MINNESOTA 12-21-20

MINNESOTA EDITION

Welcome Home: WORKING WITH RELOCATORS IN TRANSITION

Top Agent Tips and Questions for

CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT

Why Millennials Are Now

The Hottest Segment of the Buyers Market FEATURED AGENT

DARCIE NOVAK BIG LIFE TEAM COVER STORY

HANNAH SCHWEICH HANSON

MINNESOTA EDITION

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18 HANNAH SCHWEICH HANSON

DARCIE NOVAK BIG LIFE TEAM

CONTENTS 4) MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING YOUR CALLING CARD

15) WELCOME HOME: WORKING WITH RELOCATORS IN TRANSITION

6) TOP AGENT TIPS AND QUESTIONS FOR CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT

20) WHY MILLENNIALS ARE NOW THE HOTTEST SEGMENT OF THE BUYERS MARKET

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Make Social Media Marketing Your Calling Card These days, it’s no secret that buyers begin their home search online. As the industry continues to take a digital turn, Realtors in the know must learn to utilize a whole new range of tools available to them—and for good reason. Social media is a dynamic hybrid of personal contact and targeted marketing. To make the most of this new medium, agents can’t settle for the occasional post and expect results.

Instead, let’s consider a few techniques that will make your social media presence 4

interactive, unmissable, and effective in generating business.

Your Profile is a Portal Ideally, you’ll have profiles across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and otherwise—but no matter what portal you’re utilizing, make sure your profile page is up-todate, well-curated, and easily navigated.

Consider your profile a landing page.

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Your photo, location, contact information, homepage, and a brief bio should all be readily visible so that potential clients can get an immediate sense for who you are and what your voice is. If a client wants to connect with you, it should be obvious how to do so. You might also incorporate a few savvier tools that make your profile more engaging—like hashtags. These searchable tags can help you lure potential clientele and give your audience a chance to explore deeper. #DreamHome #JustListed and #HomeInspiration are popular, existing tags to choose from, but you can cultivate your own hashtag by consistently tagging posts, which gives clients an extensive thread to comb through.

Interacting with Your Audience Posting regularly is great way to appear in feeds, but engaging with your audience is just as important—and it helps you reach a new audience in the process. It’s a positive start to like your audience’s posts, pictures, and statuses, but commenting takes your engagement a step further and separates you from typical respondents. It’s also important that you diversify your engagements. In other words, don’t center every communication around your business, propositioning your services, or trying to sell. If applicable, present your value-add, but otherwise steer your engagement towards the personal. Let your clients know that you’re there, you’re human, and Top Agent Magazine

ready to work at their pace. Which leads us to our next point...

Blending the Professional with the Personal Engaging with your audience is one thing, but what about generating original content?

How do you strike the right balance between a Call to Action, industry updates, and a personal touch? Think of it this way: any post you create should provide a point of connection for your audience.

Sometimes, you might be sharing a family photo, or commenting on some unifying current event—like the Super Bowl! Other times, you may be sharing a Coming Soon listing, or providing tips to spruce up a home for spring. Regardless, you should focus on quality. Is your copywriting engaging? Does it express your unique voice and personality, while maintaining clarity? Are you giving your audience something to connect with, even if you are sharing property photos or advertising an open house? Instill some fun and some personalization to every piece of content you make, so that clients can picture the voice and person behind the post.

Things are always changing on the social media frontier, but some rules never shift.

Adding clarity, consistency, and personality to your online presence are three surefire ways to grow your business and make social media second nature.

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Top Agent Tips and Questions for Choosing Your Listing Agent Now that you’ve decided to sell, it’s time to select the professional to help you market your property. Before meeting with agents, however, consider Top Agent Magazine’s tips for preparing yourself. Frist, ask yourself what kind of relationship you’d like to have with your listing agent. Are you seeking a casual, personable relationship and the latest marketing tools or are you interested in a more formal, traditional relationship and approach to marketing techniques? Next, populate your list of agents by attending open houses and asking for recommendations from recent buyers and sellers.

Finally, schedule your meetings at your home, where you’ll be able to gauge the chemistry between you and each agent.

During your meetings, expect any Top Agent to ask you several questions, but also consider discussing the following: 6

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Will you please describe your sales experience and local network?

Ask your Top Agent to describe recent listings and sales of homes comparable to your own. Ask about the sellers’ priorities, the original list price, market time and number of offers. Top Agents will also describe how well they are connected with other REALTORS® in the region as well as their contacts with relocation companies, local corporations and chambers of commerce.

Be sure to ask about each agent’s knowledge of how your market has changed over time and what has influenced change.

You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’ opinions.

How will you market the property? Each

Top Agent has a unique set of online or local marketing tools at his or her disposal. Some use lead-generation applications and nearly ever luxury agent take advantage of video. Even video marketing tools vary from agent-to-agent, however.

You’ll get to decide if you prefer an agent with higher-end video production and 3D Matterport tours or an agent with more intimate techniques featuring walk-and-talk style video tours.

What factors influence your list-price recommendation? Before an-

swering this question, most Top Agents will have several questions for you, including whether you’re more focused on a faster sale or a higher list price.

They’ll also educate you on how best to balance both market time and list price relative to sales histories your area.

Now that you’ve seen the home, what repairs or improvements do you recommend before listing? You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’

opinions on your home’s sale potential with or without some improvements.

Most Top Agents will also recommend a full professional inspection prior to listing to avoid surprises during buyer inspection.

How will you help with staging? Some Top Agents will pay for part or

all of the staging costs. At a minimum, however, a Top Agent will have a staging professional or two in their partner network. While they’re at it, they may provide referrals for carpet cleaning, painting, gardening and other minor finishing touches.

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What attributes of the property will you want to highlight? Each Top

Agent will have a somewhat different answer to this question, but that’s a good thing! Even if you have your own ideas about your home’s greatest attributes, you’ll glean insight into the current market by considering different agents’ opinions. In learning their views, you may even change your mind about your home’s most marketable features!

What is your approach to Open Houses? How many agent-only Open

Houses will your Top Agent want to host? How many truly Open Houses?

Some Top Agents may even reveal a “swankier” approach to the Open House – such as an evening cocktail party or by-invitation “open” hours to which buyers visit along with the agent representing them.

Who will be our primary point(s) of contact from your office? This

important question will help you understand the scope of your agent’s practice. You’ll get to see if your agent runs a robust team with many hands on deck or if he or she works by close, one-on-one contact with each client.

Either approach is wonderful; you get to decide what suits you.

Now, let’s list!

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HANNAH SCHWEICH HANSON Top Agent Magazine

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Top Agent Hannah Hanson has seen a staggering amount of success in her first year, closing $14 million in volume over the year on homes both on the Shores of Prior Lake and throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

her first year, closing $17 million in volume over the year on homes both on the Shores of Prior Lake and throughout the Twin Cities metro area. Hannah’s roots in the field play some part in that success, but so do her innate set of skills that allow her to excel as a real estate agent in Minnesota.

Hannah Schweich Hanson was made to be a Realtor; it’s in her blood. Both of her parents have been in real estate for decades, and Hannah has worked closely with her father, a builder, to kickstart her career as an agent in the Twin Cities area. Hannah has seen a staggering amount of success in 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

One of the biggest factors to Hannah’s success is her strong background in the housing market, including her understanding of constructing homes and the cost of homebuilding. She’s been watching her parents do this for years, and the process of real estate transactions is second nature to her. She skips through the minutiae and works hard to make sure she’s getting through as many tasks as she can each day.

“I’m a strong executor by nature. I love to check things off my to-do list and keep moving forward,” Hannah said. “It’s fun Top Agent Magazine

to embrace each transaction, get to know clients, and understand what their needs are for the transaction. I’m diving in and walking through that experience with them from start to finish.”

Hannah’s attitude towards her job, coupled with her depth of experience with the subject matter, enables her to work Top Agent Magazine

efficiently to meet her clients’ needs.

Hannah’s customer service doesn’t suffer in the process. She prides herself on being approachable and a strong advocate for her clients. “I understand the way people work. I know how to pivot my style based on what my clients’ needs are,” Hannah said. “I’m willing to go the extra mile for clients – there’s no set list of what 11 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

my services truly entail.” This adaptability and willingness to serve that Hannah exhibits has gained her a lot of followers over her first year in real estate. Hannah is a hard worker, but she’s also a people person, and she loves the act of helping Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

her clients get through their trials and tribulations, no matter what it takes.

Hannah’s number one inspiration for starting her career was her mother. “My reason for getting into real estate was my Top Agent Magazine

Hannah is an inspired and engaged agent who genuinely wants to serve her community and produce results to the best of her ability. mom. Her name was Mary Schweich. She was a top agent for many years, involved in the community and a strong force in the local real estate market,” Hannah said. “She passed away last year, which really pushed me to take the leap of leaving my corporate Top Agent Magazine

HR career to get into the family business and become a Realtor. I’ve had very big shoes to fill, and I want to carry on that legacy and continue to drive the business she built and foster strong relationships in the community.”

Hannah is an inspired and engaged agent who genuinely wants to serve her Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

community and produce results to the best of her ability. When she isn’t working, Hannah enjoys spending time with her husband and 18-month-old daughter.

She plans to continue growing the family building business and making waves

in the lakeshore business, while working towards building a referral network as well. Hannah loves real estate, and she plans on bringing great service and expertise to the Twin Cities area for as long as she can.

You can contact Hannah Hanson by phone at 612-414-2466 or by email at hannahhanson@edinarealty.com.

You can also check out her website at edinarealty.com/hannah-hanson-realtor#%2F www.

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Welcome Home:

Working with Relocators in Transition People stage moves for all sorts of reasons.

From the joyous and pre-planned, to the unfortunate and unexpected, new chapters begin with the help of an agent. When you’re working with buyers from a different region, state, or country, the typical complications of a transaction can be compounded. So, what’s a savvy agent to do?

For starters, envision the big picture. Relocators have extra obstacles between them and Top Agent Magazine

their dream home. They don’t necessarily know which neighborhoods are ideal for their lifestyle, what they should budget for utilities, what type of homeowner’s insurance is ideal, or how they can tour, let alone close, on a house from afar. All in all, it’s a tall order, but if you can manage a relocation transaction successfully, you could tap into a sizable pool of clientele. Think of it this way: if you’re the shining star of a relocator’s moving process, their word-of-mouth praise could be

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exponential. Likewise, a winning reputation within that client’s corporate sphere could lead to lucrative, stable referrals and partnerships for years to come. Here are a few key ways to help clients navigate the relocation process with minimal stress and maximum results.

Create a full-scale timeline for you and your client that makes expectations clear.

Moving is already one of life’s biggest stressors, but relocations have a dozen more moving parts that your average deal. Consider creating a master-plan of sorts to help you and your client visualize the steps required to achieve success in the midst of a relocation.

Even from afar, your client will be able to refer to the roadmap you’ve set. Likewise, this makes sure you and your client are on the same page regarding expectations, timelines, and checklists. Assemble an articulated, overarching gameplan also helps demystify the process and lower stress. Instead of clients wondering what’s next, what’s needed, who to call, and when to be ready—handy guidelines of your own devising will be at their fingertips.

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Attune your communication style so that nothing goes overlooked or miscommunicated.

Establish early on how your client prefers to communicate and which methods should be excluded. Also, make sure to outline what timeframes are ideal to communicate in, and how often they expect to hear from you with status updates or follow-ups. Some clients might prefer a more hands-off approach that lets you manage most details behind the scenes with updates only when progress is made. Most clients in the midst of a serious relocation, however, will prefer to be in touch more frequently. Customizing is key. If they prefer text messages and emails over calls, that’s a helpful detail to know from the outset. If they prefer face-to-face video chats or can only speak after business hours—those are also key parameters to work within. The less mystery and hassle, the better.

Be a local resource with vetted recommendations and vendors on-hand.

Relocating homeowners may not know the best neighborhoods and their amenities, or where the best school districts are, which areas are high-traffic, or where their dollar might stretch a little further. Identifying your clients’ goals can help narrow this field, but you’ll also want to be careful not to overwhelm them with information. After all, they’re taking on a huge life transition and making a move as an outsider. You’ll want to serve as a onestop-shop who can remove some steps and stress from their organizational obligations.

Have a contractor who can get a head-start on home projects while clients make the move?

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Excellent. Or, perhaps you can provide an out-of-state agent referral so that clients can sell their existing property in a timeline that works in conjunction with their new purchase. Make yourself a community expert and a connector, and you’ve won a client— and their referrals—for much longer than a single transaction.

Think outside the box when weighing variables.

Relocations aren’t your typical transaction.

You’ll need to do a bit more planning to avoid pitfalls along the way. For instance, have you considered how you’ll tour homes with clients if they live hundreds of miles away?

Are there time zone differences to factor in?

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If clients are relocating from another country, are there any special visa or naturalization considerations? How will their belongings travel? Are there pets to relocate? There are plenty of questions to ask and plan for, but the key is to be communicative and thorough up front. The more information and planning time you have, the smoother the transition will go.

There are certified real estate agent designations you can pursue that set you apart for your experience when it comes to relocations, but in lieu of those—arm yourself with the planning details and methods that will make your client a raving fan. In the process, you’ll up your game, create a happy client, and hopefully field similar business for years to come.

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DARCIE NOVAK | BIG LIFE TEAM Darcie Novak began her real estate career while working on a development project years ago. “One of my mentors encouraged me to get my real estate license as part of the project, and I started selling houses on the side,” Darcie recalls. “I found that I was good at it, so I decided to give it a try full-time.” That was about 15 years ago, today she leads the Big Life Team and clients value the hard work, honesty, personalized service and streamlined systems that Big Life Team provides to help them achieve their real estate goals.

Darcie and the Big Life Team at Keller Williams serve northeastern Minnesota, with a focus on the Duluth and Iron Range regions. About 70% of the team’s business comes from sphere, repeat and referral clients, an impressive feat that speaks to the trust and confidence they inspire. “We’re passionate about helping people make really good, educated decisions,” Darcie explains. “We sometimes talk people out of more houses than we talk them into, because we do care that they’re making educated decisions that they won’t regret and will help them build long term equity and wealth.”

The members of Big Life Team are “always upping our customer service,” she says, “and making sure they don’t forget about what we do. In real estate, people don’t need you until they need you. So at times of the year when most people are slowing down, we ramp up to make sure we stay consistently busy and connected with people.” They hold events like the upcoming ‘Drive By For Pie’ to show appreciation to their clients.

A focus on systems guides the Big Life Team’s approach.

“We always tell people when they join our team that we are looking for future business partners. We want big thinkers, and everybody’s one job when they come into work every

day should be to try to make the systems and processes better.” This is thinking that has trickled down from Darcie’s mentor Ben Kinney who has been instrumental in the growth of the Big Life Team.

When it comes to marketing listings, Darcie and her team have at their disposal Keller Williams’s excellent system, called KWLS. It syndicates listings to numerous different websites, and in addition to this the team boost their listings on social media. They also have a comprehensive mailing list that is always expanding. The results speak for themselves: the team usually does around 105-120 sales annually, and this year they are on track to do about 175.

Community involvement is a huge part of the Big Life Team’s mission. She and her team engage in a great deal of public education, and are heavily involved with the Boys and Girls Club, donating a portion from every transaction to that organization. They also use their annual client appreciation event as a fundraiser to donate hats and mittens for kids in need. A qualification for being on this team has to be a big heart and a huge sense of community. Other qualifications are honesty, big thinking, problem solvers, tenacity and simply being kind and respectful in all situations. They have an extensive hiring process to make sure they are bringing forward team mates who embody their values.

In the future, Darcie and her team plan to keep studying market trends and “pivoting our business to serve our people. We know people are always going to be buying and selling, but the way they do so is going to change. We are looking to adapt with them. It’s every real estate agent’s fiduciary duty to truly be an asset to the people they serve, and we owe it to our clients to help them make good decisions and get educated.”

For more about Darcie Novak, or Big Life Team, call 218-780-7036 or email darcie@biglifeteam.com.

You can also find more information on her and all of the members of Big Life Team including Jody Bauman, Delaney Maki, Kayla Vang, Amanda Thomas, Desi Kuhl, Liana Hwy, Brittany Bakken, Tyler Dimler,and Jay Robeck online at biglifeteam.kw.com https://

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Julie & Roger Rigstad are proud to congratulate

BIG LIFE TEAM/ DARCIE NOVAK

on being featured for the State of Minnesota in Top Agent Magazine!

Julie & Roger Rigstad MB-0906658, NMLS 173541, NMLS 210960

julie@teamrigstad.com, roger@teamrigstad.com 318 N. Broadway Avenue, Gilbert, MN 55741 | NMLS 1030961

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Why Millennials Are Now the Hottest Segment of the Buyers Market

and How You Can Attract Them to Your Home There are many factors when it comes to knowing how to sell your home to the Millennial generation. Millennials are becoming an important part of the buyer market, and to fail to cater to their needs will cut you off from a large and important segment. But, why have Millennials all of a sudden become interested in buying houses when they were perfectly content to rent for the rest of their lives?

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A number of factors contribute to what has recently made Millennials the hottest segment of the Buyers market. One factor is the improved job outlook for Millennials. Millennials took a serious blow during the recession.

Unemployment in this group soared to 14 percent, compared to the 9.6 percent for the population as a whole. But, in recent years that number has been decreasing, with unemployment for Millennials being 9.3 percent this past year.

Rising rents are also contributing to making Millennials more interested in purchasing homes now. Rents have risen so much that buying a home now just makes more sense. Half of all renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Millennials are becoming increasingly stressed over the constantly increasing financial obligation to something that isn’t even theirs to own.

The near-historic low mortgage rates are luring Millennials towards purchasing a home with their promise of affordability. When compared with the skyrocketing rental rates, buying a house looks even more enticing.

Another factor helping Millennials get over the hump of purchasing a house is the lower down payment requirements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now offering new loan programs that require as little as a 3 percent down payment. This may just be the last push the Millennials needed to turn toward buying a home rather than rent.

So, now that we’ve established that Millennials are finally joining the Buyers market, the next thing that it is important to understand is what exactly Millennials are looking for in a home. What kind of floorplans do they prefer? What locations are they interested in? Here are some of the essentials that Millennials are looking for in a home: • Updated Kitchens and Baths: Almost everyone wants to buy a

home with new kitchen and bath fixtures, but this is especially true for Millennials Buyers. Millennials are going to spend most of their savings on the down payment and furnishings, leaving little room to update the Kitchen and Bath, which are also the most expensive parts of a home to

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update. Millennials who are on a budget simply won’t have the money to sink into those areas. An updated Kitchen and Bath is sure to bring in a younger crowd.

• Big Kitchen with Open Floor Plan: For Millennials, the kitchen has

become the room where they hangout in addition to the family room. This is why having an open space that can transition easily from the kitchen to the TV room is high on the list of things Millennials are looking for in a home. Along a similar vein, Millennials are attracted to an open floor plan rather than one that compartmentalizes the home. This has to do with how Millennials entertain. Millennials want their guests to flow through the rooms and mingle together, rather than be sectioned off in different rooms.

• Home Office: More than 13 million Americans now work from home,

and if you look at the trend, that number is only going to increase as the time goes on. With technology steadily increasing, more Millennials than ever have the flexibility to work from home. But, the home office isn’t just for someone working from home full time. Having a separate space dedicated to work helps people concentrate and focus on work while they are at home. They can separate themselves from the activities going on around the house and have a quiet space where they can set up their workday, plan a presentation, hold a meeting on Skype, or even pay bills.

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• Less Maintenance: Many Millennials work different schedules that

don’t conform to the 9 to 5 workday, as well as full social calendars. This doesn’t leave them much time to clean a big house. Lawn services and low-maintenance front yards are particularly appealing, as they take less responsibility to still keep the curb appeal high.

• Energy-Efficient Appliances: Millennials have been educated on

keeping the Earth clean from the time they were born. They want to do their part to help the environment and appreciate the long-term cost savings that come with it. Energy-efficient appliances and greener ways to heat and cool the home might end up being the tipping point that makes them choose one house over another.

• Hardwood Floors: Millennials don’t have the time or patience to clean

dirty carpets, especially those that own pets. Hardwood and laminate flooring is easy to mop up if there’s been a mess. The more time they can conserve, the better.

• Good Location: Millennial buyers are looking for homes that are in

proximity to public transportation and have a good walking score. Young Millennial buyers without children are more likely to want a location closer to the action of the city, while Millennials with children would prefer more residential areas.

• Technology: Technology rules the Millennial’s life. They do work on

their computers through an Internet connection and solely use cellphones for communication. They are going to ask about how strong the cell service is and about the Internet service provider. While these amenities are out of the seller’s hands, Millennials are still going to ask these questions, and you will need to know how to answer them.

Knowing what Millennials are looking for in a home will ultimately help you make the necessary changes that will attract these buyers to your home.

Since they are the a serious segment of the market now, updating your home to fit their needs will lead to more buyers and better offers. So, get with the times and embrace the Millennial buyer.

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