Virtual Office Website (VOW)
You can gain more specific information in another way which is by providing a bit of your own information to a real estate broker, including an online broker, through a system known as a virtual office website or VOW. These systems literally include all of the information available the regional MLS systems and can be accessed by consumers who give up some personal information like the name, address, phone, homebuyer preferences or criteria for example, essentially becoming clients of that online or traditional broker.
For example, on eRealty.com, you will first select your geographic region. The company offered listings in eleven different states. If you click on a city and state you will get a web page where you can click on “view eRealty homes” under the “Buying a Home” header. The link will give you a listing of homes for sale by eRealty agents in descending order by price. However at the top you will see the words: “There are X number of properties available in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Register now to see them all.” This is where you sign up for what the company calls a “free account” by providing the following information through a system knows as VOW:
- First name
- Last name
- Valid e-mail address
- Phone number
- Preferred contact time
- eRealty password (which you create)
Through the registration process you will also tell the company how you heard about it, whether you currently own or rent, whether you’re interested in selling, where you’re looking to buy or sell, and ant comments for the eRealty real estate agent who will receive your “lead” and follow up on it with a phone call to you. The company also asks you to agree to its terms of use before accessing all the data, which it defines as “gaining access to the private password-protected, intranet area of the eRealty website.”
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