Since 2009, Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®)—a database of parcel-centric property information, built upon more than 160 million properties—has provided real estate professionals with access to information from multiple sources, including public records and tax assessment information; liens, standalone mortgages and refinancing loans; school district data, reviews, test scores and more. But for Karen McDorman—associate broker/office manager at Irongate Inc., REALTORS® in Englewood, Ohio—RPR provides more than instant access to a treasure trove of information.
As part of RPR’s initial beta testing group, McDorman has seen firsthand just how beneficial the database is—not only as a significant differentiator when working with today’s clients, but also a key tool for staying in touch and positioning herself as a market expert.
“Since most of my buyers are really tuned into the area in which they want to live, I don’t need to do a lot of research and analysis for them,” says McDorman, who goes on to say that she turns to RPR the most for listings. “As soon as I have a listing appointment on the calendar, I try to find out as much about the seller as I can so that I can really hone in on what it is they need from me to help them understand the market.” And for McDorman, getting to know her clients is all about researching where they work and what kind of job they have so that she can quickly establish whether they’re interested in the analytical side of things or if they’d rather just get to the bottom line.
Once McDorman has a better understanding of what her client is looking for—as well as how they prefer to receive information—she turns to RPR to create a comprehensive listing package that’s not only chock-full of data, but also tailored to the specific needs of a particular client. “If the client is inclined to like statistical information, I’ll pull some stats and graphs and create a special report—complete with a cover page and binding—that I’ll leave behind for them to review at their leisure,” says McDorman, which goes a long way toward setting herself apart from the competition.
McDorman also points to her use of RPR as being a great competitive advantage when it comes to staying in touch with prospective clients and positioning herself as the local area expert. “If you’re thinking about farming a specific market—or trying to develop areas that you want to be an expert in—sending quarterly reports to homeowners in the area with information gathered through RPR is a simple yet effective way to position yourself as the neighborhood expert.”
In the end, McDorman notes that in order to be successful in this business, you have to know what’s happening in your neighborhood as well as what industry is moving into/out of the area and how that’s affecting houses. “Through RPR, you can get a very clear picture as to what’s happening to residential properties in the neighborhoods you work so that you can work smarter, not harder.”
For more information, visit www.narrpr.com.
