete paperwork. These frustrations arise from a lack of cohesive communication and shared platforms. 

There are many agents and solicitors out there who work in harmony and do a brilliant job, but as the old saying goes, "you are only as good as their weakest link". No matter how well they work together, or how quickly they do their job, if the buyer or seller has chosen a bad agent or solicitor then their hard work is irrelevant and is dragged down by the incompetencies of those bad agents and solicitors. 

The Power of Collaboration: A Centralised Platform

Imagine a centralised platform that brings together all stakeholders in the sales transaction process. This platform acts as a hub, connecting estate agents, solicitors, home buyers, home sellers, mortgage brokers, and others. It provides a single source of truth, eliminating the need for multiple systems and reducing the chances of miscommunication and errors. Imagine it too, as the only platform you will ever need going forward: ditch WhatsApp, Property Workspaces do this job 1000 times better. All parties will still get emails to their external email address so nothing is lost. Plus, they will be able to login to their dashboard and see every message, notification, question and more related to the property transaction in one tidy, consolidated space. As for phone calls, who needs them now?

Property Workspaces: The Heart of Collaboration

Within this centralised platform, property workspaces serve as dedicated virtual spaces where all parties can collaborate effectively. Let's consider an example: A homebuyer needs a specific document from their solicitor to proceed with the transaction. In a traditional setting, the buyer would need to call the solicitor repeatedly or wait for emails, causing frustration and delays. However, in a property workspace, the buyer can simply post a question or start a discussion to ask the solicitor about this and track its progress in real-time. This streamlined communication ensures that no crucial document or milestone falls through the cracks and that no question goes unanswered.

Examples of Success: Streamlining the Process

a) Real-Time Updates: Instead of relying on disjointed emails or phone calls, a centralised platform enables real-time communication among all stakeholders. For instance, an estate agent can instantly notify the solicitor and mortgage broker about a change in the buyer's circumstances, ensuring all parties stay informed and can adjust their tasks accordingly.

b) Transparency and Accountability: In the past, it was challenging to pinpoint where a breakdown occurred in the property transaction process. However, with property workspaces, all tasks and milestones are clearly assigned and tracked. For example, when a solicitor completes the legal due diligence for a property, they can tick off the task, triggering an automatic notification to the estate agent, buyer, and mortgage broker. This transparency fosters accountability and minimises the chances of errors or delays.

c) Genuine Reviews: In WiggyWam all parties involved in the transaction can rate and review each other and can also rate the overal transaction. This provides another level of transparancy and makes fake reviews redundant as WiggyWam reviews can be evidenced with facts.

d) Live Interactions: Like other social media platforms WiggyWam has built in live chat, live group chat and video calling. This makes it easier for estate agents and solicitors to communicate with each other and their clients.

The Customer Experience: A Smooth Journey

By embracing collaboration and centralising communication, the real estate industry and legal profession can provide a vastly improved customer experience. Consider the frustrations of a home seller awaiting updates on the progress of their property sale. In a collaborative environment, the estate agent can update the seller in real-time, ensuring they feel informed and involved throughout the process. This transparency and involvement contribute to higher customer satisfaction and trust, it will also reduce the number of email and phone enquiries and reduce stress and anxiety levels for all.

Conclusion:

The real estate industry's past failures in collaboration and communication have hindered its progress and caused frustrations for all stakeholders. However, a centralised platform with built-in communication tools and property workspaces offers a transformative solution. By embracing collaboration and adopting this innovative approach, estate agents, solicitors, home buyers, home sellers, mortgage brokers, and others involved in property transactions can work together as a cohesive team.

The power of real-time updates, enhanced transparency, and increased accountability will result in a smoother and more satisfying customer journey. Let's leave behind the blame game and build a future where collaboration is not just a buzzword but a fundamental aspect of the real estate industry. Together, we can create a more efficient and successful enviroment for all. 

We'd love to hear your experience, thoughts and insights on this. Please post in the comments section below.