It's been a while since I've posted about Real Estate technology for the mortgage side of the business, so this one is for all you lenders, mortgage brokers, and bankers out there.  Actually, it will also be very useful if you are a borrower, an agent, or even a renter looking to buy and own a home of your own one day.

There's a new app in town and it's already making quite an impression in the lending community, with consumers, and at the Apple iTunes store.  We launched a new Zillow Mortgage Marketplace app for the iPhone last week and it ROCKS!  I've had the chance to run a few of the mobile features, and already I can see why it's being called one of the best FREE mortgage, finance, and calculator apps.

"The Zillow Mortgage Marketplace App combines personalized loans, live rates and advanced calculators and tools to give home buyers an instant financial reality check while out touring homes."

What's so cool about a mortgage calculator app?

The new app offers some really easy to use features and calculators.  The payment calculator is pretty common on most of these types of apps but the user-interface is what makes it easy and unique. 

The affordability calculator is a unique one-of-a-kind tool that I was drawn to instantly for obvious reasons, and I think this will be a popular and commonly used tool in this app.

The refinance calculator and current rates features are perfect for someone on the go like me who is always looking for data and information that can help me lower my payments, get a more suitable loan, possibly refinance, and do it all from the local coffee shop while checking my email and between text messaging my clients and kids.

Some features and benefits for lenders:

Allows you to get in front of a whole new set of users you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

Lenders are now able to connect with highly qualified borrowers who are likely ready to transact, since they’ve already compared quotes, profiles, and lender ratings and have decided to proactively reach out to a selected lender.  

Some features and benefits for agents:

Great tool for agents because it makes them more efficient in two specific ways: 1- It allows agents to show homes their clients can actually afford; 2 - It helps move their clients through the purchase process and secure financing.

Allows agents and professionals to track mortgage rates in real time.  Knowing what's happening with mortgage rates is an important way to enhance their credibility as real estate advisers and to make informed recommendations to their clients when rates drop and when it might be a better time to buy.

Streamlines the process of getting your customers pre-approved and have their offers taken seriously by borrowers as contacting a lender is just a click away.

Since we know that "Mobile is Global" and those "on the go" always need tools and info at their fingertips, the new Mortgage Marketplace App will be perfect for anyone and everyone who needs instant access to information, data, and calculators that will be beneficial to their financial freedom and peace of mind. 

Keeping up with all the technology, tools, and apps out there is a full time job for guys like me. You can be rest assured that I'll be sharing whatever I find, like, use, and think will benefit you or your clients!

Related Articles:
Zillow Unveils Mortgage Marketplace App - DSNews
Tech tools that make home buying easier - Mercury News
Zillow® Launches Zillow Mortgage Marketplace iPhone® App - Financial News
Review: Zillow releases mortgage app for iPhone - San Diego News
Zillow rolls out mobile mortgage app - The Seattle Times

iPhone APPS for Real Estate Professionals

I am pleased to announce that today MobileAppLoader has launched its beta program for small businesses.  This ground-breaking product -- one of a kind -- enables small businesses to deploy customized mobile applications for iPhones and include them in App Stores.  For a limited time, they are offering the customizable iPhone application, "Real Estate - Real Easy"  for free with no setup or monthly fees during the beta period.

As many of you know, I love my iPhone as a business tool and yes, as a cell phone too.  I use it all day, everyday.  In most cases, helping and assisting our members.  There are so many applications I use and love, but way too many to list here. Apptism.com is currently tracking 31,102 iPhone Apps, including my AR Business Card I posted about last week. To get a free copy, CLICK HERE

As promised, here's the video showing you how to get your own customized iPhone app for your business.  

MoblieAppLoader is now offering you the same deal they did me.  I made a promise to my AR friends that they would get first shot at this so here you go.  Having worked with their Developer (Zvika Ashkenazi) these past few weeks, I've had the chance to test and measure their product, their responsiveness, and most importantly, their commitment to customer service and satisfaction.  I rate them very high in all the above.

Now you can have your own iPhone app custom created, quality assurred, and available on iTunes and other app stores in no time at all.  It looks like agents from Intero and Century 21 already have.

Check it out, this even made Inman News Today.

For more applications by Zvika and MobileAppLoader, you can see them on iTunes Here.

I was just notified that the Inter-Active ActiveRain Business Card is now available on iTunes.   Last week, I posted a video on how the app works and received a great response from many of you iPhone users.  That's not to say I didn't hear from the BlackBerry Crowd too!  lol~ 
As promised, I said it was coming...now it's here.

There is already more functionality, a new mortgage calculator, and a feature that allows iPhone 3G users to click on a button while in front of a property, (or in a specific neighborhood), that returns them a google map geocoded with the location, photo, and details of that property. 

I love this stuff, I think other iPhone users will too.

How Do I get it?

To get yourself a copy to check out, or test on your iPhone, just go to the iTunes store on your MAC or PC, and in the "Search" box, type "ActiveRain" and viola!  It only takes seconds to install, and I think you'll enjoy some of these first features. (you may find a couple "rain radio" podcasts on iTunes as a bonus...shhh)

If you're an iPhone owner, you can download a copy of this app RIGHT HERE.  It's easy to do, and it's FREE.  You can also download it directly from your iPhone buy clicking the "AppStore Icon" then the "Search Tab" with "ActiveRain" as your search.  I'd love to solicit your reviews, comments, and opinions over at the iTunes store.  Once you've download the application, you'll see a button for "reviews" at iTunes, your feedback and support over there is appreciated, but only if you have the spare time. :-)

Getting My Own Customized App

Getting this application customized for you and your company or business will be easy.  There'll be a launching of the site wizard this next week, giving you the capability to create one of these for your own iPhone.  I'll have a post giving instructions and details on how to do this sometime next week.

Thanks for sharing in all the excitement with me, it's been a long time coming, and now I finally get to share it back.  Take a moment and check it out, then you can decide how you'd want your own iPhone Business Card App to work.  Or... you can just use mine to work and play in the "RAIN!"  Enjoy!

http://itunes.com/app/activerain

Today, I'm introducing a new app coming out for iPhone users, the "iPhone Inter-Active Business Card."  I used ActiveRain and my iPhone to demo how it will work.  Now it's not available just yet, I wanted to see what you think of it first. I'll be doing a follow-up post in the next couple weeks showing you how to get one of these iPhone apps that you can customize for your company and for your iPhone.  I'm really excited about this one, mainly because I got to help design it.  :-)

The "iPhone Bus Card" allows users to Interact with you from their iPhones.  They can call you, email you, or visit your website, all at the touch of a button.  The screens, tabs, links, and graphics you'll see in this video are all customizable.  You can have it link to your office or business address, which uses Google Maps to provide location and directions.  You can add video, or a link to your Blog, it even has the ability for text messaging and more.

My favorite feature is on the "about" tab, which lets you search our site.  You can search nearly 1,000,000 posts, or 140,000 members right from your iPhone.  For the past two weeks, I have been working with a developer who has helped put this all together.  I think in the next week or so, it'll be ready to go public.

I can see how something like this could easily go viral at the iTunes store.  I'm hoping this AR app will be available on itunes soon for you and others to download.  Just remember, you saw it here first.  The first Inter-Active ActiveRain iPhone Business Card.  (Almost sounds like a commercial...sorry)  In the weeks ahead, this could become one of the coolest and most popular iPhone apps in our Industry.  Am I too Optimistic...

I think this will be a great marketing and social media networking tool.  What better way to promote your company, get connected to the cellular world, create an application to perform exactly what you want and need, and allow clients, users, and friends to "Inter-Act" with you on many different levels.  My guess is that this will be a huge hit once it's public and made available to ALL iPhone users.  The added bonus?  All iPhone owners can call any other iPhone owner for FREE! Why?  Because all iPhone users are currently on AT&T.   iPhone Users and Projections.

My goal: Make sure the ActiveRain family and friends get first shot at this, so stay tuned...