Last month during our Better Homes and Gardens^® Real Estate National Open House Month, we discussed how open houses should be more than just tours and a Q&A, they should be memorable events. But here are just some of the useful apps and tools to have on hand to help them go smoother.

Open Home Pro
Open Home Pro is a popular registration tool that collects your clients’ information in one spot, from their interest in buying to their financial situations. Plus it’s portable, so you can use it while personally guiding your guests through the house. Use Open-Home Pro to:

•  Create pages for your properties where clients can look through pictures, give feedback and email you
•  Follow-up with leads automatically
•  Customize your own questions

Available on iOS and Android for purchase.

Obeo
Obeo is home to world-class real estate photography and virtual tours that will enhance your clients’ experience and give your business a hint of flare. Obeo offers a cool program called “StyleDesigner” where – for a nominal fee – users can rework photos by adding their own personal touches to make the house their own.

Obeo’s pricing varies on plan and location.

Survey Monkey
If you’re not too keen on asking for feedback outright, Survey Monkey is the tool for you. You can create and send surveys to all attendees who then respond anonymously (which often leads to more truthful answers), so you can learn about your strengths and weaknesses.

Basic plan is free, but for a more professional experience (unlimited questions, responses and non-stop email support) they offer both Gold and Platinum plans for $300 and $780 per year, respectively. 

Magic Plan
Create floor plans with your own phone. Use the camera to mark the corners of a room and voila, Magic Plan will aggregate a 3D floor plan with dimensions so you don’t have to. You can even decorate the room virtually, which is a fun, interactive feature for all your guests to enjoy.

Available through iOS for free.

Walk Score
Walk Score is a must-have app for any REALTOR^® in a big city. It’s a walkability index, giving neighborhoods “walking scores” to rate how close in proximity they are to coffee shops, bars, museums, restaurants, supermarkets, and the like. The higher the score, the more amenities in walking distance. This is a great app for buyers who want convenience and care about their health and fitness.

Available for free via iOS and Android.

Around Me
Around Me is your neighborhood guide. It reads your location then quickly identifies the nearest banks, supermarkets, restaurants, hospitals and dry cleaners (along with a map). Clients can use this as a way to determine if the neighborhood has the amenities they are looking for!

Available for free through iOS and Android.

Sitegeist
Sitegeist knows it all, including the community’s demographics, political contributions, local hot-spots, average rent, average temperature and so much more. Type in your location and find out everything you need to know.

Available for free on iOS and Android.

Neighborhood Scout
This is a great tool for down-and-dirty statistics. Neighborhood Scout gives users info on crime rates, school rankings and real estate value.

Prices vary per month or year subscription.

Better Homes and Gardens^® Color-a-Room
Love playing with color? BHG.com lets you virtually decorate rooms with paint, color, fabric and flooring. It’s a great way to find colors that match your furniture or change the entire look of a room without having to buy them first. You can have fun and save money at the same time!

Available for free from the Better Homes and Gardens site.

And, one last tip to consider – remember, not everything has to be a standalone app. If your Contact Manager has a way to add contacts on your iPad, why not use that instead? That way, at the end of the open house you can stay a few minutes longer and quickly send emails to your new contacts to thank them for attending, and include some information on that property or others.

What about you? Any latest and greatest apps that you’ve found working out well for you? Let us know in the comments below!