West Orange, NJ · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 7 votes
I’m in the market to buy a laptop to do real estate (i’m an agent) but i’m not sure which one to buy (I would prefer an Apple laptop but I’m open to other suggestions)? Thanks for your assistance.
I buy the cheapest computer I can find. The $349 special. When it's on the hood of my car and slides off, I don't cry as much. If I'm crawling through a HUD house I don't worry about putting it on a counter and using my phone for a hotspot. My Google accounts are linked with MS Office so it doesn't matter if I swap it every other week. Sometimes I have to leave it in the trunk while I head into a restaurant or go walk the back 40. I don't think about it much. If it was a $1800 piece of equipment, I may be more careful, but what good Is a tool I don't have access to when I need it?
I’m a fan of Apple computers. Though they are more expensive, I find they last longer and are overall more reliable.
I always buy MacBook Pro laptops for my team. You can save some money by getting a refurbished laptop off Apple’s website.
Also consider what you’re doing. If 99% of your work is on the web, I find Chromebook laptops are a great value and work great!
@Lavaud Charlemagne For what it's worth, I've been using MacBook Pros since 2009 and have been very happy. My first was a 17" that lasted me until 2015, when I upgraded to a 15" with a sold state drive - and that makes a big difference in speed!
I also had an iMac for a while but gave it to my daughter. I find using an external (2nd) monitor is a big help for keeping multiple items open on the smaller screen.
You might also consider an iPad Pro. If you can get a decent keyboard/case, it will probably meet most of your needs.
@Lavaud Charlemagne For what it's worth, I've been using MacBook Pros since 2009 and have been very happy. My first was a 17" that lasted me until 2015, when I upgraded to a 15" with a sold state drive - and that makes a big difference in speed!
I also had an iMac for a while but gave it to my daughter. I find using an external (2nd) monitor is a big help for keeping multiple items open on the smaller screen.
You might also consider an iPad Pro. If you can get a decent keyboard/case, it will probably meet most of your needs.
A computer with all solid memory is recommended. If you open and close computer bag as often as I do chances of falling out of the bag falling on the ground is high. I prefer MS Surface Pro not cheap though.
Macbook AIr is awesome for the price. Def macbook. And I used to say I hated them. Just takes a little to get used to. They don't slow down like a windows unit. This one is 3 years old and works like the day I bought it.
@Mark Pedroza Thanks for replying. Since you’re considering changing: have you thought about a MacBook? It seems to have a positive feedback on this thread. @Account Closed I think that the MacBook is the way to go, there’s so many positive reviews about it. Thanks for replying.
I have a MacBook Pro that I bought in 2012 and use it very heavily. I’ve never had issues, ever, unlike a lot PC’s that I use for work. Not to get super techie, but Mac makes writing their code difficult so the chance of getting viruses are far less common than on PC’s.
I decided to upgrade my Mac to a solid slate hard drive this past spring, cost me about 300 bucks to upgrade that and all the memory...and again, I’ve had it since 2012.
I also have a iPad and an iPhone (and a surface Pro - more on this in a minute), something to think about is if you have several apple devices, they will all share the documents between all of them seamlessly. For instance, I may work on a cost analysis excel spreadsheet today from my MacBook Pro, leave to see a property and take notes in the same excel spreadsheet on my iPhone and get back home and resume working on it again on my Mac.
The same can be done if you use google docs, etc. I’m not saying there aren’t ways to make this happen without having Macs, but Apple makes it as simple as possible.
I also have a Surface Pro and I absolutely LOVE it. I use it often and have so for the last couple of years. But, I’m already on my second one as my first one just died on me one day. This goes back to my comment about PC’s dying on me...but I expect it.
@Scott Titus thanks for the explanation. I really like the fact that you can easily have access to your documents via all your Apple devices. That’s super cool. But why do you need a Surface Pro? Does it somehow communicate with your Apple devices (Just curious as you can probably see I’m not too tech savvy myself)
I buy the cheapest computer I can find. The $349 special. When it's on the hood of my car and slides off, I don't cry as much. If I'm crawling through a HUD house I don't worry about putting it on a counter and using my phone for a hotspot. My Google accounts are linked with MS Office so it doesn't matter if I swap it every other week. Sometimes I have to leave it in the trunk while I head into a restaurant or go walk the back 40. I don't think about it much. If it was a $1800 piece of equipment, I may be more careful, but what good Is a tool I don't have access to when I need it?
You could buy a Mac for $1700 like I did. Or you could spend that money on mail marketing campaign. If I was an agent I’d buy an hp or something under $1000 and use the extra $500 or so for mailers. One commission check will pay for the laptop and the marketing budget.
I buy the cheapest computer I can find. The $349 special. When it's on the hood of my car and slides off, I don't cry as much. If I'm crawling through a HUD house I don't worry about putting it on a counter and using my phone for a hotspot. My Google accounts are linked with MS Office so it doesn't matter if I swap it every other week. Sometimes I have to leave it in the trunk while I head into a restaurant or go walk the back 40. I don't think about it much. If it was a $1800 piece of equipment, I may be more careful, but what good Is a tool I don't have access to when I need it?
Just my 2 cents and good luck
I think Mike has the right idea. I've been in computers for 30 years and have owned everything from Apple II's to 286's to cyrix to macs to present day. The best bang for buck are those laptops with a 256gb SSD drive and long battery life. Some of those have 8 to 10 hour battery life and can be repaired much easier (and cheaper) than an Apple product. I own an iPhone currently, but for computers the Windows 10 laptops are just too good of a deal with the SSD...performance, battery life, and cheap. Like $500ish.
I am also an agent and I have been using MacBooks for almost 10 years now and I'll never go back to a Windows based PC. Apple makes these bad boys so user friendly and they hold up over time. For example, my current laptop is a MacBook Air circa 2015 and it works just as great as it did when I first got it.
If most of your RE related stuff is web based, I'd suggest the smaller, regular MacBook just simply for portability purposes. There is an agent in my brokerage who uses an iPad Pro and he seems to like it but he does have a full keyboard case thingy so he can type easier than he would if he had to use the on-screen keyboard.
I currently use the MacBook Air as my laptop. I find that it meets my "on the go" needs just fine. If you are planning on doing any large scale graphics or video it can lag a bit. If that is the plan I would advise you look into the MacBook Pro and get your most bang for your buck.
I have been using MacBooks for years-just so much more reliable than PC. This year I tried a top line Tablet, and after a few months I’m liking it way more. The way it displays pics and agreements really all graphics and text, is just so superior to anything out there. So lightweight and compact too. If you get one get the Logic keyboard/case too.