What Are the Advantages of Technology Made for Realtors by Realtors?

A little over 10 years ago, in January 2006, we were heading into a tumultuous housing market. But a few years before things got crazy, the Florida Realtors did something brilliant - it launched a new service for its members called Tech Helpline.

The concept for Tech Helpline was pretty straightforward. Technology tools for agents were coming to market at a rapid pace and many agents admitted to needing technology assistance. Just a year later, the first iPhone would be announced and that little computer-in-your-pocket ushered in a flurry of both opportunities and challenges for agents as it quickly became the smartphone of choice for most agents in our industry.

Florida Realtors saw the need to help provide a tech support service early on because it listened to its members. What was created with Tech Helpline was a kind of virtual "Genius Bar" for real estate agents, who could connect with a trained tech expert by dialing a toll-free number, opening up a chat window online, or simply shooting out an email if they had a less urgent question or need. The cost to the member: It was included as a member benefit, covered by their annual association dues. In other words, it didn't cost them an extra dime.

Tech Helpline was originally started as a service solely for Florida Realtors. But we quickly realized there was national need for this service and we had created a system and infrastructure that made Tech Helpline easy to scale. We began offering it as a service to other associations, and today, it is the #1 real estate tech support service in North America, making support from Tech Helpline available to almost half the Realtors in the U.S. and Canada.