If you are a realtor or you lead a team of realtors and you are not using some sort of handheld PDA device, i.e. smartphones, pocket PCs, or Palm Pilots, it is high time you started. If you have already taken the plunge and you have your PDA (personal digital assistant) in hand, congratulations - you are one step closer to a simpler life. Now all you need do is make sure you and your colleagues get the most from their new PDA devices.

Whether you’ve gone Palm Pilot or smartphone, there are software applications specifically for realtors that are engineered to run on these PDAs. These applications are almost like having a second brain, in that they will not only store all the important data you need and in a format readily accessible at all times, but they will automatically alert you about things such as when a late notice must go out, or even the amount of the particular late fees in question. Kiss the days of monthly database queries good-bye.

Lease expirations are another task made simpler through a PDA. Smart use of the smartphone or Palm Pilot means using the very same software application just discussed to give you adequate notice when a lease is about to expire. Three months, two months - whatever you need or prefer. This tool is crucial. Do not ignore it, especially if your portfolio is large with frequent lease cycles. Contracts take time. Maintenance takes time. Properly marketing a piece of property takes time. If the PDA allows you to save time on the tedium then by all means save it and use the time where it matters most.

Speaking of marketing and lease cycles, while being a realtor involves managing and fulfilling these tasks, the reason for doing them is property performance, i.e. money. As a realtor you are always asking, “How well does this property perform? How can it perform better?” Yet another tip for the busy realtor - use your PDA to calculate your totals. See what was spent and where; see what was earned. Link your handheld to your office computer and bounce the information back and forth. In this manner printable spreadsheets or charts may be made. Furthermore, look for programs that let you use your handheld device to chart Gross Scheduled Income, Gross Operating Income, Net Operating Income, and Cap Rates. All of these will improve as these efficient little PDAs help you do your job.

Some great PDA applications most realtors find useful include projection functions. Tell the PDA the profit margin you would like to receive from a particular piece of real estate, the maintenance and service factors required, and the PDA will, in exchange, tell you exactly how much in rent you will need to realize this. Furthermore, if you are in the business of short-term leasing for vacation houses and the like, there are PDA applications practically tailor-made. Reservations, confirmations, vacancies, and expirations can all be easily accessed, tracked, and managed with the use of your PDA.

Having this information in your hands at all times is an unparalleled convenience, as is the capacity for these PDA applications to store other vital information, such as the contact information of the maintenance person for a particular plot, insurance info, the warranty company, or tenant contact information. For realtors there are some additional possibilities that should definitely be considered when selecting a particular PDA and a particular software application, such as the ability to search the Multiple Listing Service, as well as the PDA’s ability to store, auto-update, and cross-check lockbox codes to addresses.

While all of the above is certainly convenient, doesn’t the office computer already perform all of these tasks? It most certainly does. However, as the name implies the office computer is just that - the computer that sits in the office; the computer that requires you to sit in the office with it. A PDA, especially some of the more advanced smartphones, pocket PCs, or Palm Pilots that grant Internet and e-mail access, allows you to perform all the vital functions for which you need a computer. In other words, the best use a realtor can make of a PDA is to use it as the computer in the palm of his or her hand.

These are the essential conveniences and efficiencies of PDAs: freedom, mobility, and speed. Access to information anywhere anytime not only makes a realtor’s workload easier to manage, it gives him or her a competitive edge. For example, in addition to handheld software applications, there are a number of subscription services specifically for realtors with a PDA. Imagine driving around and finding the perfect property for a client. Now imagine pushing some buttons and accessing all the information about that piece of real estate right away, and then notifying your client - all without waiting to return to the office. The competitive edge is apparent.

On-site no longer means out of the office, and therefore no longer means completely dividing the completion of tasks between the field and Headquarters. More importantly, it no longer means missing calls and contacts from future clients. The computer is handy, but not nearly as handy as the PDA, a computer no bigger than a cell-phone. Whether it is you or your employees, performance can and will only increase if all have access to clients, contacts, colleagues, and all the vital information from anywhere and at anytime. The above suggestions and tips are only some of the more basic things a PDA can do to improve a realtor’s success. The best two PDA tips for a realtor, however, are first to get one, and then to use it to its absolute full capacity.