Creating Your Own Vision and Making Money with AppsIn my last blog I introduced you to the easy to use Complete Foreclosures app. A user simply clicks the “Nearby Foreclosures” link to see a map indicating nearby distressed homes. Click on a point of interest and the app shows the details of the listing, along with a photo of the property. The user can even click on a Smart Buying Guide, which explains how to buy the particular property, whether it’s an auction home, bank owned home, or short sale. There are even driving directions to the property. And if the user has particular parameters in mind, they can do a custom search based on square feet, number of bedrooms, etc.

Sounds great for the end user, but what about Visionary Apps? How are they making money with this great free service for people?

In addition to seeing the listing, the user can also be instantly connected to a real estate expert who understands foreclosures for more information and to help with the sale. Visionary Apps charges real estate agents a monthly fee to be listed as the expert in a particular zip code – with only one agent per zip code allowed. Once an agent secures a zip code, any home in that zip code has him or her listed as the foreclosure expert who can help. Most agents purchase multiple zip codes. When all the zip codes are sold, this one app can generate $1.1 million per month.

But it doesn’t stop there. Visionary Apps goes further by giving people the solution at the moment of need. In other words, the solution appears when the problem arises. For example, when you’re looking at a foreclosed home, you need an agent. The app gives you an agent. After that you’ll likely need a mortgage. Visionary Apps is selling zip codes to mortgage companies too. After that, you’ll need a moving company. They’re selling zip codes to moving companies…and to remodelers and to other services a person would need along the way. However, you won’t see any of these solutions in the app until you’re at that point of need. So for each service provider category, once all the zip codes are sold, that’s another $1.1 million per month per category.

Has Visionary Apps redefined real estate and apps at the same time? You bet.

Most companies create an app, put it out there, and then move on to creating another app. Visionary Apps is creating a brand. They’re not a business with an app; rather, the business is the app. This is a revolutionary way of looking at apps and the power of them.

So the point is that there are many ways to make money from apps, even if the app is free. The model Visionary Apps created is just one example. To create your own income-generating app, you simply have to find what’s right for your company. When you keep your focus on the future of where your industry, customers, and technology are going, the possibilities for game-changing apps…and your profits…are endless.