Trip Report: Student Sample #1

Date: March 12, 2001
To: Center Team Leader and Interns
From: Jason Moles
Subject: Interview Report in the field of Real Estate

Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is to interview someone in my field of interest in order to gain insight about a particular communication problem. Unfortunately my initial prospect declined my request to participate in an interview. However, the extension you granted me enabled me to research and develop my topic into a professional project proposal entitled "Real Estate Web Sites: Is There Room For Improvement?" If you recall, in my proposal I stated that I would interview real estate brokers as a method of gathering information or data that is relevant to the final project. This memo contains information I collected by interviewing my dad on spring break.

Background

I decided that my father is an excellent candidate to interview for several reasons. First off, he is a licensed California and Nevada real estate broker. He is also a real estate consultant every Tuesday in Beverly Hills for an in individual who owns several residential apartment buildings in the greater Los Angeles area. Secondly, I know that my dad relies on his computer and the Internet every day in order to conduct his businesses. Lastly, I got stuck in a bad situation because my letter of inquiry went unanswered. I did not consider how difficult it would be to complete this assignment on spring break. I was determined to interview my dad because I was sure he would participate and be as helpful as possible.

Issue

The rapid development of the Internet and digital cameras has made real estate web sites the norm; they have forever changed the real estate industry. The primary goal of this project is to create a model to assist real estate brokers in establishing a real estate web site that will benefit all the parties involved in a typical real estate transaction. This project is significant because the majority of real estate sites out there are useless, they do not provide information to convince their audience to buy or sell a home with their company.

Interview Summary

The interview lasted approximately 30 minutes. Our conversation consisted of me asking my dad the following questions:

How long have you been in the real estate business?
How did you get started?
What types of real estate services do you offer?
How do you advertise?
What purpose does your computer serve in relation to your daily activities?
What role does the Internet have in conducting your business?
Do you have a real estate web site? For how long? How do you measure its success?
How has technology (Internet, digital cameras) changed your role as a broker?
How has technology changed your clients expectations?
Has the Internet made you a more successful realtor?

My dad confirmed that he has been in the real estate business for 12 years. He offers "property listings, selling and auction services, consulting and property management." He also said that he advertises "on the net" and is active in "a local organization called The Chamber of Commerce." When I asked my dad if he has a real estate web site he replied "I don't know if it's active." This contradicts his claim that he uses the net to advertise his wide range of services. However, it is important to realize that a lot of real estate brokers have second jobs; being a broker is just a way to generate some extra income.

For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1998: Available: March 13, 2001 on http://stat.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/fall/art03.pdf 47,000 workers or 2.5% of "Second job entrepreneurs" are "Managers, of properties and real estate." 24,000 workers or 1.3% of "Second job entrepreneurs" are in "Real estate sales occupations."

In this instance, my dad's primary job is running a window covering service and showroom. I conclude that the information I gained from the interview confirms two claims that I made in the project proposal. Firstly, the average realtor is too busy to maintain a highly developed web site. Secondly, many real estate companies quickly produced a mediocre site in hopes to compete and increase their volume of clients.