by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Realtors are always looking for something that will help set apart one home from another. DiscoverTec recently developed a new “amenity” that can be helpful when Realtors show homes.
DiscoverTec recently launched “@ My Community,” a community Internet site that can be used to get information quickly to people living in neighborhoods.
“These sites allow neighborhoods to communicate again,” said Donny Lamey, owner of DiscoverTec. “In a lot of neighborhoods today people come home from work, shut their garage doors and they don’t get to know their neighbors.”
Lamey said this tool is available to neighborhoods to help residents get to know each other and build common interests.
Each neighborhood — who decides to use “@ My Community” — has their own individual site that DiscoverTec sets up and then teaches a resident in the neighborhood or a community employee how to update the site.
The site can be used to get information to everyone in the community much faster than a newsletter. It can also be used to keep track of community events and house a community directory and the community’s newsletters.
“Realtors can look to see if the community they are selling homes in uses ‘@ My Community,’” he said. “This is an amenity that they can offer their client.
“It makes the neighborhood much more attractive, because it shows that the community is a real community.”
Lamey said builders can also use “@ My Community” to showcase a neighborhood where they are building homes.
“It is designed for Realtors and builders to use as a selling tool,” he said.
The amenity is also free for the residents. Each individual community Web site is paid for by local businesses in that area who sponsor that community. Those businesses also display discounts for their stores that the community’s residents can use.
“That is a tool that can make one community standout from another,” said Lamey.
He added that the feedback DiscoverTec has gotten has been very positive.
“Residents have told us how much they enjoy the site. They don’t have to dig through piles of paper to find their newsletter anymore.
“They also appreciate that the site is so secure.”
Kathy Timmons, project manager with DiscoverTec, lived in a neighborhood that utilized “@ My Community” before she began working for Lamey.
“It is the perfect way to communicate to everyone,” she said. “Information gets out into the community quickly and at no price.
“By having all of the information online, it saves the neighborhood money because they aren’t paying for paper or printing costs.”
Lamey said that neighborhoods are not the only groups using “@ My Community.” There have been church congregations, study groups and offices who are using “@ My Community.”
Even though DiscoverTec is focusing on Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, they have sites set up for neighborhoods in North Carolina, Tampa, Gainesville and Orlando, too.
“It is spreading everywhere, and quickly,” he said. “We have over 100,000 homes committed. We count by homes, not communities.”
Lamey added that they can have a community up and running in less than two weeks.
“This is the coolest and latest amenity that can be added to a neighborhood,” he said.