Contact Information:
Email: ericbouler@prodigy.net
Phone: (504) 212-0072

Advanced Access: How did you get started in the Real Estate Industry?

Eric Bouler: I worked in the Supermarket business calling on accounts on the Gulf coast. Selling specialty foods was my last job before real estate. The company thought the old guys should go to make room for the new guys when we were purchased in 1996.

AA: Do you have a specialty or favorite niche market group?

EB: The Condo business is a niche I developed because of my first website. I wanted to be able to sell the entire Metro area to service new people moving into the locale. I traveled the Metro area in my previous job so I am familiar with the demographics of the different sections. I started getting calls and e-mails on my website on the condo section. I decided to get a second site from AA to concentrate on just condos. Now my business is 50% condos.

AA: At what point did you realize your need for a website? Describe your journey to Advanced Access and why you chose us as your provider.

EB: I bought a site at the NAR convention in New Orleans several years ago but did nothing with it for a year. I got bored with the business I was doing so started the site and began to work on it. Almost every night. I would call AA almost daily with questions and browse the forum nightly to get ideas from the experienced agents.

AA: At what point/why did you decide to purchase an additional website, and how has your additional condo website impacted your business?

EB: The forums and the people I met there were instrumental in helping me and giving me tips along the way. I am no techie but had plenty of ideas. I use plenty of photos and have created numerous neighborhood pages on both sites.

AA: What is the most profitable section of your website?

EB: I get a lot of leads that just pick up the phone and call me to help them. I ask for them to call me or e-mail so I can answer their questions. This is a great way to get the motivated buyers who want to buy. Making it personal also helps, I just say what comes to my mind. I do not have a corporate site and do not have an IDX feed on the site either, but it doesn't matter because I have plenty of local content.

AA: What other resources through Advanced Access and life in general have contributed to your success?

EB: I do well in the business because I can tie my knowledge of the areas together; my photography hobby and my enjoyment of working with buyers. I do not mind sharing what I have learned and it comes back to help me ten-fold.

AA: What are some of your goals for your website and your online presence?

EB: Blogging is my next thing to get on the internet so that is the direction I am headed in.

AA: Tell us a little about your family, your history, and what you like to do in your spare time.

EB: I had three teenaged children when I left my job so I had to succeed as they were all getting ready for college. Failing was not an option. I went to work every day for 8am so I could soak up some knowledge. I made 17k that first year while learning the business in the first 6 months. I have had 10 good years since then coming up on 500 sales in 2007. I do not mind thinking outside the box. All the kids made it out of college. Two got MBAs. I now have 3 great grand kids. Love the LSU tigers in all sports and love them Saints. I have been in the same house since 1975 which may sound strange after being an Army Brat living in Japan, Iran, Panama, San Francisco, New Orleans, Charleston S.C., Virginia, New Mexico, Los Angles, Alabama, and Vacaville, CA . Guess I wanted to stay put for a while.

As hobbies, I have always enjoyed sand volleyball, gardening, sports, tennis, photography and the stock market.

AA: How did your websites help your business during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? Do you feel that you are able to use your site as a tool to "tell the story"? We would love to hear any of your thoughts and experiences related to this.

EB: Since Katrina I have worked hard not knowing what the future would bring. I had a lot of clients who had lost all the material things they owned. People had lived 60 years in the same home all of a sudden had nothing. The internet was a savior for them and helped me to a record year of over 70 sales after missing two months because of the storm. Helping people who needed homes proved to be stressful, and many times tears flowed from clients for no reason. I, being a man, was not prepared but I prayed and coped with the situation. Most people were very considerate and geniune. Many had not bought a new home in years, so I did my best to detail all the points of buying. This went on for a solid year before dropping off. Our lives are Pre-Katrina and Post Katrina. It now takes a lot to get one upset, and you are happy to have a home. You now appreciate your neighbors, family, and other agents more than ever. Having faith in God made it possible to carry us through that experience that one cannot begin to imagine. I appreciate the AA family and the forum friends who thought about me while we were in Houston