How to Take Your Real Estate Company Remote: Tips & Tools

Since Paperless Pipeline was established in 2009, we’ve been 100% remote. From California to New York, and every timezone in between, we support our customers. Over that time, we’ve learned a lot about what it takes to build a remote team and how to best support them. 

As a company culture, working remotely can be a tremendous benefit. However, during challenging times like what we face today with COVID-19, it’s a necessary way to support our 80k+ users as they find themselves working outside the office. 

Here are ten ways that we’ve learned to build a remote team that’s able to work from anywhere and support our customers through unprecedented challenges: 

1. Add a Paperless Pipeline icon to your mobile device’s home screen

Place a Paperless Pipeline icon on your smartphone or tablet home screen to access Pipeline with one touch. Learn more about adding the icon here →

2. Scan documents from your phone instead of the office scanner

Your agents and admins don’t need to come into the office just to scan their documents. Instead, utilize your smartphone’s built-in scanner feature for scanning documents. Most smartphones have doc scanning capabilities. 

3. Send your documents to transactions by email 

Many agents still hand-deliver executed documents to office admins, and many admins are still comfortable reviewing hard copy documents. With Paperless Pipeline, agents can use maildrop addresses to send documents directly into the office account or a specific transaction. Send your real estate documents by email →

4. Break your to-do list down into more manageable sets of tasks

Working remotely is not for everyone. Unfortunately, when your office is forced into a work-from-home policy, agents and admins are forced into new work schedules. Managing your time becomes more critical, and methods like The Pomodoro Technique help make it easy to avoid burnout and give your brain a much-needed break.

5. Create workday routines

There are things to appreciate about a morning and afternoon commute, the ability to gear up before the day, and the time to wind down after. Create your own workday routines for gearing up and winding down. You can take time for a walk, an extra cup of coffee, reading a book or listening to a podcast, whatever you want. Make that time just as necessary as your morning and afternoon commute would be. 

Make sure to have a clear end-time to your workday as well. One of the greatest challenges for remote workers is turning off. As real estate professionals this is even harder, so a clear schedule is key. 

6. Time Blocking

Time blocking allows you to divide your day into blocks of time for accomplishing specific tasks. You can add time blocks to your calendar for each task and move to the next task when the reminder comes up, or set a timer on your phone each time you start a new task.

Blocking off time reduces the number of choices you have to make in any given moment and boosts your willpower for peak productivity. It allows you to better focus on a single task and turn off notifications from email, phone, and other messaging tools. 

7. Dress for your workday

One of the perks of working from home is getting to wear whatever you want. However, it’s necessary to find a balance between dressing for comfort and dressing professionally. The way you dress has an impact on your attitude and your conversations—draw a line between home and work life and continue dressing for the part, not the place. 

8. Create a private and comfortable workspace

Find a place in your home where you can work without interruptions, preferably a room with a door that can be closed. Set expectations and boundaries with your family for working from home. For instance, if the office door is closed, you’re not to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency. 

9. Get up from the desk to stay active

With just a few steps to take to get to the office, you may find you’re taking fewer steps than usual. Set aside a few 20-minute intervals for a short walk around your house, or outside on a beautiful day.

If you don’t have a standing desk, you could consider modifying your existing desk or adding adjustable bed risers to the legs of your desk for a less-permanent solution to raising your workspace. 

10. Use digital tools that allow for access anywhere.

Working remotely means that you’re often isolated from others, discussions can take place over the course of hours, and communication is primarily text-based. Utilize online tools that can help keep you on track, updated, and informed. Here are the tools we use to support our team: 

  • We use Zoom for team meetings. Turn on video for a more intimate meeting experience, or keep it simple with audio-only.