COMPUTERS MAKING IT EASIER TO WORK AT HOME

Computers impact the lifestyle of most Americans, particularly in the workplace. For many, that impact means having the opportunity to work at home and spending more time in the field than in the office.

"All of today's technology makes it easier to do a lot of things," said Tim Hill of Jackson, owner of Hillco computer company. "You can run just about any type of business out of your home."

Just about any paper-based business can be done with computers in the home, but many times people find that an at-home business is hard work just like any other job they might have. Few at-home businesses are get-rich-quick opportunities that promoters try to make everyone believe.

On the other hand, many people see computers as an opportunity to bring work home from the office, allowing them to spend more time around their families. Parents with small children are able to use computers to do their work at home, and miss days at the office without missing days of work.

Some companies are finding it is much more cost effective, and actually provides more time working on the job, for employees to use computers to work from their homes rather than coming into a central office every day.

One such company is Great Financial Mortgage Co. based in Owensboro, Ky. The company has an office in Cape Girardeau, but it is in the home of John Cochran.

"Our philosophy is if we don't incur bricks and mortar overhead, theoretically we are able to translate those savings into better rates," Cochran said. "We have proved not having an office is not necessarily a hindrance.

"Any lender is going to tell you how competitive residential lending has become, and so anything that lenders are able to do to reduce the overhead burden involved in extending residential loans are steps people are taking," he said.

By not being tied to an office, Cochran can spend more time making sales calls with realtors and making contact with potential clients.

"With a fax machine, a computer and the right kind of phone, I don't have to be sitting at a desk," he said. "I don't make money sitting at home. I've got to make sales calls on realtors and follow up on leads."

When writing loan applications, Cochran said many times some type of document that is needed to complete the application for a client is at home and not at the office of the potential lender.

For that reason, Cochran said, "the best way to do a residential loan application is at someone's kitchen table."

Because banks in town have a built-in customer base and a presence in the community, companies, like the one Cochran represents, have to make up for it with convenience and making maximum use of technology available to process applications in the shortest possible time.

Computers are also having a major impact on the real estate industry. An increasing use of computer technology is moving workers from the office to the field, and will send sales people to clients instead of having clients coming into offices to check out listings.

"In the future, the physical size of real estate offices will be reduced because agents are working at home or in the field, and will only come in for sales meetings or training programs," said Thomas M. Meyer, president of the Missouri Association of Realtors.

In larger cities, real estate salespeople are spending less time in the office by relying on computers to access information from their homes in preparation for meetings with clients. That eliminates having to drive from home to the office.

"The main objective for the sales force is to get them out of the office and into the field," Meyer said. "You don't make it so much in the office. In our business it is important to get out and meet people one on one, and computers allow them that much more freedom to be out there."

Meyer, who uses a lap-top computer to access multi-list information, said computers make it easier to organize and plan a day's worth of work.

He can pick out listings he wants to show a client, and have it printed from the office.

Eventually, wireless technology will become common where information about homes can be called up, by beaming off a satellite to a sales representative in the field, virtually anywhere in the country.

At Meyer Realty, they are using a digital camera to load photos into the mainframe.

As president of the state's realtors association, Meyer has an opportunity to travel to national meetings where he is amazed by the new technology that will soon be available in his business.

With the use of digital technology, realtors can spend time with clients in their homes offering detailed information about a future home and neighborhood before actually going out and looking at the property.

Computers can show a house room by room, display features on the outside of the house, the yard area, details of the neighborhood and community it is located in, and comparable property values.

Meyer said this will be available not only for homes in the area, but can be used by realtors who are helping clients find possible homes in places they are re-locating to.

But this is not only limited to homes, but also can be used for commercial property and farmland.

"There are a lot of exciting things out there that can dramatically change the real estate industry," Meyer said.

Both Meyer and Cochran are excited by the new technology computers offer their businesses and agree it helps make the world a little smaller.

"I think everybody is constantly taking a look at how we can use technology to do something better and faster," said Cochran, who admits to being amused by all he doesn't know about the capacity of his computer.

Both also agree that even with the changing technology that is sweeping the world of business, there will still be no substitute for having good people in the work place to use that technology in effective, non-traditional ways.