If you’re looking to buy or sell a lake house, you may wonder if it’s necessary to pick an agent with a physical office. Contrary to popular belief, brick and mortar isn’t necessary to sell a home. Lake Homes Realty CEO, Glenn Phillips, gives 6 reasons why your lake agent doesn’t need an in-person office.
The office isn’t relevant in a digital world
Time is precious, and office meetings take time from viewings
Many top producing agents work more effectively without a physical office
Offices don’t sell houses — agents and brokers do
Buyers enjoy the convenience of an online platform
Money spent on office leases could be spent helping clients
Just because an office environment is familiar doesn’t mean it’s the future of real estate. The best agents can do their work anywhere. Find an agent today at Lakehomes.com to have your questions answered.
Lake Homes Realty CEO, Glenn S. Phillips, reveals two unspoken real estate secrets– not all real estate agents are equally skilled, and many use the same formula when listing a home. With a special property like a lake house, how do you determine which agents can successfully sell your home?
Glenn recommends interviewing potential agents and asking three questions: What else will you do to sell my home? Who do you know? and Can you name 15 areas where people are shopping at my lake? The best lake home agents will feature your property on highly-targeted websites, have connections with multiple lake-focused agents, and have expertise in several lake areas.
The proliferation of COVID-19 will most assuredly bring significant and permanent changes to businesses across the spectrum in the United States and worldwide. The real estate industry will also certainly change to meet the needs of customers everywhere. Even with restrictions on travel and free movement within communities, real estate transactions are still taking place. Both buyers and sellers are completing negotiations and closings in what is shaping up to be a busy spring period.
Here at Lake Homes Realty, we’ve taken steps to protect agents and customers as we negotiate the new environment in which we find ourselves. Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty, says that “Safety is the number one challenge in conducting our business presently. We are doing everything in our power to support our clients safely and protect our agents.”
Safe Showings
Many buyers of lake real estate live in areas far removed from the lake markets in which they are searching for a home. LakeHomes.com, our highly trafficked website, is the perfect platform to allow potential buyers in markets across the country to shop for lake realty virtually anywhere in the company’s 29-state footprint.
Since there is often distance involved, our agents are offering virtual walkthrough services by using programs such as Facetime, WhatsApp and Zoom. Agents are spending significant time with clients to ensure all questions are answered and needs are met through the medium of mobile-based live video.
When physical showings are necessary, we’ve established a set of common-sense rules for conducting those showings. Agents will arrive early armed with disinfecting wipes or sprays, cleaning all doorknobs and light switches, then leaving the lights on and doors open to minimize touching while touring the homes.
Agents will ask that potential buyers minimize touching or sitting on the furniture. They will also request that the agent be alerted to any areas that need to be shown, which may not be easily accessible.
Seller Service Through Technology
Lake Homes Realty is a hybrid company, existing both digitally through LakeHomes.com and as a traditional brokerage with agents located in markets nationwide. Because of our unique position, we have resources for lake real estate that other brokerages do not.
We produce the Lake Homes Realty Lake Real Estate Market Report quarterly, but since these unprecedented circumstances began, we’re now updating the report data daily. These accelerated data reports provide our agents with the most up to date comparables with which establish dependable market pricing for sellers. No other brokerage has this tool.
As always, valuation services are free to sellers listing a home or property. Best of all, these services can take place virtually through a web conference or telephone meeting to minimize or eliminate face to face appointments.
Listing Power
With over 4 million highly qualified buyers visiting LakeHomes.com annually, expressly to shop for lake properties, there is no more powerful or safe partner for selling your lake real estate. We’ll develop those leads and virtually introduce your property to our qualified buyers. This incredible level of service supports sellers even in this challenging business climate.
Stay Informed
The COVID-19 virus is continuously pushing us all to be knowledgeable about the pandemic. Staying informed and being able to move nimbly under these market conditions is the key to success. Lake Homes Realty is the partner who wants to protect you and your interests in this difficult time.
Presenting clients with a gift after closing on a property is a way for agents to show their appreciation of the client’s patronage as well as congratulate them on their sale or purchase.
Closing gifts help ensure clients walk away feeling valued by their agent. They’re also a great way for agents to make themselves memorable for future real estate opportunities.
The best closing gifts are personal, thoughtful and creative.
We’ve put together a list of three unique, lake-inspired closing gifts that are sure to leave a lasting impression with any client. Check them out below!
Lake Silhouettes
Founded in 2013, Custom Crafted Silhouettes takes every-day maps of America’s favorite lakes and transforms them into beautiful pieces of art.
Pieces are individually laser-etched on beautiful birch wood and embellished with hand-painted details.
These one-of-a-kind lake silhouettes are then placed in custom wood frames and enclosed in glass to ensure their preservation for years to come.
Silhouettes also come with an adhesive crystal, with which agents can mark the location of a client’s home or favorite fishing hole.
Custom Crafted Silhouettes offers lake maps in 31 states as well as custom, laser-etched silhouette cutting boards and wine glasses.
These works of art are perfect for recent lake home buyers.
Agents can even go the extra mile by presenting the silhouettes with the buyers’ home already marked or with a bottle of wine to accompany a set of personalized wine glasses.
For more information about Custom Crafted Silhouettes’ collections and pricing, visit their website here.
Grilling Accessories
Grilling and a lake home go hand-in-hand, so why not present your clients with custom grilling accessories?
Real Estate Seasoning Gifts offers personalized meat seasonings that feature your picture, name, contact information and company logo.
Seasonings and rubs come in variety of options including ancho rib rub, steak and veggie seasonings and Cajun rub! Agents can purchase these individually or in sets of four.
What better way to make a lasting impression than by putting your name and face on this staple of lake living? This closing gift is not only creative and thoughtful, but practical as it’s something your clients will actually use.
To accompany the custom grill seasonings, consider presenting your clients with a personalized set of BBQ utensils.
Any number of online shopping sites, including Etsy and Amazon, offer a wide selection of options for choosing the custom set that is just right for your clients.
Present clients with a utensil set enclosed in a branded wooden case that features their lake home address or family name, or pair of laser-engraved tongs and spatula.
Key Hook Wall Hangers
At the lake house, it’s rare to have just one set of keys to keep up with. Often, lake home owners have to juggle boat keys, jet ski keys, keys to the storage shed, car keys, etc.
One great gift to present clients with is a key organizer labeled for each type of key. Cute sayings like “The Lake. The Life. The Dream.” and “Life is Better at the Lake” are nice personalization options for a little something extra.
For something more elegant, a hand-made wall hanger engraved with the family’s name and the property’s GPS coordinates would be a heartwarming closing gift to give clients.
The ones featured here are individually made from butternut hardwood and finished with natural beeswax.
Customization options include custom wrapping, personalized short phrases and four types of pegs to choose from such as chrome and brass.
Other great types of key hook wall hangers include wire baskets for holding mail, cork boards and chalk boards on which to write greetings and reminders.
No matter what you choose, your clients are sure to enjoy these one-of-a-kind, lake-inspired closing gifts.
In an age where cell phones are smart and “Google” is a verb, it’s no surprise technology has taken root in real estate’s back yard. And while this relationship has been mutual so far, Silicon Valley is inching closer and closer toward total takeover.
Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report 2017 however, indicates this mission will likely fail.
At Lake Homes Realty, though we have a robust online component in our business model, we still believe in the power of local agents.
We believe the power of people, combined with the power of technology, is critical for success as a real estate company today.
And so we say, “long live the real estate agent!” However, in case you need a little more convincing, take a look at these top reasons Realtors still reign.
People value expertise
Despite the wealth of information available online, 74 percent of today’s buyers and 94 percent of sellers still choose to work with a human real estate agent.
But why would consumers pay money for a person to tell them that which they can find online for free? The answer is simple.
These sites are good for arming buyers and sellers with a lot of basic information, but they lack something only “boots on the ground” can provide: local expertise.
In fact, about 80 percent of both parties named local market knowledge among the Top 3 most important factors in deciding to work with an agent, rather than go it alone.
This intimate familiarity becomes even more valuable in niche markets, like lake real estate. Only agents who live, work and play in their local markets are best equipped to help clients navigate the rough waters of buying or selling a lake home.
These agents possess knowledge about who owns the lake, dock restrictions and where buyers most frequently come from.
Additionally, these expert agents can provide insight into market-specific questions that online resources might not be able to, like how susceptible a property is to water and weather damage, and what parts of the lake are most family-friendly.
Agents serve as trusted advisers
A lot goes into the buying and selling process. Without the help of a veteran in the field, it can be easy to lose track of all the moving parts.
Eighty-two percent of buyers and sellers reported that an agent’s guidance through the real estate process is the most valuable component in their client-agent relationships.
This factor alone outranked both previewing/screening homes and providing legal advice on the buyer’s side.
On the seller’s side, consumers ranked agents’ guidance at the top of the list, just under finding interested buyers (at 87 percent.)
Consumers in lake real estate not only rely on local experts to provide them with advice about hard real estate data but also about the communities and nuances of the lakes themselves.
Buyers often find themselves uninformed about which lakes best match their desired lifestyle and what markets yield the best return on investment. For sellers, these trusted advisers help price listings according to what the market is saying, rather than what the neighbor’s place sold for last year.
Both sides also value agents’ legal advice (75 percent and 76 percent) on subjects like title insurance and property lines. Lastly, 75 percent of buyers and 73 percent of sellers value agent referrals on mortgage lenders and home inspectors.
Negotiating is a superpower
Sure, an online bidding war over a $20 pair of shoes on eBay doesn’t sound bad. How comfortable would you feel about doing the same with a multi-million dollar lake home?
Even face-to-face, negotiating a home’s final sale price isn’t easy, especially when it comes to making both parties happy.
Thankfully, good real estate agents are good negotiators. Being able to negotiate is a superpower of sorts, one that 82 percent of consumers on both sides of a transaction value.
In fact, leading contract negotiation is the No. 2 (buyers) and No. 3 (sellers) most important factor consumers consider when choosing a real estate agent to work with.
In general, clients rely on expert negotiators who’s skills include being able to handle emotional clients with respect and empathy and being able to withhold personal reactions to negative actions from the opposing side.
Additionally, consumers value expert agents who come to the negotiating table armed with knowledge about who the other side’s decision maker is, and in which areas concessions are most likely to be made.
Lastly, above all else, the most valuable weapon a heroic negotiator can possess is a willingness to walk away when it is in his clients’ best interest.
Technology will forever be intertwined in the industry, that much is clear, but Silicon Valley may be wrong about the future of real estate.
The key isn’t agent-enabled tech, but tech-enabled agents who’s community knowledge, skills and market expertise is invaluable.
Lake Homes Realty named Terry and Sherrie Norton 2017’s Splash Award recipients at its annual Agent Summit, which took place Oct. 17-20, 2017. Additionally, both members of the Lake Wedowee, AL team are now recognized as Lake Homes Realty Premier Agents.
“We are incredibly honored, humbled and appreciative of this recognition of our hard work,” this year’s winners said. “It is an honor to be chosen from among our fellow agents who all work so hard to attain their goals. It really is an incredible honor.”
The Splash Award Defined
The award, presented to company’s Realty Agent of the Year, is given to the Lake Homes Realty agent, or agent team, with the overall best performance across a number of important accomplishments.
“Winning the Splash Award is an honor and a great way for LHR to say that our company appreciates our hard work,” the Nortons said. “Maintaining and working toward this goal again for the coming year is certainly a great incentive.”
Eligibility is open to agents who have been licensed with Lake Homes Realty for a minimum of 24 months by Aug. 31,2017.
These agents must also have completed at least 12 transactions on either the buyer or seller side of a sale within a 12 month evaluation period, which began Sept. 1, 2016 and concluded on Aug. 31.
Lake Homes Realty’s Terry (center) and Sherrie (right middle) Norton named 2017 Agents of the Year at annual Agent Summit on Oct. 19, 2017.
Additionally, agents had to have closed $3.5 million or greater in transaction volume during this time in order to gain award eligibility.
“Eligible agents are then ranked, relative to each other, by performance in a number of key areas. These include overall effective commission per side and percent increase of year-over-year transaction volume in dollars,” explained Glenn S. Phillips, Lake Homes Realty CEO.
Additional areas assessed include average number of days it takes from closing to office file completion, total number of sides closed and number of listings in Multiple Listing Services as of Sept, 1, 2017.
Agents are also ranked by total transaction volume closed in dollars.
This volume is defined by sale price apart from the number of sides an agent represents for a given transaction. Referral transactions are not included in the total transaction volume.
Determining the Agent of the Year
To determine the Splash Award winner, the best performance in each of the criteria areas is given one point. The next best performance receives two points, the third receives three points and so forth.
The points from each area are then totaled with the lowest total score named the winner of this prestigious award.
“In the event of a tie in total points, the tie-breaker is determined by the highest transaction volume between those tied during the evaluation period,” Phillips explained.
For 2017, the Splash Award winners and the second best overall performing agent were separated by justone point.
“Lake Homes agents are the special forces unit of real estate industry,” Phillips said. “They are the lake real estate experts and their knowledge and skills continue to be reinforced year-after-year.”
2017 Agents of the Year
“We feel extremely blessed by our past success,” they said. “We have to continue to strive to always do our best.”
During the 12-month evaluation period alone, the team sold more than $7.7 millionin lake property.
The Nortons are proven local lake real estate experts who are passionate not about selling property, rather their passion is for selling the lake experience.
Their credibility is further made evident by their relationships among both buyers and sellers. From Sept. 2016 to Aug. 2017, the Premier Agents team represented 55 total sides closed.
The Key is Happy Clients
“Our motto is ‘we work hard for our clients.’ Our clients are our success,” the couple emphasized. “There is great satisfaction in a job well done and in knowing we have provided the best service possible to our clients.”
Additionally, the Nortons’ transaction volume increased by an impressive 44.15 percent in the last year.
“Hopefully clients and potential clients who read about our awards and success will feel confidence in LHR,” they said, “and about our abilities to represent them as they list their home or purchase a new home.
Lake Homes Realty is the largest, lake-focused real estate brokerage in the nation. The company business model focuses on creating a national market reach for local properties and agents.
Phillips and his wife Doris, who serves as Lake Homes Realty’s Chief Operating Officer, shared that treating their agents with respect and confidence in their abilities is paramount to the company’s success.
“We always say we have four clients: the buyer, the seller, the agent, and our staff,” the COO explained. “Just like we want Lake Homes buyers and sellers to be happy with us, we strive to maintain positive relationships with our agents. Their happiness is what drives their success, and ultimately, the success of Lake Homes Realty.”
This mindset is proving its worth as LHR is currently licensed in 16 states, and counting, and belongs to more than 70 MLSs.
“We are so proud to be a member of the LHR team. Simply put, we could not provide the customer service we provide if we did not work for such an amazing company,” the Nortons said. “We can proudly state [Lake Homes Realty] is the leader in lake home sales. We know we work for the best.”
I’m sorry I didn’t select you to assist me with the purchase of my lake property. You see, even though I spent time researching the many lake real estate agents in your market, I never found you. It was only after I became disillusioned with my current agent that someone suggested you.
I was told of your experience and expertise. You’re well respected in your market. Unfortunately, your local brand is only local and since I’m not from your area, I had no way of knowing. If only you had better reach and web presence.
Like most, I started my search with Google. I am human and demand convenience so I selected the first few brokerages listed in the search results. You’re not with any of them. I wish you were. Please speak with your company about working harder to get to the top of that Google search.
Had you been, it may not have mattered. Depending on the site, I was presented with anywhere from 50 to 200 agents from whom to choose. I knew none of those people. It was basically a lottery. Everyone was a market expert and honest. They all went the extra mile.
It was like choosing the best ant in an ant farm. So while you’re at it, could you ask your broker to reduce the number of agents and give us more relevant information about you?
I thought the “real estate” websites like Realtor.com, Zillow, or Trulia would help. Though agents must pay to be there, many don’t. Even so, I was left with another sea of names to sift through.
Many didn’t bother to provide more than contact information. My time is worth more than that so if all I get is a cell number, I’m probably not going to call. Maybe you could choose one or two of those sites and provide a little information about yourself, your credentials, and your experience?
To my credit, I dug a little deeper than many clients do. I also searched Social Media. I can learn a lot from social media. I can see everything from activity to marketing strategies.
As a minimum, social media shows me they’re more serious than the next agent with no social media presence. I never saw you. I didn’t need to see you on every site; just one or two would have been great…hint, hint.
In conclusion, you really let me down. Thanks to your inability or unwillingness to stand out from all the others in the market, I missed out on your expertise. For me, it’s simply about conveniently finding the best REALTOR. If your broker’s site isn’t at the top of my search, it’s not convenient.
Researching and choosing from scores of agents on a brokerage site is not convenient. Anemic industry and social media site presence is not convenient. There are many clients out there. Around half, like me, aren’t from your state. Your local brand isn’t going to reach them so I respectfully ask you address these issues so they don’t miss out on your help like I did.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
The One Who Got Away
John Sims is the Director of Development at Lake Homes Realty
Being known socially does not equate to being known professionally. This is especially true for those who concentrate on lake property as a large portion of your potential clients and do not live in the community.
Personal branding and reach is key in engaging all potential clients. Investments in personal branding highlights your experience and expertise for local clients while letting all others know you are the person to contact regarding your lake.
Protect Your Personal Brand
Register your own domain and establish your on-line presence. Notice I did not say get a really nice page on your broker’s site. A brokerage incurs the time and monetary expense of developing a website to market the brokerage…not you.
Consider the odds of a client selecting you among all other agents on the brokerage site versus selecting you on your own site.
Get Active in Social Media
You don’t have to be on every social media platform. Choose those you feel best reach your potential clients. A professional Facebook page may be a great platform for engaging local clients while a fully updated and informative LinkedIn profile will provide the professional qualification of interest to others.
Link your social media to your website and stay active and updated. Nothing says quitter like an unfinished profile or page last updated in June 2013!
Industry Sites May Be Beneficial
As with social media, you don’t need to be on each and every one. Choose those that work best for you in terms of cost vs. exposure and quality leads. A portion of your marketing budget will be spent on this. Carefully plan where you want those dollars to go.
With all that said, having a great online presence will do little in terms of bringing clients, especially those who aren’t in the area, if you’re invisible on the web. If finding you isn’t convenient, you won’t be found.
One of the best ways to ensure clients do find you is working with a brokerage that invests in a real, national reach and is laser focused on your lake properties. Unfortunately, the brokerages that have the ability to do so are few and far between. When one claims to provide this, make them prove it. If they do, jump on that platform!
John Sims is the Director of Development at Lake Homes Realty
Many lakes homes are purchased as second homes or retirement homes. These homeowners may not know who the best plumber or electrician is. Who do they call for trash collection?
Your knowledge of the best businesses in your market is an extremely valuable tool that provides continual value. And, with today’s technology, makes your expertise easier to share.
Refrigerator magnets with emergency contact numbers ensure your presence in the home. An occasional e-news letter providing updated contact information for the goods and services all homeowners should have can be a great way to engage clients.
How about an app that does the same? Who leaves home without a smart phone? You may even be able to get local businesses to help pay for the associated cost given the new marketing platform you provide!
If clients recognize the never-ending value you offer, they are your clients for life. Their network becomes your network. You are afforded the opportunity to earn the business and affect the lives of many more in a positive way!
John Sims is the Director of Development at Lake Homes Realty
