BRITISH COLUMBIA 1-10-22

BRITISH COLUMBIA EDITION

6 Ways to GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU

ADDING VALUE TO LISTINGS

If it’s Good for the Soul,

IT’S GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS

Embracing Smart Homes

Does New Technology Really Increase Home Value?

FEATURED AGENT

NUVOLA CAPITANIO

COVER STORY

ANIE PHILIP

BRITISH COLUMBIA EDITION

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ANIE PHILIP ANIE PHILIP

NUVOLA CAPITANIO

CONTENTS 4) 6 WAYS TO GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU 6) EMBRACING SMART HOMES: DOES NEW TECHNOLOGY REALLY INCREASE HOME VALUE?

15) ADDING VALUE TO LISTINGS & THE ADVANTAGE OF IDENTIFYING NEIGHBORHOOD AMENITIES 18) DAILY HABITS THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR MENTAL STRENGTH 22) IF IT’S GOOD FOR THE SOUL, IT’S GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS

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6 Ways to Get Your Client to Trust You The word “REALTOR®” can leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths. Many of today’s home buyers and sellers grew up during the 2009 recession. They are wary of anything 4

or anyone who comes off as too salesy, and they want to work with individuals who they can trust.

But how do you prove to someone you’ve likely never met that you can be trusted?

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Put Testimonials or Case Studies on Your Website

When something goes wrong, own up to your mistakes. Don’t hide bad news from your clients. Be upfront and responsive.

Testimonials and case studies are social proof that you have both the experience and the skills to do the job your clients are hiring you for. People often leave testimonials when they are either incredibly disappointed or extremely happy with the service they were provided, so they’re a good indication to prospective clients of the treatment they’ll receive.

Case studies, which you can post on your blog or website, have much of the same effect, but even more than testimonials, case studies demonstrate your real estate and finance expertise because they explain how you achieved a specific set of results.

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Be Responsive and Accessible

Can your clients reach you easily? That doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7, but you should respond to your clients within a few hours of receiving their message. When agents don’t respond to their clients’ calls or emails for days on end or fail to provide them with a direct line of contact, their clients’ experience can quickly become frustrating.

Agents are busy but so are their clients. If you constantly show up late to or reschedule meetings, your clients won’t feel like their time is respected or their business is valued. Make sure you set a realistic schedule for yourself rather than spreading yourself too thin.

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Be Honest and Transparent

Sometimes you don’t have the answer to a client’s question. Be honest about your strengths, weaknesses, and the limits of your knowledge. A good response might be, “I don’t know, but I can find out.” Be transparent with your clients, and they’ll respect you for it.

You should always act in their best interest.

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Go the Extra Mile

If you do the bare minimum, that’s what your clients will remember. Their experience won’t be memorable, and they won’t gush about you in online testimonials or in real life to people they know who could use your services. It’s that simple.

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Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes

Clients understand that you need to earn money, but that doesn’t mean they want to feel like they’re just a dollar sign to you. Be empathetic to your client’s concerns, even if you’ve heard it all before. Your clients should know that you are there for them.

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Be Consistent

Being responsive, friendly, and knowledgeable shouldn’t be an act. If you “turn on” your personality for clients and then suddenly become a different person when they leave the room, it’s likely that the cracks in your mask will eventually become apparent.

But “faking it till you make it” is so common it’s become a cliché. When we are starting out, we don’t always have the systems or resources in place to create a smooth client journey, from onboarding to closing, so instead we constantly try to reinvent the wheel. Give yourself time to pause, slow down, and reevaluate your workflow. Creating systems creates

consistency, and those systems can and should be constantly updated.

Developing trust between you and your clients will take time, but doing these things can give you a running start.

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Embracing Smart Homes:

Does New Technology Really Increase Home Value?

Technology and innovation move at a lightning-fast clip, so it can be hard to keep up with all the smart-home trends sweeping the market at a given time. From smart thermostats to security systems accessed through an app on your phone—there are endless options to customize and update your home for the modern era. But which, if any, of these smart home products add 6

value to property in a significant, worthwhile capacity? Especially with new generations of the same products released in quick succession, it can be hard to determine whether it’s worth it to take the plunge. With that in mind, we’ve conducted a deep-dive into the smart home options out there that make the most sense for your bottom line and real estate investments.

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Smart home amenities range in price and return.

There are certain smart home products that won’t break the bank while still adding lovely touches and time-saving features to your space. For instance, a smart thermostat may not run more than a few hundred dollars, but it can take so much of the guesswork and analog nuisance out of programming your home’s internal environment. That said, buyers selling properties with mid-range amenities like this can’t expect a windfall in return. While smart home features can certainly lure buyers and give the sense that a home is attractively modern (and thus move-in ready), it doesn’t mean that you’ll be reaping a sizable monetary reward for your foresight. Conversely, this reality doesn’t mean those smart options

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are without value entirely; it just means that the value of smart home options may be apparent in a different capacity, like luring a particular buyer or creating a desirable, sleek image for a property headed to market.

On the other hand, larger scale smart home amenities that are being left behind for the buyer—like a smart refrigerator or wired sound throughout the property—may be able to lure particular buyers who value high-end details. While it can be difficult to state definitively the value of smart home options, the rule tends to be that the more you put in, the higher the likelihood you’ll reap the investment you sow. Focus your smart home options on home appliances first, then work your way toward security, thermostat, and entertainment options.

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Smart home amenities capture the attention of buyers

Agents must know how to pitch the value of smart home options

Even if you have mostly opted for small or mid-range smart home options, you can still benefit from their presence in a property—even if they don’t inflate your bottom line as a result. Smart home amenities have the power to focus the attention of buyers, sending a clear signal that the previous owners were tech-forward and made an effort to upgrade the property for the contemporary era. Millennial or Gen Z buyers especially value these up-to-date modifications, and the presence of these desirable gadgets can create added interest and drive up value naturally. Likewise, featuring these options in listing photography can also drive interest from younger or high-end buyers looking for move-in ready spaces.

Remember that smart home features are relatively fresh to the market. While some new construction properties are equipped with these smart amenities, just as many homes on the market don’t offer these upgrades and modern flairs. This means that many buyers, of all ages even, aren’t familiar with the benefits and perks of these options, let alone how they’re operated. Before you can derive value from a smart home or smart home features, you’ll need to understand a product’s proper usage, cost, and benefits. Do your homework regarding what smart home features can offer in terms time or cost savings, and be able to show prospective buyers how easy these objects are to use, as well. Do both, and you’ll be in proper command of what smart home features can offer buyers and pitch them accordingly.

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ANIE PHILIP

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Top Agent Anie Philip is a Personal Real Estate Corporation with SRS Hall of Fame Realty, where she assists clients throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas in BC. Top Agent Anie Philip of SRS Hall of Fame Real Estate in Vancouver, B.C, is a professional, devoted, and well-versed Realtor that continually puts her many grateful customers’ best interests first during every transaction.

She started looking for possibilities that matched her entrepreneurial energy and desire to serve people. Her husband, Reji Philip, started his own construction company, Supercity Construction Ltd., in early 2000, 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

and she was encouraged to get her real estate licence and start working as an agent. Renata, Rexata, and Roshan are the names of her three gorgeous children. She has now gone on to have an award-winning career in the region, having been recognized by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver as a member of the MLS President Club TOP 1% and Medallion Club.

She has also garnered multiple accolades from SRS Hall of Fame Realty and continues to be the firm’s top agent.

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Today, Anie is a Personal Real Estate Corporation with SRS Hall of Fame Realty, where she assists clients throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas in BC. Combining her background in construction with her penchant for client service, she has cultivated a boutique process to meet the needs of any buyer or seller.

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When listing a property, Anie equips her clients with a diversified strategy. After helping them ready their home for the market, she broadcasts it via a targeted blend of social and digital media campaigns. In the meantime, she also shares her listings to the surrounding neighbourhoods and her extensive professional 11 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Anie remains committed to the proven standards that have driven her career accomplishments. “Above all, I am here for my clients and their families whenever I am needed.” sphere—all to give her clients an added advantage in the market.

Elsewhere, Anie is just as hands-on when assisting her buyers, leveraging her years of experience and in-depth knowledge of the Vancouver region to uncover the right home for their best interests. Anie can boast that almost the entirety of her business is based upon referrals and positive word-of-mouth, a significant achievement in the highly competitive world of real estate. Each step of the way, she is there Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

for her clients, ensuring they make carefully informed decisions on their future. In fact, she stays in touch long after the closing to cultivate a lasting relationship, keep her clients apprised of the market, and provide them with ongoing support in their new homes. “This business all comes down to trust,” she says. “When I reach out to my clients, I ask them how they’re doing and maintain our friendship for years to come.”

Over the years, Anie has earned a fantastic reputation throughout Vancouver, with the vast Top Agent Magazine

majority of her volume coming from repeat clients and referrals. Now averaging more than one hundred annual sales, she remains committed to the proven standards that have driven her career accomplishments. “Above all, I am here for my clients and their families whenever I am needed.

Even if a client isn’t ready to buy right away, I Top Agent Magazine

can still help them prepare for the future. To me, these are never just business relationships.”

Outside her career, Anie is deeply committed to the burgeoning Indian community in Vancouver, lending support to various associations and causes throughout the year. When Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

she’s not with clients or giving back, she can be found writing and performing music, spending quality time with her family, or attending church.

Anie has a lot of great ideas for the future. This year, her daughter Rexata Philip began working as a Realtor at SRS Hall of Fame Realty. As her volume maintains its steady growth, she looks forward to scaling her children’s roles on her team, building a family business and legacy of service

in the community she loves. “When I started in this business, I was coming from another country without much knowledge in real estate,” she says. “But I trusted in the Lord that it would work out—and here I am. As I tell my clients, He will always guide us in the right direction.”

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” — Genesis 12:2

To learn more about Anie Philip, please email aniejegi@gmail.com, visit aniejegiphilip.com or call 604-726-7676 www.

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Adding Value to Listings & the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities Everyone knows the famous real estate phrase: location, location, location. In fact, it is hard to underestimate the pivotal role that a region can play when it comes to determining a home’s value. In today’s competitive market, the littlest things can truly add up—especially when it comes to neighborhood amenities. While most savvy agents know the figures regarding school Top Agent Magazine

district ranking and local property taxes, have you ever considered the under-the-radar amenities that drive buyers and bidding wars? To derive the highest value from a listed home, you need to paint a complete picture of the area in which you’re selling. With that guiding principle in mind, let’s consider a few modern amenities and how they add drastically to your bottom line.

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Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites.

A little can go a long way: restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment

Know thy history: creating a narrative of the neighborhood

Everyone has a favorite take-out spot, coffee shop, or neighborhood watering hole. Identifying the key players in an area—such as restaurants, nightlife, and entertainment hotspots—will create a livable picture that prospective buyers can latch onto. Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites. While a cute coffee shop down the street may seem like a bonus instead of a foundational amenity, you never know what kind of homebuyer you might net if you include the cozy characteristics that make a house a home.

As humans, we’re drawn to narratives. Sales pitches and marketing campaigns hinge on an alluring storyline. That’s why understanding a neighborhood’s history can frame and contextualize a property to great effect. After all, buyers aren’t just drawn to sturdy foundations and bedroom counts; they like to imagine their lives unfolding inside those four walls.

Get a sense of the area’s historical timeline, architectural style, noteworthy community members, and the like. Conveying this intriguing information to buyers helps them connect more personally with a property, while understanding the holistic picture of their potential new home.

From here to there: public transportation and commuter access While this rule may not apply to all properties, considering access to public transportation is a major draw for today’s buyers. Especially amidst the more eco-conscious Millennial segment eager to buy within city limits—knowing public transportation access points and schedules can add serious value to listed properties. Also, think outside the box: do nearby thoroughfares boast dedicated bike lanes? Are there plans to expand rail lines to the area in the future? Deliver a confidant picture of the area’s public transportation access and prospective buyers will trust your expertise.

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While it is always good to cover the basics of school districts and property values, it is even more useful to expand your knowledge base and bring a warm, human element to locational knowledge. Not only will you appeal to a younger demographic of homebuyers who values this strategic information, but you will also broaden your understanding of your service area at large. Think of it this way: a neighborhood is far more than a collection of homes on a block. A neighborhood is about atmosphere, access, and a sense of community. If you authentically appeal to this guiding truth, and buyers will surely rise to the occasion.

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Daily Habits That Will Increase Your Mental Strength When it comes to building physical strength, the solutions are obvious, but keeping up your mental strength isn’t as easy as going to the gym. Although physical exercise does help clear your head and relieve stress, there are other things you can do daily that will help your mind be as strong and flexible as your body after a workout. Here’s just a few things you can do to help clear your head and make you more productive.

DON’T WASTE YOUR BRAIN POWER That might seem obvious, but think about how much mental energy you might use up worrying about negativity or things you have no control over. Instead of focusing on problems, focus on solutions. This actually take a lot of effort, we’re all conditioned to let worry paralyze us sometimes.

Try and catch yourself when you’re wasting time thinking about about past mistakes or current dilemmas you don’t have the power to stop. You really only have so much mental energy, and if you have kids and an especially stressful work situation, that might be even less than normal. Start treating your brain like the precious resource it is.

You don’t want to be running on empty when it really matters.

STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE A lot of mental energy can go to dealing with anxiety. One way to deal with that is by forcing yourself to try new things and take on new challenges, that you might normally avoid because they make you feel unsure or scared. Challenge yourself daily, even with small things.

This is definitely something that becomes easier with practice. Start small, and in no time you’ll be taking on things you never thought were possible.

The simple task of trying something new every day will have you feeling energized and put you on the path to self-growth.

BE SELF-AWARE Your emotions affect everything you do, even if they’re not at the surface. Recognizing and labeling them is key. A lot of the above exercises require self-reflection. It’s okay to have the emotions you have, understanding why and where those emotions come from allows you to focus on dealing with them rather than just wallowing in them.

Being self-aware is also about self-care. Know the things that help relax and rejuvenate you. That way you can handle everyday stresses and remain calm even during the most turbulent times.

BE MORE POSITIVE

BE WILLING TO LEARN

Eliminating negative thoughts is essential to increasing your mental strength. Carrying around negativity is like swimming with all of your clothes on. You might be okay at first, but eventually you’ll feel like you can barely stay afloat. Don’t drown in negativity, use positive thoughts as a lifesaver.

This doesn’t mean you should ignore things you need to improve, just approach them with solutions rather than beating yourself up. Constant monitoring of this is important since it’s really easy to slide back into negative thinking.

A lot of people are still hung up on the idea that learning is a boring and tedious process, but you aren’t in junior high anymore. You can find something you’re actually interested in and immerse yourself in it, which engages your mind like nothing else. Whether it’s learning a new technology that will improve your business or something that will make you a more well-rounded person, the learning process keeps you engaged and open to new ideas. A curiosity about the world and new things is something that all mentally strong people have in common.

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NUVOLA CAPITANIO

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NUVOLA CAPITANIO

If you’ve been in the workforce for very long you’ve probably come around to this realization: keeping your money is just as hard or harder than earning it in the first place. That’s why so many of us grow anxious when it comes time to buy or sell a home. It isn’t our arena, and finding a person who not only cares as much as we do about our investment but also has the skill it takes to protect it can be its own challenge. If you happen to live in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley - Greater Vancouver area, however, you can rest easy.

The person you’re looking for is Nuvola Capitanio.

“I’m such a perfectionist with very high standards,” Nuvola laughs. “But that quality has helped me with my business, as well as attracting like-minded associates who also live to deliver a higher level of service to clients. I’m attentive to every detail, I’m a very strong negotiator, and I never cut corners. Relationships are built on people’s trust, and I work very hard to earn it. My business model is built on offering a boutique style approach to my unique client needs combined with a higher level of service and always being honest, even if that means telling my clients to walk away from a home if it isn’t in their best interest.”

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Nuvola brings a wealth of experience to that work.

She’s half British & half Italian and moved to Canada from London, working in the hospitality industry for a while before being introduced to the presale and new construction sector of the real estate business.

In 2013 she began working with several developers across the lower mainland who were marketing unique sites ranging from high-rise luxury condos in the city to townhomes in family-friendly residential neighborhoods in the suburbs. After helping developers sell more than 730 homes, Nuvola secured her Real Estate license so that she could help clients buy and sell their resale homes too, making the transition to becoming a full-time independent agent.

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Today Nuvola covers from Langley to Vancouver and is licensed with Royal LePage Wolstencroft, representing everyone from first-time homebuyers to downsizers while also working with a lot of investors. She is a medallion club member for the third consecutive year, ranked amongst the Top 10 agents in her office for individual sales out of over 240 Realtors and has achieved the Diamond Award for the second year in a row at RLP for being in the Top 3 percent of realtors in her marketplace.

At any given time, at least 70 percent of her business comes from repeat clients or their friends and family. Her reviews brim with praise, one delighted family writing: “In one of the hottest markets in recent history, Nuvola helped us with a sale and purchase with us winning in both transactions.

Nuvola was dedicated, responsive and very knowledgeable about the market. She came up with an aggressive marketing plan and executed with precision. We really appreciate her professionalism and work ethic. She listened and understood our needs and objectives and aligned her strategy. We plan to work with Nuvola on our future projects and highly recommend her for anyone looking to buy or sell property. If you want to win, then you need Nuvola on your team.”

Nuvola makes sure to market a $500,000 condo the same way she would a $5 million dollar home.

Everyone she hires to help prepare the listing—stagers, photographers, contractors, or inspectors—are professionals and the best in their business. She uses online ads, social media and her powerful industry connections to draw maximum attention to her sellers’ properties. All of her clients benefit from her strong negotiating skills, which allow her to get them the best value on their investment on both the purchase and their sale.

When not working, Nuvola loves traveling the world with her husband, following her dogs on adventures or catching a class at her favorite SpinCo studio.

Going forward, she continues to want to expand in her market place, selling one-of-a-kind properties for her clients. In 2022 she will be focusing on taking her brand international so that she can help her investors purchase homes in some of her favorite cities around the world.

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For more about Nuvola Capitanio, please call 604-721-5805 or email nuvola@nuvolacapitanio.com Copyright Top Agent Magazine 21

If it’s good for the soul,

IT’S GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS

Visibility, name recognition and knowing you’re supporting the community that makes your success possible are good reasons to take part in community service. But how is it that some people seem to be able to give time to charities while running their own businesses, managing their own families and households, exercising regularly, attending sporting events and concerts, eating well and sleeping seven or eight hours a night?

The truth is, not all agents are able to do everything so easily. But more important is the fact that no one needs to do everything all of the time. The trick is to make sure that, whatever you do holds meaning.

REALTORS® and mortgage professionals who seem the most gregarious in their community outreach are those whose giving seems to fill their own souls. When their 22

volunteer efforts or donations directly impact causes they or their clients care deeply about, “giving back” becomes energizing.

Jason O’Quinn of Prime Lending in Dallas Texas, for instance, says that his family’s ongoing work building homes for some of the poorest families in Honduras fills him immeasurably. “It rejuvenates me,” he says.

“There’s quite a dichotomy between the houses we build there and the houses we finance here,” he says. “It refocuses me, going from financing $1 million homes in Dallas to physically laying cinderblock for $10,000 homes in Honduras. Everything has more meaning when we sacrificially give of our time, talent and treasure.”

The longtime “big picture” for Colorado REALTOR® and property manager, Linda

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Todd, for instance, has included giving back to the community, whether serving as a lead carpenter for Habitat for Humanity, making deliveries for Meals on Wheels, or pitching in for the sake of baseball. And through her lifelong passion for baseball, she harmoniously blended her personal interests, her work and her community service. For many years, she was so involved Little League the local league named a new field after her. “I cried for 3 days after they told me that!” She and her husband also started a scholarship fund for junior college baseball players and serve as a host family for the rookie league of the Colorado Rockies, putting up newly drafted players in their home.

For Florida REALTOR® and property manager, Mario Gonzalez, neither his business nor his primary community outreach would exist without the other. A retired U.S. Navy pilot, Mario formed his brokerage, Navy to Navy Homes, when he saw a need for military personnel to find affordable homes to purchase. “We got into it to help, but that led to a full-blown real estate business.” Besides providing opportunities for investment and homeownership, the company donates 35% of every commission to Homes for Heroes, veterans’ groups, or organizations benefiting fire, police, medical organizations, churches and homeless shelters. “We’re small, but we give so much back that we were the top Homes for Heroes company in Florida and

top-five nationwide.” But he does none of this for the attention. His friends may call him the “Humble Hero of Heroes,” but helping is Mario’s passion. “To be such a small business and be the top Homes for Heroes affiliate is mind boggling!”

Like Mario, for many, the best service takes place in simple and quiet ways. Illinois REALTOR®, Susie Scheuber, for example, takes a humble approach to giving back. Although she donates a portion of every commission check to the Children’s Miracle Network, she doesn’t discuss this with clients unless they happen to ask. “I do it because I want to and because, to me, giving back is the right thing to do when you’ve been fortunate in business and life,” says Susie.

We all know how inertia works; the more energized we get by certain behaviors, the more likely we are to continue those behaviors. For some top agents, community outreach has become such a natural routine of their daily lives that they never find it burdensome. A good way to add community service into your life, therefore, is through the causes that mean the most to you. For starters, consider giving a small donation after closing to the charity of your client’s choosing. Learning the different causes that they care about just might foster a new mission for you.

If you have a unique story to share about how your community outreach has impacted your life and your business or inspired others, click here for consideration in our magazines: www.topagentmagazine.com/nominate-a-real-estate-agent-to-be-featured Top Agent Magazine

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