
20 minute read
ingful client relationships.” FOOTAGE PLAYING THE REAL ESTATE
Playing the Real Estate Matchmaker –Follow These 8 Dating Rules to Ensure You Match Your Client with the Perfect Home for Them
When you think a bit more about it, the ultimate goal of a real estate agent serving a client is really to match them up with the perfect house for them, almost the way a matchmaker tries to find two people that will fit well together as a couple. When people are looking for a house, they often treat the process as a quest for “the one” house that will fulfill their dreams of living in the house of their dreams. Don’t be fooled. It is always a search for “the one”, at least when it comes to helping a couple or family find a home.
When you look at your client’s search for a home in this manner, then you might begin to notice some pretty obvious similarities
between shopping for a home today and online dating. In this day and age most people live a substantial part entire lives online. People socialize with their friends on Facebook, they meet potential friends in forums and online communities, and we now even search for our perfect mate online. Shopping for a home also happens to usually start online. When they begin this search, make no mistake; they are looking for the “one.” These people then turn to you, the REALTOR ® to play matchmaker for them. It is your job to wade through the pool of eligible homes (bachelors) and sort through all the ones that are too expensive, too nerdy, not cute enough, not smart enough, etc. until you find the “one.”
It makes sense then to consult the tried and true practices in matchmaking that help those professionals find the right people for each other, and see if any of them could also apply for matching your clients with their dream home. You’ll find that these 8 dating rules may just show you the secret to matching your clients with the perfect home. back to the store if you’re not happy with your new home. It’s best to first help your client get prequalified. This is a tangible step that shows they are ready to move on to a new home. You want to make sure they are completely over their love affair with their previous home. You can even ask them for a sign or proof that they’re ready to move on.
Who Is In and Not In Your Client’s League? Know Your Client’s Price Range: When a person is looking for a mate, it is a waste of time for them to even consider those potential mates that are clearly out of their league. These people won’t even stop to give them the time of day. In the world of real estate the idea is the same. There is no point showing your clients houses that they can’t afford and will simply lust after without having any real chance of purchasing the house. It is your job to keep your client ground in reality, and help them be realistic in terms of price when choosing their next home.
Make Sure Your Client is Ready to Move On From Their Last Dream Home You’re job is also to make sure that your client is truly ready to move on from their previous home. This is a long term commitment, and they need to be absolutely sure they actually want to buy a new house. You can’t simply take the receipt
Be Genuine, Not Superficial When trying to manage the many pitfalls of online dating, on inevitably goes on a date where the other person looks nothing like their picture online. That can be just as big of a problem when looking for a house. When clients show you a particular house they want to visit, ask them to name something about the house that they like other than the aesthetics. This way you can see if they are simply infatuated with the way the house looks in those pictures, or if there is a deeper interest in the home that could become a deeper connection between your client and the house.
Never Let Your Client’s First Impression of a Home Rule Their Decisions When your client first sees a house they have already been lusting after in their mind, they’re often so excited to finally be looking at it, especially if it does in fact look as good as it did in the pictures. Make sure to encourage them to take some time before making such a big com-
mitment, and don’t let their excitement push them into making a rash decision. It is your job to keep them grounded in reality. Push for your clients to do an inspection to make sure the house isn’t hiding any dark secrets. Sometimes the most charming facade can hide tons of slime and deadly mold.
Follow Your Heart (or Gut) People often laugh at and ridicule the idea of love at first sight, but when it comes to homes, the phenomenon can certainly happen. Your client may just find their perfect dream home at the very first place you take them. If you have a client that does insist this is the case, then you don’t want to try and rationalize with them or talk them out of their decision. You do, however, want to make sure you are watching out for their interest and make sure your clients take all the necessary precautions before they jump in headfirst.
See What Other People See in The Home – Do They See What Your Client Sees? Have you come to the conclusion that your clients are being blinded by all of the twinkling windows and crystal clear water glistening in the backyard pool, and can’t see that the house they’ve fallen in love with is really just a dirty animal (maybe a pig) dressed up in nice clothes and lipstick. Ask your client if they would be willing to look at the house again with
their close friends, family, and anyone else they trust for a second opinion there to see it with them. If the house really is a dud, they’ll be able to see past any personal bias your client might have to the truth. They will be able to help your client see through the shining facade
Celebrate the Happy Union! When a couple gets married they tend to throw a big party and celebrate their union. The same goes for the closing. Your clients have just essentially married the house of their dreams, and now it’s time to rejoice. Congratulate them on their new union. Show your support for their new homeowner status by going to their housewarming party.
Help Your Clients Maintain Their Dream Home & Ensure a Lifetime of Happiness You can’t just disappear after the transaction is finished. Become their realtor for life by showing your clients how to maintain their dream home. Act as their resource for other professionals they may need to maintain the house such as handymen, plumbers, electricians, etc. Show them how to keep up with home maintenance so they don’t ignore problems that surface and end up with a much larger issue than they started with. Help them make sure their dream home lasts so they can live happily ever after in their home for a lifetime.
Aimee Kelly

Aimee Kelly

Completing over $25 million in sales in 2019, The Aimee Kelly Crew, serves all of western Massachusetts and includes herself, her husband, and a buyers’ agent.
AimeeKelly was inspired by her husband’s work in real estate to launch her own career in the industry. He was an agent for five years while she stayed at home to raise their three children. When their kids started elementary school, Aimee became licensed. “My career took off more than I could have ever imagined” she says with a smile. At her first brokerage, she was able to double her sales from $8 million in 2017 to over $17 million in 2018. As a result, she was selected as one of only four agents across the US in her brokerage franchise to be a national panelist speaker on “next level production.” In mid-2018, she started The Aimee Kelly Crew, which serves all of western Massachusetts and includes herself, her husband, and a buyers’ agent. In 2019, Kelly completed over $18 million in transactions, and together her team completed over $25 million in sales.
Already an impressive 90% of Aimee’s business comes from repeat and referral customers. Her clients rave that Aimee provides the best possible customer service. She and her team members
are incredibly responsive and always available to talk clients through any questions they may have. They make sure each step of the transaction goes smoothly. “Whether it’s videographers, photographers, or stagers, we make sure we hire a true professional for each job so that our clients receive excellent service,” Aimee explains.


When it comes time to market listings—which is Aimee’s favorite part of the job—her creativity and understanding of today’s market really shine. First she meets with her clients to walk through the house and advise them on any minor updates and decluttering they could do to increase the sale price. She hires stagers and professional


photographers to ensure that buyers seeing the house for the first time have a great first impression. She also creates unique “lifestyle videos” to highlight and showcase each listing so that buyers can really imagine what it would be like to live in that home and neighborhood. “No two videos are alike. Some are funny, some are serious, but they are sent out to tens of thousands of people,” she says. The videos have attracted buyers from all over the US who come to tour her properties. “We’ve had full price cash offers made sight unseen,” she says. “We’ve been taking over more and more expired listings. We sell most of them at first showing for asking price, if not more.” Aimee’s marketing strategies are what enables her to sell homes when others can’t. Once all the high quality marketing materials for a listing are ready, she shares information about the property via tailored social media campaigns, Zillow, Realtor.com, and all the major real estate websites. She hosts well attended open houses and talks up the listing to other top realtors in the area. The proof of her thorough approach is in the numbers—last year she and her team closed 86 transactions with an average sale price for single family homes close to $300K. “Selling hundreds of homes translates into invaluable experience which in return lends itself to creating the most optimal and beneficial situation
for our clients to be in,” Aimee explains. Her marketing expertise has landed her on an episode of HGTV’s Hunting Vintage and a second appearance on the HGTV network House Hunters came


a year later. Aimee was also the #1 Top Producing Realtor in her Brokerage at Rovithis Realty (which is the number # 1 independent brokerage in Western Massachusetts) for both units and volume in 2019.
To give back to the community, Aimee and her team donate a portion of every sale to a nonprofit organization of the client’s choice, and they support local businesses by doing gift certificate giveaways online and at open houses. In her cherished free time, she enjoys spending

time with her husband and three children who are now in high school and college. For the future, Aimee plans to continue growing her business by slowly adding agents who are a great match for the team’s culture and dedication to customer service.
To find out more about the Aimee Kelly Crew, you can contact Aimee
by phone at 413-313-2127 or by email at RealtorAimeeKelly@gmail.com.
You can also check her out online at
www.RealtorAimee.com
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
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.
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, 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

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 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

when it comes to true square footage? If you want to take on the endeavor yourself, here are a few helpful steps to take.
n First, you’ll need a few things to get started, 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

room. Once you’ve completed the room’s measurements, multiply the room’s length and width to determine its square footage.
n As you go measure throughout the home, 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.
JOSH BRETT
Josh Brett has been in the business of making people happy since he was eight years old. Growing up on a Christmas tree farm, Josh’s first job was carrying trees to people’s cars. “Helping people with their Christmas trees, that jolly spirit, transfers to the jolly spirit of buying a home and all the excitement that goes with that,” Josh laughs.
That customer service experience when he was young planted a seed in Josh that grew into a successful real estate career. “I reverse engineered my career,” he says. “I knew I wanted to be my own boss, that I wanted to make my own schedule, but most of all I wanted meaningful client relationships.”
Josh has been in real estate 13 years now, with four years as a team leader with the Nextdoor Realty Team at Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty. He serves Greater Boston and beyond, but has specific expertise in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury. Last year Josh’s team closed 36 transactions, with prices ranging from $213,000 to a million and a half, and he boasts an exceptional referral rate. “We’re an almost 70% relationship-based business,” he says. “And I’m very proud of that.”
That rate comes from the stress-free experience Josh’s teamwork gives his clients. ”In the same way I reverse engineered my career, I try to reverse engineer my client’s goals,” he says. “I get pretty excited about finding the steps to get them where they want to be. A lot of the things we do for clients they may not even notice, but if one in ten appreciates it, it’s worth doing.”
Customer satisfaction drives Josh. “We do a lot of business, but I’m not in it for the money,” he explains. “Every decision is made in the best interests of the client, and my biggest reward is seeing our clients around the community as their lives are progressing through the powers of owning a home. Whether that be the pride of ownership and all that does for growing families or the financial benefits of putting a low down payment on a starter home, it’s exciting to see the growth of our clients. And I get to see this when I call to thank them for their referrals.”
There’s other growth Josh likes to see - that of his one year old daughter. When he’s not working with clients or giving back to the community with groups like Boston Shines, which cleans up local streets, he loves to spend time with his wife and daughter. “We’ve been taking our daughter to do the things we like, bike riding and hiking and camping,” he beams. “Just hanging out with her and taking walks with her and our dog is a joy.”
Josh wants to continue growing his team - but smartly and sustainably. “The goal is to attract the right agents for the right reasons,” he says. “That’s why I didn’t use my own name for the team name - I want my team members to have their own identities. I respect the goals of my team members, just as I respect the goals of our clients.”

To find out more about Josh Brett,
visit
www.nextdoorrealtyteam.com,
call 617.543.4185 or email him at josh.brett@unlimitedsir.com
LISA GIANNETTO SANTILLI
With a love for people and a passion for real estate, Lisa Giannetto Santilli has found her true calling as areal estate agent. She got her start when her daughter started first grade in 2001. “It was the perfect opportunity to start something new, so I got my real estate license,” she says. She hit the ground running and hasn’t looked back since. Today she works with Classified Realty Group in North Reading, Massachusetts, serving mainly Middlesex and Essex counties. By providing superior service and attention to detail, much of Lisa’s business derives from repeat clients and referrals.
“I’m very approachable and honest,” she says. “I get along well with a lot of different types of people. I also get great results.” When she works with a buyer, for instance, she talks to them in-depth about what they are looking for, and wastes no time showing them exactly what they want. “I worked with a buyer recently and showed them houses that were in the price range they wanted and checked off all their boxes. They were very happy as they had previously fired agents who didn’t listen to their needs.” Not only is Lisa an excellent listener, but she’s also a proactive problem-solver, and is always coming up with ways to ensure her sales go smoothly for her clients. She has immense pride in her work, which includes the way she markets her listings. “I do professional photography, video tours and staging for all of my listings, as well as incredible exposure on social media and top placement in on-line search engines,” she explains. It is not uncommon for buyers to come across her listings on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, and she has sold a couple of properties through her use of the platforms. family home (which we lived in for 21 years) and with the purchase of our new (empty nesters) home. She is very knowledgeable about the real estate market, responsive and cares very much for her clients. She is a true professional and her personal attention, and marketing strategies for both the sale and purchase were above and beyond. For the sale of our home, she hired a home staging consultant who provided many useful recommendations, and a professional photographer who took beautiful pictures. Our home sold within days of the open house weekend.”
When Lisa isn’t working, she’s giving back to the community. She has been a Community Representative for the Hood School Council, brings coffee and snacks to the local senior center, has served on the Historic District Commission and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. She also hosts a weekly coffee hour at a local coffee shop where people can drop in and chat about real estate. During any free time, she’s hanging out with family.
As she looks towards the future, Lisa is eager to continue growing and can’t wait to see where this path leads her. “I’ve had so much success because this is what I really enjoy doing, it doesn’t feel like work.”

After working together, Lisa’s clients love to spread the word about her work. One recently said, “We were totally impressed and would highly recommend Lisa Santilli of Classified Realty Group to anyone buying or selling a home. She helped us with the sale of our
For more about Lisa Giannetto Santilli, please call 978-660-3506 or email lisa@lisasantilli.com