What agency software do you use?

[Bonsai]

Hi all,

We currently use HomeView (Vebra Solex) in our offices for the Sales side of things, and Vebra Premise for our Lettings.

If any of you use this software then you'll be aware of its idiosyncranices.

I would like to change to a different provider and am currently looking at the various other offerings to see if there's better options out there.

One thing that seems all the rage is these web based solutions, and as we have multiple branches with poor data links between them, I see this being a good solution for us. I have arranged a demo of this Expert Agent software to see how that is - does anybody use this? Good / bad points?

What software do you use?
Any good/bad experiences you want to share?
Should I be looking to avoid any particular companies?

Any other pointers gratefully received.

Office breakdown - 5 branches, 30-35 users, current yearly spend for Homeview is c. £12,000

Thanks

[drhouse]

I have used expert agent. It was very good but they kept adding things on and the price kept going up. I also found I didn't use a lot of the applications. However they were very efficient and good at keeping you informed.
I currently use Domus. I looked at a few as I needed to be web based and this was very reasonable. I am very happy with it - it also has a lettings facility - and does all the things I need. It is not loaded with bells and whistles but I don`t need them and currently watching the overheads is more important. Google them and you can do demos.
I would also highly recommend going web based. It has been ideal for us as with less staff and out a lot of the day I can update the system online anytime.

[Tom Obrien]

Hi Bonsai,

I work for dezrez (www dezrez com) and we have been providing estate agency software online for over 10 years (we consider ourselves to be the pioneers and market leaders here), a perfect solution for multi-branch agencies like yourself who require instant access to your properties and clients 24/7 where ever your may be.

Have a look at our website and give us a call (0845 465 2222). We will be happy to discuss your business needs and arrange a demo.

All the best with your hunt for the right provider :-)

Tom

[Bonsai]

Thanks for those recommendations. I shall investigate both of them to see what they have to offer!

[Dean]

Hi Bonsai,

I wonder if you have considered joining the team network?

team is a network of around 300 independent agents all working together for mutual benefit.

team offers many benefits including agency software, which enables multi-listing through the network, as well as much more.

To find out more about team please give me a call on 0208 457 4777

Good luck

Dean

[Dean]

Hi Bonsai,

You can also find out more about team at (www SameOnlyBetter co uk)

Dean

[Estate Agents Liverpool]

This thread has been incredibly handy. We are using the exact setup as the original poster and its, lets call it, 'intricacies' are numerous!

[MikeA]

New here, so hello all.

I am involved with software development, currently developing property software for some clients. Having noticed this thread I hoped to get some research feedback so I can later release either very low cost package, or maybe open source. I have developed other major products, starting with the first microcomputer based medical practice systems more than 25 years ago.

At present I am developing the front end of a system for those involved in property management and agency. This part deals with putting properties on the Internet using search engine optimisation - key to quickly exposing properties to the market place. I put up a test domain at www property-marketing-software com (which is research and development site - hopefully this part will come soon on a free basis).

I would be grateful for feedback on the most important management aspects estate agents would like to see in a system capable of use anywhere, across branches, and used by people with varying access roles.

Hopefully, one day soon the original poster will be able to "have a try" with the results of my efforts.

For the technically minded, I use advanced framework development tools (especially Zend Framework) to provide fast secure management.

Thanks in advance...

Mike

[brian]

Any modern day internet publishing software should have basic SEO considerations - ie, unique page titles and easy/useful URLs.

Seen Domus on a local agent's site - awful.

For front end at least, I'd be seriously tempted just to use Wordpress or similar CMS. At least it's built to work with graphics and text, though opbviously a back end would be nice - though not necessarily essential.

[drhouse]

Originally Posted by brian

Any modern day internet publishing software should have basic SEO considerations - ie, unique page titles and easy/useful URLs.

Seen Domus on a local agent's site - awful.

For front end at least, I'd be seriously tempted just to use Wordpress or similar CMS. At least it's built to work with graphics and text, though opbviously a back end would be nice - though not necessarily essential.

I must defend Domus and say that it is easy to use and my opinion is that it is as good as Expert Agent and Universal. They feed to the important websites and also to our own quickly and efficiently and don't have the downtime that was a real problem with other providers. They can do websites but we haven't used that facility.