CANADA 7-17-23

CANADA EDITION

5 SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES REAL ESTATE AGENTS MUST AVOID

HOW TO SPEED UP FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER TRANSACTIONS

UNTANGLING THE BIDDING WAR:

BY THE NUMBERS:

A BUYER’S & SELLER’S PERSPECTIVES

Understanding the True Value of Square Footage

FEATURED AGENT

ARLENE MARQUES

COVER STORY

CAROLYN POGUE

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SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES

Real Estate Agents Must Avoid There is perhaps no greater marketing tool for agents these days than having a large presence on social media, but there is more to social media marketing than just opening an account and gaining followers. A lot of agents forget the social part of social media. It’s all about engagement, but it needs to be the right kind of engagement. This can often be the first impression potential clients or industry peers have of you, so make it count. There is no second chance to make a first impression, and that is especially true for real estate agents. Here’s just a few things you want to avoid.

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1 Using it to Vent

Social Media is a great place to complain and commiserate about things, but save that for your personal page. A real estate transaction is already a stressful ordeal, the last thing anyone wants is someone who seems like they’ll bring a negative energy to the process. Even worse?

Bad mouthing other Realtors® or listings. You’re selling yourself and your skills, so don’t sell anything that shows you in a bad light. Much like marketing a property, everything you put out should be professional and inviting.

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Lack of Consistent Branding

Yes, social media is about social engagement, but it’s also about creating brand recognition. While you don’t want it to be purely promotional, you are running a business, so create a consistent branding across all social media platforms. If you can afford a professional graphic designer to help you out with this, that’s great. But at the very least, have the same profile pic, cover image and highly visible contact information, across the board. And don’t forget to share links to your other accounts, some people prefer different social media applications.

3Not Posting Enough

It’s good to create a schedule of how many times you’ll be posting per day and to pick times when you might have the most engagement.

Don’t over do it, but three posts a day at the right time, tends to be a good goal. There are numerous tools on Facebook, for example, that

can let you see when interactions are the highest.

Stick to your schedule and adjust accordingly.

It’s also important to not just post your listings.

Be a resource for people who follow your page.

Post community events, or other informative articles that are relevant to home ownership.

Be a page they want to follow even when they aren’t buying or selling a property. They’ll remember you when the time comes.

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Not interacting With Your Followers

It’s called social media for a reason. The more you engage with your followers, the more they see you as a real person, and not just a marketing tool. Not only do you get to know your past clients and potential clients, on Facebook, engagement actually will make your posts seen by more people. So it’s a win/win.

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Not Sharing or Linking to Others

It might not seem like a good idea to not promote the blogs, pages or listings of other people, but it’s not only an excellent way to build goodwill, it will also increase your own presence when they reciprocate. So make a point to share posts and links for local businesses and even the blogs of your peers, if it’s a post that offers valuable insight into an expertise you don’t have. That will encourage them to share your posts and even your listings, which will increase your potential buyer pool. This is another incentive to create your own blog. Unique informative content is always of value, and more likely to be shared than promotional links.

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How to Speed Up First-Time Homebuyer Transactions Working with first-time homebuyers can be among the most rewarding real estate transactions an agent can embark upon.

Not only are you helping guide newcomers into the housing market, but you’re also witness to the excitement and triumphs along the way, including handing over those keys for the first time. While 6

helping first-time homebuyers navigate the transactional process can be a reminder of real estate’s benevolent power, it can also come with its own bumps and bruises.

So, what’s the best way to streamline the homebuying process for first-timers, while maintaining the magic and keeping your sanity along the way?

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While helping first-time homebuyers navigate the transactional process can be a reminder of real estate’s benevolent power, it can also come with its own bumps and bruises.

Set expectations upfront and often.

It’s no secret that communication is a cornerstone of a successful real estate practice and client relationship. Amidst a transaction as complex as buying (or selling) a home, it’s important that no wires get crossed, no questions go unanswered, and no information gets lost in translation. To accomplish this, create communication parameters with your clients up front. Inquire about the communication medium they’re most comfortable with—a text, a call, an email, etc.

Then, tailor your outreach accordingly.

Also, consider setting a weekly time to check in, even if no official progress has been made. This helps clients and agents touch base, float questions and concerns, and get ahead of any problems or developments. Another helpful tool is to draft a transaction timeline for your client that outlines the major milestones along the way, what sort of information will need to be gathered, what steps taken, and what outcomes are possible. This might seem like exhaustive work, but in the era of digital research, clients will come to their own conclusions and biases Top Agent Magazine

whether you like it or not. To stay on the same page and timeline, be the foremost resource for your client, and don’t leave their questions up to chance.

Know your first-time homebuyer programs and perks.

There are a variety of national, state, regional, and local grants and programs that aid first-time homebuyers as they pay their down payment, shop for home or mortgage insurance, and otherwise deal with the financial implications of becoming a homeowner. Sometimes these programs are neighborhood-specific in certain cities, with incentives to buy in up and coming areas. In some cases, there are grants that support underrepresented minority communities breaking into homebuying, and these can go a long way in making the burden of a down payment and associated fees doable. In other words, do your research.

The right program or grant could make the difference in nabbing a dream starter home for your client, while setting them up for future financial success.

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Get pre-approved for a mortgage—and shop around for the best rate.

Not all mortgage rates are made equal. As an agent, you likely have good relationships with area lenders that you trust, but it’s still important to complete your due diligence when helping first-time homebuyers find the rate that suits their longterm housing goals. Also remember that first-time homebuyers are new to this process, and while real estate transactions are complex in their own right, the borrowing and lending processes can be alienating in their complexity. As an agent, it’s your job to play intermediary and teacher, ensuring your clients know their options, are prepared to make an educated decision, and

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feel confident that they’ve chosen correctly. Talk with your preferred mortgage partners to best outline options for your clients’ understanding, laying out a framework that’s informative, projected into the future, and allows them to feel empowered by knowledge.

All in all, working with first-time homebuyers can be an exciting and joyous occasion, as long as you’re adequately prepared for some hand-holding and instruction along the way. Aside from the enthusiasm of successful first-timers at the closing table, you’ll also enjoy the lasting benefit of strong referrals to their friends and family, many of whom will be shopping with you for their own first dream homes.

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CAROLYN POGUE

Top Agent Carolyn Pogue with RE/MAX All Points Realty in Coquitlam, BC, serves as Team Lead of Pogue Real Estate Group. She specializes in Coquitlam, Burke Mountain, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Ridge Meadows and Greater Vancouver.

Top rated Coquitlam, British Columbia REALTOR®, Carolyn Pogue, who is ranked among the Top 100 Canadian REALTORS® nationwide, is an award-winning real estate agent, pushing herself to new heights by providing first-class service, impressive marketing strategies and a relentless work ethic for all of her clients.

Carolyn’s real estate career began eight years ago as a solo agent, where now she serves as Team Lead of Pogue Real Estate Group and she’s loved every minute of her journey. Licensed out of RE/MAX All Points Realty in Coquitlam, BC, Carolyn and her team proudly showcase beautiful properties throughout Greater Vancouver, including Coquitlam, Burke Mountain, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Ridge Meadows and more.

At this stage of her career, the majority of Carolyn’s clients come from referrals and Copyright Top Agent Magazine

repeat business. Of course, this is of little surprise when you take a moment to review Carolyn’s glowing 100+ Five Star Reviews.

Carolyn’s full-service team, including herself and husband Brian, who is also a REALTOR® and Chartered Professional Accountant, pride themselves on providing

comprehensive support for their clients from start to finish. “We are a full-service team and no detail is ever overlooked during the real estate process,” says Carolyn. “Our clients also understand that once the transaction is complete, we are only a phone call away, and are always there for them after the sale.”

Carolyn’s full-service team, including herself and husband Brian, who is also a REALTOR® and Chartered Professional Accountant, pride themselves on providing comprehensive support for their clients from start to finish.

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Carolyn works closely with the best staging companies in the Lower Mainland and uses the best professional photographers and videographers in the industry, who provide stunning media.

To ensure her listings look their absolute best, Carolyn works closely with the best staging companies in the Lower Mainland and uses the best professional photographers and videographers in the industry, who provide stunning media, engaging 4K videography and breathtaking 4K drone footage. Carolyn also offers 3D virtual tours, professional floor plans and fully Copyright Top Agent Magazine

customized property specific brochures for all of her listings. She takes advantage of powerful social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, to further promote her client’s listings with strategic marketing and targeted ad spending.

With two young daughters and two dogs at home, Carolyn and her husband have a busy

personal life when they step away from the office. They support numerous organizations in their community and donate to the Children’s Miracle Network, BC Children’s Hospital and the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) at the local Elementary School. “Family is everything to us and we spend a lot of time together when we’re

not at work,” says Carolyn. “Being able to help out within our community and sponsor charities close to our heart is part of what motivates us to continue to work hard every day.”

Carolyn and her team are well on their way to cementing their reputation as the

“We offer a white glove concierge service that clients really appreciate,” she explains. “It’s much more personalized than your typical real estate experience, and it’s what makes us stand out within our marketplace.”

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leading real estate team in Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities. Her goal for the coming years is to empower her team so that she can focus more on high-level business objectives while still providing outstanding client experiences in each and every one of her transactions. While Carolyn and her team already represent some of the finest

properties in the Tri-Cities, she works tirelessly to expand that arm of their business as well. “We offer a white glove concierge service that clients really appreciate,” she explains. “It’s much more personalized than your typical real estate experience, and it’s what makes us stand out within our marketplace.”

To learn more about Carolyn Pogue, please email carolyn@poguerealestate.com, https://www.instagram.com/carolyn.pogue/ https://www.instagram.com/pogue.group/ visit carolynpogue.com or on Instagram @pogue.group www.

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Untangling the Bidding War: A Buyer’s & Seller’s Perspectives In a competitive marketplace, bidding wars become the norm. While this may put sellers in an excellent position to recoup on their investment, it can push buyers beyond their budgets and test their temperaments in the process. As an agent, how do you navigate both sides of the coin? After all, you want to net the best results for your client—regardless of which side of the closing table they’re on. To fortify your approach to a heated bidding war, here are a few ideas and insights to better clue you in on the perspectives of buyers and sellers alike.

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Buyer’s Perspective: Emotions Running High?

Channel it.

When the market is booming, buyers feel the pressure—especially when affordable inventory is limited. This can create stress, feelings of hopelessness, and impulsivity. As an agent, how do you channel this emotional energy into something positive? Consider asking buyers to put those anxieties and high hopes onto paper. Have buyers outline

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who they are, why they’re inspired to buy a home at this juncture in their lives, and how they see their lives unfolding once they become a homeowner (or repeat homeowner). Think of it as a letter of intent.

Buyers benefit from taking abstract fears and dreams and articulating them on paper. Likewise, this document can serve as a valuable tool during a bidding war. Letters like these can help sellers with multiple offers make a personal, emotional connection with a particular buyer.

Sellers Perspective: Manage expectations.

When multiple offers are rolling in on a property, it’s easy for sellers to get carried away. Numbers are flying, expectations are heightened, and sellers may become hypnotized by higher and higher offers and ideal outcomes. While it’s good to celebrate prime market positioning, it’s also important to maintain an even keel so that your seller’s mind is clear and they’re thinking rationally through their options.

Sometimes the highest offer isn’t necessarily the sure thing. Manage your clients’ expectations by leading by example, offering a balanced perspective, and talking them through all potential outcomes so that they don’t only hone in on the best-case scenario.

During a bidding war, tensions are running high for seller’s too, who will soon begin their next chapter in another home. Keep a cool head and remind your client to see the big picture, recognize that it’s possible for some offers to fall through, and to sit tight until the closing table has been successfully reached.

Buyer’s Perspective: How do you authentically and convincingly convey your interest?

When ten or so offers are in the mix, it can be hard to differentiate your buyer from the next. While numbers will obviously do a lot of the talking, you’d be surprised how much of a difference a 16

personal touch can make. Some popular approaches to standing out include personal letters—as mentioned above—tailored to the property. Was the property in question a family home for years? You might have clients detail their dreams of raising a family inside those walls, rather than tear the property down and rebuild something to boost the lot’s value. Including a family photo is also a good tact for personalizing letters in a bidding war. Likewise, little gifts included with your offer can speak volumes about your personality and due diligence as an agent. It may seem a little cheesy, but when sellers are looking at ten near-identical offers, those personal touches can really paint a compelling, personalized picture.

Seller’s Perspective: How powerful is cash?

Data shows that cash offers—typical of investor clientele—double the chances of having an offer accepted. This goes hand in hand with waiving a financing contingency, which also helped boost the probability of an accepted offer, according to research. Cash is king, however, since offers that aren’t completely reliant on comprehensive financing seem to minimize risk for sellers, who are already eager to see a deal go through. Cash deals also tend to go through quickly, freeing sellers up to pursue their next property and move on to new horizons. While not every buyer has the ability to operate in cash, it’s a worthwhile consideration for those in ultra-competitive markets and with liquid capital.

While the bidding process can be stressful for agents and clients alike, it’s important to remember that it’s a time of opportunity, too. If you want to make the most of it as a seller, data shows that a personal touch can endear buyers to their seller counterparts. For sellers navigating a competitive process, it’s important to keep a balanced perspective. For agents, here’s the bottom line: get creative, be resourceful, and use all the tools in your arsenal to achieve the best result for the clients you serve.

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ARLENE MARQUES Arlene Marques started with a dream to help people find homes. Back in 2011, Arlene worked in a multi-residential management company and each time she received that genuine, joyful “thank you” from a family, it drove her to want to help more and more families find their dream homes. Currently, Arlene works as a solo agent for a brokerage that serves the northwest area of Toronto, and word of her dedication to her clients’ satisfaction has spread around to keep her extremely in demand year-round.

Word of mouth from previous clients was an unexpected, but effective tool in driving Arlene’s business. Clients would refer friends and family to Arlene, building her up to a 90% repeat and referral clientele. The majority of her clients are buyers, and due to her more personal connection with these clients, she will expand her geographic area outside of Toronto if her clients are looking beyond the metropolis to find their dream spaces. “My clients trust my services,” Arlene mentions, “I serve my clients with the best intent, and even after the deal is closed, I am still available to them.”

Arlene’s Realtor philosophy is to make sure her clients’ transitions are stress-free from start to finish.

She will keep in touch with former clients using CRM and social media. Her marketing tools also include social media as a major component, as well as email blast and open houses. Arlene ensures that the home is well-prepared before it’s put on the market to sell.

Using all of these tools, Arlene is able to complete anywhere from thirty to forty deals per year, certainly enough to keep any solo agent busy! “Like I’ve said from the beginning,” Arlene comments, “every time I pick up on the happiness of someone, I want to do more and help more.”

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Arlene’s drive to help others also is reflected in her community involvement. At her former brokerage, Arlene would donate part of her commission to a charity that helped low-income families acquire homes. As a proud Filipina, she also aids a Filipino organization to help less fortunate families back home in the Philippines with donations. Outside of work, Arlene enjoys watching movies, shopping, and spending time with her family.

Arlene has plans to expand her business and to possibly create a team. She’d love to branch out both locally and internationally with her scope and connections.

Arlene is extremely proud of how far she has come in the business. The combination of her passion to help and ability to do the work has been the cornerstone of her success. She believes that anything and everything can be achieved by believing in yourself. “I came to this country as a worker [with] a big dream, and I’m working to achieve it.”

To contact Arlene, please call 416-885-6627 or email arlene.marques@exprealty.com.

To browse her listings and learn more about the market in Toronto, check out her website at arlenemarques.com www.

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Laughs!

Graham Harrop Graham Harrop Cartoons Cartoons

Putting the power of humour to work for you!

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By the Numbers:

Understanding the True Value of Square Footage Measuring the square footage of a property may seem like an objective and straightforward task, but you’d be surprised at how many agents and homebuyers misunderstand this pivotal figure.

True square footage provides homebuyers a concrete understanding of their prospective domain, but here’s the problem: the rules to determine a home’s square footage are not always uniform across the board. What’s more, much of 20

a home’s value is determined by its size, so accuracy is certainly important. While many real estate agents have their own systems for determining or confirming a home’s true square footage, it doesn’t hurt to update your practices and become an expert on the subject. After all, you may learn a few techniques that could add value to a listing, or better prepare you in guiding house-hunters on the lookout.

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1. Do your due diligence Most towns and cities have a local records department where floorplans and blueprints are kept on file. It’s worth noting that these records don’t typically include any subsequent additions or remodels on a property, but they still give archive hunters a legal baseline when outlining a property’s square footage. Oftentimes, a straightforward online search of a city or county’s records office can pull the information necessary, or else agents can poke around in person to uncover informative blueprints at the records office. Either way, access to original blueprints or floorplans is a great tool for determining livable square footage. As a bonus,

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original blueprints and floorplans—especially in historic properties—can be intriguing visual aids for prospective buyers, as well.

2. Know the rules While there aren’t universal standards when it comes to measuring square footage, there are general guidelines that can help determine square footage in an authentic way. Per the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), here are the official recommendations for measuring a home’s real square footage: n Called “below grade spaces,” basements

and sunrooms beyond a home’s typical

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living quarters do not count toward a home’s true square footage. According to ANSI, even big draws like finished basements don’t count toward a property’s Gross Living Area. Of course, even below grade spaces have their own desirable value and should be outlined as such on listings. n Did you know the space inside closets

and on stairways counts toward a home’s square footage? Even if these areas are relatively small, they still add to a property’s calculable square footage.

n When recording square footage, ANSI

actually suggests performing measurements from a property’s exterior—though this method does not account for the

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thickness of exterior walls, which could skew square footage numbers. n Just like below grade spaces, a garage, a

pool house, or even a guest house should not be included in a property’s Gross Living Area. The rationale at work here is this: if you must go outside to access additional living areas, then they are beyond the square footage scope of the primary dwelling and should not be included in a home’s Gross Living Area.

3. Double-check by doing the dirty work Buyers and sellers have or will make a sizable investment in a property, so isn’t it fair to double-check all the relevant facts and figures

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when it comes to true square footage? If you want to take on the endeavor yourself, here are a few helpful steps to take.

room. Once you’ve completed the room’s measurements, multiply the room’s length and width to determine its square footage.

n First, you’ll need a few things to get started,

n As you go measure throughout the home,

including a tape measure that can measure at least 100 ft., graph paper, and a pencil.

n Next, choose a room to start measuring

wall-by-wall. Measure Wall 1, then proceed to assign each square on the gridded paper a corresponding measurement, rounding to the nearest tenth of a foot for the sake of clarity.

n From there, draw out the wall you measured

and measure the remaining walls in the

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using your own system to scale, you will construct a failsafe floorplan.

Mastering your craft is everything, and the real estate industry is no different. Every now and again, it’s worthwhile to update your well of information, take matters into your own hands, and continue to innovate with the industry. While square footage may not seem like the juiciest starting off point for such a venture, never forget: mastery of technical knowledge is a sure sign of expertise.

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