Stephen Canale, GRB, CRS, GRI, RAM, knows how to shave time without nicking himself or others. An early technology advocate, Canale is an active real estate broker who began his own brokerage firm, Acclaim Residential Marketing, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich., before launching a second career as a real estate instructor and lecturer.

Canale serves on the GRI faculty for the Michigan Association of Realtors, offering seminars on a variety of subjects, including "The Competitive Edge -- Winning with Technology in Real Estate" and "Weaving a Successful Real Estate Web Site." In addition, he is a Merrill Technologies Trainer and a faculty national trainer for RealSelect and Realtor.com. His teachings and writing deal primarily with simplifying and clarifying technology issues.

Canale shares his tips and tricks, published in his monthly newsletter, with Agent News. Particularly intriguing is his creative solution to keeping phone lines to a minimum. If you find it hard to imagine life without a fax, Canale shows you how easy it can be:

The FAX-Less FAX

Many of you have heard me advocate moving your communications to e-mail and reducing your dependence on the fax machine. For me personally, it's been very easy to live without a fax. Most of the people I need to communicate with have e-mail. For those who don't, I can always use the modem in my notebook computer to send a fax transmission.

However, the one fly in the ointment has always been when someone needs to send a fax to me! Sure, I could own a fax machine, but since I'm on the road speaking every week, how would I ever get the document? The answer for me, and what I think will be a great convenience for many of you, is an Internet-based service called J-Fax. In a nutshell, this company provides you with a local fax number (in cities across America) or a toll-free fax number (that's what I got). What's so special about this service, is that it converts the incoming fax into a graphic file and sends it to me via e-mail. Presto! Wherever you are, you can fax me. Wherever I am, I can receive it -- with all the rest of my e-mail.

Another nice feature of J-Fax is the ease of viewing and printing these converted faxes. You can either download their entire fax-viewer from their Web site. Or, as I prefer, just download their Netscape Plug-in, which allows me to view and print the documents right from my browser. J-Fax can also convert voice messages into files and e-mail them too, but I personally don't need this service, though you might.

While I still dream of a time when no one will ever need to send me a fax, J-Fax will do just fine in the interim.

Living Without a Second Phone Line

Here's a quick tip for those of you who don't feel you spend enough time online (yet!) to justify a second phone line.

Simply get call forwarding at home. When it's time to check your e-mail or do a little surfing, forward your home phone to your cell phone.

Now you can spend a little time online, without needing a second line or worrying about missing an important call.

To receive Canale's newsletter, e-mail .

Published: March 26, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.