Tech Helpline Now Provides Support for One in Three Realtors® in North America

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- During a hot real estate market, what happens when a real estate agent is printing a Purchase and Sale agreement and the printer freezes or the computer crashes?

Today, nearly 400,000 Realtors® throughout the U.S. and Canada now turn to Tech Helpline for immediate help to resolve these technical issues and more. A service owned by Florida Realtors® and based in Orlando, Fla., Tech Helpline has become the real estate industry's No. 1 technical support team. It's used by more than 70 Realtor® associations, Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and real estate brokerage firms, and it's still growing.

"Tech Helpline is a service created by Realtors® for Realtors®," says Tricia Stamper, director of technology products at Florida Realtors®. "Think of us as the Genius Bar for real estate with one huge advantage: Our team of experts understands not just the technology real estate agents and brokers use, they also understand the real estate business. That makes a huge difference because real estate is a highly deadline-driven industry."

Stamper says Tech Helpline supports both Windows and Mac operating systems, smartphones and more than a dozen different hardware products from computers, monitors and printers to scanners and storage devices. "If an agent is having a Wi-Fi issue or needs help exporting contacts from Outlook or Gmail, Tech Helpline is available to help solve problems," Stamper adds. Unlike most tech support services, Tech Helpline allows agents to ask for assistance with multiple issues on a single call.

For real estate professionals like John Mike, a RE/MAX agent in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., calling Tech Helpline is a welcoming relief as the U.S.-based support staff is the most "friendly and helpful" he has experienced. "I have dealt with a lot of IT customer service over the years: Dell, Comcast, Apple, Verizon, AT&T, etc. This was without question the most positive experience I have ever had with IT (customer service) anywhere," Mike says.

Uniquely, Tech Helpline services are unlimited and free for real estate agents through their association, MLS or brokerage: There is no limit to the number of calls an agent can make and no limit on the length of a call, and because the service is provided by a local MLS, association or brokerage as a benefit, there are not any direct costs to the agent. Assistance is offered in both English and Spanish, and it is available by phone, online chat or email.

Tech Helpline has expanded since it was first offered to Florida's Realtors® in 2001, primarily through recommendations from existing clients and participation in real estate trade shows, Stamper notes. In September alone, Tech Helpline was featured at the Texas Realtors® Conference, the Georgia Realtors® Annual Conference, and will be featured this week at the Colorado Association of Realtors® Convention in Keystone, Colorado.

"When an MLS or association offers tech support, it becomes one of their most popular member benefits. Often just one call to the Tech Helpline covers a member's annual membership dues. That's a very powerful membership benefit," Stamper says. "Plus, it's also remarkably affordable for associations and MLSs."

Tech Helpline also offers IT services to real estate brokerage firms, targeting broker-owners that cannot afford a full-time support staff.

"For broker-owners, if they measure the increased agent productivity Tech Helpline delivers combined with the transactions that Tech Helpline helps to save, the revenue related to these two things alone more than pays for our service," Stamper says. "But more importantly, we make their agents happy, and happy agents mean a happy broker."

About Tech Helpline
Owned as a service by Florida Realtors®, Tech Helpline began almost 15 years ago as a benefit for members of Florida Realtors®. Known for its no nonsense, technical advice and warm, friendly customer service, Tech Helpline rapidly grew by offering its service to other Realtor® associations, Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) and real estate brokerage firms. Today, Tech Helpline is the real estate industry's #1 tech support service, available to one in three Realtors® in North America – nearly 400,000 in the U.S. and Canada. Tech Helpline's office and staff of professional tech analysts, with more than 250 years of combined IT experience, are located in Orlando, Fla., and are available to provide technology support by phone, chat or email. More information is available online at www.techhelpline.com.

About Florida Realtors®
Florida Realtors®, formerly known as the Florida Association of Realtors®, serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to its more than 140,000 members in 58 boards/associations.

SOURCE Tech Helpline