Reannah Glover was a successful Realtor for more than 12 years with $140 million-plus in closed residential real estate deals. But she grew frustrated by “clunky and inefficient transaction tools.”
“Many of those tools provided to agents look good and have a lot of functionality, but they are difficult to use and agents get frustrated and go back to what they know best: paper,” she said.
Glover, then living in Midland, decided to develop her own platform. Now, several years and a move to Fort Worth later, she has launched Real Time App, a platform to keep Realtors and their clients up to date during every step of the sales process.
The app details the timeline and deadlines for both the buyer and seller. Clients have free access to every detail of their experience through their Realtor’s subscription.
“As I grew as a Realtor, I became passionate about helping myself, other agents and clients communicate better, stay organized and definitely reduce stress during the buying/selling process,” she said.
Real Time App has been screened and tested with early adopters; responses from agents indicate the app elevates the client experience, improves efficiency and provides a competitive edge with regard to client satisfaction. To assist large brokerages, there will be opportunities to enhance a white-label version for their agents to offer to clients.
The subscription price is $39 a month with annual and volume discounts available for teams and brokerages. A free trial is available on the website.
Contact information:
Website: therealtimeapp.com
Email: hello@therealtimeapp.com
Business editor Bob Francis spoke to Reannah Glover about her journey from Realtor to entrepreneur. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Bob Francis: What made you decide to become an entrepreneur?
Reannah Glover: There was just such a disconnect, I felt, between the working Realtor with their boots on the ground and the tech companies developing the software they thought we wanted. With all that in mind, I was like, “You know what I want to do? I want to build a software from top to bottom that feels like a Realtor designed it, one that’s beneficial, efficient and concise and that when you logged in, wasn’t hard to learn, with no big learning curve.”
On the other side, I wanted to build an app for the buyer and seller that was simple, user friendly and had everything they needed. So when they were going through their transaction, they could open it up and it would say, “OK, here’s where you are.” It gives reminders of time-sensitive tasks. If you’re five days out, it will tell you it is time to schedule utilities. The Realtor can share preferred vendors.
So it’s just that one place for the client, and then one place for the Realtor to do all their stuff. At the same time, they talk to each other so it adds to the client-Realtor relationship. It just adds to it. That was kind of the reason why I did it.
Francis: Who did you work with to develop the app?
Glover: Well, I knew nothing about tech. I interviewed with some different companies and — I was in Midland at the time — and actually interviewed a company out of Fort Worth, Agency Habitat. I wanted to build something that was top notch. Just like on your phone you have some apps that are great and some that simply are not. I was determined to do this right.
Ultimately, I was blown away by the designers at Agency Habitat. I was doing a lot of praying. I just felt in my spirit like this is the right spot. And it was. It was exactly the right spot. They did an amazing job.
Then, after driving back and forth for two years, I moved to Fort Worth. I love that we’re made in Texas. All of our software is done in-house, it’s not made overseas.
If somebody wants to make me the spokesperson, or put me on a commercial, I’ve always loved Fort Worth. I am just in awe of its many facets. It’s such a thriving, amazing community. I just love being a part of it.
Francis: I know you worked with TechFW (Fort Worth) too. How did you work with them?
Glover: TechFW is such a cool thing to have in a city like ours. I just love it here. I’m so excited that we’re based out of here. I’m really proud of it. We’re a very unconventional software company, but I love that about us, and I think that’s what makes us different. I really learned to lean into that on this journey.
Francis: How did you connect with TechFW?
Glover: One thing I’m really good at is I always ask and find people to give me advice. So I asked Neil Foster, CEO of Agency Habitat, I took him to lunch and asked him what were my next steps? Because we developed the software, and I had pitched it at an expo for the National Association of Realtors. I knew we had something really good. So I wanted to kind of take the next steps of raising a little bit of money and really growing it. Neil introduced me to someone who was on the board of TechFW. I then applied and ended up getting in.
I’m just blown away by how amazing that is. The journey of being a founder can be so lonely. You’re just by yourself learning and growing and trying to figure it out. TechFW just really feels like you’re under a warm light and you’re just being allowed to incubate, to grow. Everyone’s so helpful.
Francis: What differentiates your product from others out there?
Glover: We stay true to our core value of trying to keep it very simple and efficient. A lot of tools that are given to Realtors — we have thousands of tools — no one uses because it takes forever to set them up.
Also, our client interface allows the client to download an app and track their whole transaction and then store all their documents for years down the road.
Francis: The Real Time App can also help Realtors with marketing too, right?
Glover: As a Realtor, I loved to share my preferred vendor list with clients, and it was a valuable thing to keep in touch with them. I would send them a letter, saying, “Here’s my updated preferred vendor list.” But it was on paper and people lost it. Now, it’s updated in Real Time. It’s always active, and every time the client opens up the app, they think of the Realtor.
Along with that, we also have an anniversary tracker, so it reminds the Realtor how long since someone bought a house, in case you want to reach out or send a gift. I think it’s very valuable. It’s kind of wild, but when you look at the stats, it’s like 87% of Realtors don’t contact their clients after closing. On the opposite side, that number is the same for people who would refer their Realtor again. The way you build a good referral business is by keeping in touch and then bringing value to the client’s life.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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