Trulia.com has been such a powerful tool for my business since I started using it early in Summer, 2008.  Being in Texas, I wasn't introduced to Trulia.com until last year.  Word of mouth from another agent got me curious about the site. 

I started blogging.  I never thought I would blog, or would have enough to blog about.  Social media didn't grab me right away.  But, now I find I get blog topics from clients, friends, and family all the time.  They tell me what they want to hear about and I try to speak through my blog as if we were having a conversation on the phone.  These days, it isn't a good day if I don't blog.  I look forward to sharing my thoughts and seeing which topics generate interest and dialogue.

Agents who see my activity on trulia.com will contact me and ask if it's generating any real business.  They seem surprised by how much I love this site.  I don't do things over the course of my work day just to have busy work.  I work on trulia.com because it puts me in front of sellers, buyers, and renters from everywhere.  Here are a few examples:

In November, 2008, just 8 weeks after I began seriously including trulia.com into my daily activities, I was called by a couple in Litte Elm, TX to 'come out and list their house'.  That's what she said.  Just, "come out and list it".  No interview and no competition.  Bring the listing documents and come put this home on the market.  They liked me before they met me.  My blog topics told her that I understood the area in which she lived, and she knew I was the agent for her family.  How cool is that?

I can top that, on this same house.  In December, 2008, I showed that listing in Little Elm to a client who came to me through trulia.com, who wasn't liking the homes they thought they wanted to buy.  I had a hunch that listing in Little Elm would suit my buyer, even though it didn't fit the criteria she gave me for their home search.  I took her to that house, she sat down on the couch, looked out over the fence at Lewisville Lake, and said "I'm home".  They bought my listing.  So, I have trulia.com to thank for both sides of that transaction. 

Another time, I got an phone call from a gentleman in Idaho.  I'm not licensed in Idaho, but he saw a blog on short sales I had written and considered me a neutral party  So, he called and we discussed the various ways a bank may respond to his offer.  That, to me, is the uniqueness of trulia.  It is the only site where you can get opinions and discuss actual experiences with agents from all over.  A Realtor is, after all, a liaison to a real estate transaction.  We're not lawyers, but we know when a situation may call for one.  We may just provide insight that you may find valuable.

The funniest thing that ever happened to me because of trulia.com was when a lady from San Francisco called me to come list her home.  Again, I was a little taken aback.  I live in Texas.  But, she saw 'Frisco' on my profile and thought I lived in her area.  She was terribly disappointed when I told her I wasn't licensed in California and couldn't come right over.  I am from California, but I moved away when I was 11 years old. 

I've noticed trulia.com is pretty widely known around Austin, TX, and growing in use in Dallas/Fort Worth.  I feel like I got in on the ground floor in our area of such a wonderful tool for meeting residential real estate clients in a very non-invasive way.  And, as always, my best client is an internet savvy client.  Those clients can truly appreciate all the bells and whistles that we agents use today.

Have a blessed day!
Ronda



Ronda Allen, C.P.M.
Realtor, Life Coach, and Certified Purchasing Manager
RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs
Residential and rural properties and light, suburban commercial sites
CEO of comingsoonhomes.com