July 2007 - Alex taking the calls.
Your 1st Priority - Hire a Realtor to Best Represent You and Your Family
Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have. - Thomas Edison
This page serves as an online interview prior to our initial meeting. The Testimonials page has over 20 examples of what both clients and students (new realtors) have had to say about our experiences. Compare the difference:
2004-7 - Four Consecutive Sales Awards (Top 10%) and one Top 20% Award in 2008
Leadership - Former Agent Leadership Council Member in an office of 175 Realtors
Real Estate Instructor and Mentor - New Agent Program
Former Teacher: New York, Inglewood, and Santa Monica
George Mason & Columbia: BA in History
Army Veteran - 3rd Infantry / Presidential Honor Guard & 25th Infantry Division: 1988-91
Founder and Main Contributor to The Gordon Clark Scholarship Fund
Santa Monica - Homeowner & Investor (our house & an apartment building)
1) How does your experience rank among your colleagues?
2) Do you have testimonials from past clients?
3) How would you describe your personal real estate portfolio?
4) What was your background before entering this field?
5) What do you see as your role in the community you serve?
6) Most importantly, how will you help to get the best possible price
for either the sale or purchase of our home?
Your decision to work with a realtor is nearly as important as the property you eventually sell and/or purchase. Hire an agent who can save you valuable time and energy during this process, as well as someone who has been through it themselves a few times. Would you rather entrust your greatest asset to someone in the middle of the pack or the top of their field? Salesperson or successful person?
"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi Lombardi Junior High School in Green Bay is one of the many places where I was taught the solid Midwestern values of my family and community. A sound game plan (strategy and tactics gained through experience) does not mean giving up your scruples. In my opinion, exactly the opposite is true, and that is the approach I offer. If you would like to have someone work hard for your family, enlist the help of a realtor driven by a disciplined, blue-collar work ethic.
A realtor's job is to ease the pressures of buying or selling property and to assuage any fears along the way. While focus during the work day will expedite every step, I will not spend more time with people than they feel they need, nor will my clients any get less than my best efforts. Family is my first priority; everything else is a distant second. That is the driving force behind concise effort and the difference between that and fruitless toil.
Family first - To evidence my long-term financial goals, the example of our investment property is given. On the purchase of a Santa Monica apartment building in February of 2006, my wife and I saved $164,000 from the list price. Could you use that same experience and negotiating skill in your corner when it's time to buy a home or investment property? Just as importantly, I will put a plan together to streamline your search. I will follow up and guide you when / if you'd like to expand your real estate portfolio. You will get sincere advice borne from experience - candor and integrity.
Sellers - What is the first impression you would like to make on potential buyers? Of course, anyone would expect their home to be clean and spruced up for the market, but what about your realtor? I do my best to greet every visitor with a warm hello and a midwestern handshake. After that, without following them through the property, every one of their questions will be answered honestly, and I will take as much time with them as they need. When interviewing realtors, think about how they will represent you, your family, and your home.
Our initial meeting can be merely days or several months before your property is ready to hit the market. A comprehensive group of painters, roofers, handymen, gardeners, housekeepers, and other contractors is available to add significant value to your home - so much so, that you might have second thoughts about moving.
Negotiating - A selling client of mine received $165,000 more than the $635,000 asking price and received 41 offers on their home! Could you use the same advice on how to prepare your property and investment for the market? I will earn your business.
You will be told the true value of your home, not an inflated price to simply get the listing, while the property subsequently lingers without selling for months. In fact, I have lost a great deal of business due to candor, as I'm not about to tell clients simply what they want to hear; I tell them the truth. I will market your home using every available resource to get top dollar for your investment. Photos and the details of your home will be viewed online on the MLS, my website, Realtor.com, etcetera.
Did you know that over 75% of all people buying a new home search the internet first? Nearly 1,100,000 people have seen my internet marketing in a single month with an average of nearly 500,000!
Your best interest is my priority. My focus is on you and the sale of your home. How can a realtor represent both sides without being partial? Would you go to the same divorce attorney as your spouse? A number of realtors make a habit of this practice; ask them why...
You will be represented by an outstanding best brokerage, as well as a Midwesterner with a no-nonsense, blue-collar work ethic - Candor and Integrity.
Buyers
They are both like brothers to me, and we not only respect their opinions and knowledge, but take their advice without hesitation. Without their help, we would have missed out on some of great investments. Their contact information can be found in the center column of the home page or through the 24-hour loan preapproval button in the left column.
Step #2 - Let's meet for lunch. Ask all the questions of us that you can think to ask, and we will answer them candidly, without pulling a single punch.
Step #3 - Let's get to work and find that new home for you!
Negotiating - A buying client of mine saved $45,000 with my help. Could you use the same advice? How would you like to save $164,000 on your next purchase? That is exactly the savings we had on a recent purchase. I will earn your business.
A team of people will work with you when you're represented by me on the buying end: fantastic, second-to-none mortgage brokers, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, and architects (if need be). It is a realtor's job to make sure that you pay a fair price for a property in sound condition. This is not simply a property, but a place to call home. Your dreams are my goals.
Please visit the 7 Steps to Buying page for more insight where the process of buying a home is concerned.
What would people like to know to convince them to hire me as their realtor? Well, if I knew everyone's answer to that question, the phone would not stop ringing, and sometimes my wife thinks that it rings too much already... The fact is that there is a realtor out there who will connect with any given client, and there are those who simply won't, regardless of experience or personality.
That's one of the joys of this field; you get to choose the people with whom you'd like to work, if they choose you. I have walked away from potential business because the person just wasn't very pleasant or honest, and I'm sure that they could / did find a better fit with someone else. It sounds corny and simplistic, but I like nice people. I admire those who are driven, candid, and focused on their goals. Of course I'm a bit subjective (without trying to sound completely immodest), but I honestly feel as though all three of those qualities describe me and my service-oriented, team mentality. At the very least, I attempt to embrace those attributes every day. Here are the words (a mantra of sorts) of my dear and wise mother-in-law: "purity of intention."
As former public school teacher in
My approach is to answer questions or find the answers, lay things out for people, be objective, and even play devil's advocate. The pros-and-cons list cannot be over-used in my opinion when looking for a home or making any important decision. In fact, it is in every home owner's or home buyer's best interest to meet with at least two or three realtors before moving forward in either the sale of their home or in their search for a home.
With that said, interview me online. This site is basically a 21st century business card or resume. The next step would be a meeting in my office or your home. If you think that it would be a good fit, then we will sit down and forge your game plan together, and, ultimately, see it come to fruition. Your dreams are my goals.
I will work hard for you, and you can expect nothing less than complete success where our teamwork and your goals are concerned.
