By Lai Saetern, Inman News
It all began with an advertisement in the newspaper over three decades ago.
After
serving for five years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer,
Saul Klein was ready for a change. He sought a career with better pay
and plenty of room for advancement.
It made sense for Klein to
jump into the real estate business. His father used to buy properties
and sell them, and Klein saw that real estate could be a lucrative
business.
He responded to a job ad, took a test and got his real estate license in 1975 to work as a sales associate.
For
two years, Klein sold condos, working at a Century 21 office in San
Diego. He got his broker's license in 1977. He then teamed up with a
partner and launched their own firm, using an IBM typewriter to
transcribe documents.
He recalled a fateful encounter during those early days in the industry.
"It
was like serendipity. I got a phone call from a lady in Mexico, telling
me to meet her at the Tula Vista restaurant in Mexico at 6:30 a.m. one
morning," said Klein. Being the adventurous guy that he was, Klein
drove to Mexico to meet his potential client.
This woman, whose
identity Klein said he did not wish to disclose, became a key partner
in his first firm for 12 years. She owned a business in Guadalajara,
Mexico, and introduced Klein and his partner to numerous clients from
Mexico. He earned her trust and she played a significant role in his
budding business.
Klein came a long way from the IBM typewriter
on his path to becoming a real estate technology guru. On his mission
to build larger networks among real estate professionals, he began to
engage in the online real estate community chat rooms and linked up
with Mike Barnett, a chat-room moderator. Barnett, who has known Klein
for more than 15 years now, was initially impressed by Saul's humorous
blogs and innovative ideas.
"I hosted the chat room every
Tuesday night, and Saul and I would have conversations about taking
(property) listings to kiosks and the Internet. Even though I came from
an entertainment background, Saul taught me a lot about the real estate
industry," Barnett said.
Klein and Barnett traveled together
across the country to educate real estate professionals about the use
of technology in the real estate business. The two, along with John
Reilly, author of best-selling, "The Language of Real Estate," launched
Realtown, a real estate online network for Realtors.
During the mid-1990s,
Klein served as a consultant for the Realtor Information Network, a
plan by the National Association of Realtors to bring property listings
from Realtor associations and multiple listing services to the public.
That original plan gave way to the creation of the Realtor.com Web
site, which is the most visited online real estate search site.
An Internet pioneer and so-called "evangelist" for the real estate industry, Klein was selected as one of the "25 Most Influential People in the Real Estate Industry" by the National Association of Realtors and has also been recognized by Inman News among the "100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders."
"It
is always a challenge working with Saul. He is like an ever-ready
Energizer battery," said Reilly, who was persuaded by Klein to relocate
from Hawaii to California.
Besides real estate, Reilly and Klein
share another interest in long-distance running, and they have been
known to trade military stories.
Last year, Klein took on a new role
as CEO for Point2 Technologies Inc., a company based in Saskatoon,
Canada, that offers technology tools for real estate professionals and
a search site for consumers.
And he still maintains his title and role as president of Internet Crusade, the online marketing company that operates the Realtown network and offers an ePro certification course for tech-savvy real estate professionals.
Despite
his busy schedule, Klein said he always provides his undivided
attention to whomever he is meeting with, whether it is one person or
hundreds of people.
"I have a pet peeve in the way that people
treat the urgency of communication nowadays. I get annoyed when I am in
a conversation with someone and they are text-messaging or checking
their e-mails on the phone," said Klein.
With all of the people
that he has to keep up with and his continuous travels, Klein said that
he loves his job and is not sure when he will retire. When he does slow
down, he said he wants to pursue his other passion -- writing -- and
contribute more to his blogs.
Klein has plans to retire in
Hawaii, where he tries to visit once a year with his wife. Family
occupies his time when he isn't working.