Tech Savvy Silicon Valley Commercial Real Estate Broker
Mar 31st, 2020
Shane Minnis

Given the current situation our country, let alone the world, is going through, many industries that have traditionally done business via face-to-face interaction are now forced to adapt to the rapidly evolving environment of social distancing, shelter-in-place mandates and fears of catching or spreading the COVID-19 virus.
However, as a modern society and being at the epicenter of innovation here in the Silicon Valley, we are fortunate to have existing technology infrastructure and tools on our side. High-speed internet, mobile devices, social media etc. are not new for most of us, but their usage and application in the commercial real estate industry have lagged the adoption and implementation in other industries. With a little bit of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial spirit we are quickly adapting and evolving our service offering to incorporate these tools to assist our clients:
1) Virtual Tours: In a recent article by the NY Post, virtual home tours are shown as one of the best ways for brokers to continue working successfully. 3-D tours and Facetime tours are also a very successful alternative for both real estate agents and clients who want to keep safe in social distancing. Even though the article is about residential real estate in New York, we can adapt these technologies to our service offering to clients.
2) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”): In addition to virtual tours, I took it a step further and got my UAV pilot’s license and purchased a top-of-the-line drone to utilize in my business (a DJI Mavic 2 Pro). It’s aerial imagery and video capabilities can be leveraged for numerous client needs, such as:
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- Virtual tours (live feed or recorded)
- Site & area assessments
- Due diligence (roof, HVAC, access, etc.)
- Marketing property (photos & video)
3) DocuSign: A recent article by Forbes highlights the importance that “people need to be flexible” and DocuSign is one of those tools that provides both a safe and flexible option to transact in the age of COVID-19. This is a tool we have adopted and highly recommend given its ease of use, transparency and speed at which documents can be executed. After all, time kills all deals.
4) Video Conferencing / Screen Sharing: In-person meetings are always preferred and were definitely the norm prior to Coronavirus, however, with today’s shelter-in-place orders and fears of spreading / contracting the virus, our RingCentral digital tools can be expanded to overcome these challenges for listing presentations, market surveys, team meetings, etc. Video conferencing and screen sharing capabilities have also proven to be very helpful when reviewing documents (LOI’s, leases, PSA’s, etc.), negotiating leases / sales and during marketing calls – making it much more efficient for everyone to follow along while streamlining meetings and enhancing effective communication.
These are a few of the tech tools that have and are being incorporated to continue to assist clients safely, but with a personal touch in these unprecedented times of social distancing. Despite the rapidly evolving environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we understand that change is inevitable, but growth is optional – We choose to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our clients. That’s why I’m offering virtual tours through Facetime or RingCentral for most of the listings on my website – contact me for details.
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