OHIO 2-21-22

OHIO EDITION

5 WAYS TO

TRANSFORM RENTERS INTO OWNERS FEATURED AGENT

AIMEE NEIMAN

COVER STORY

CYNDI FOSTER

By the Numbers:

Understanding the True Value of Square Footage

MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Your Calling Card

OHIO EDITION

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Like any REALTOR® Neiman wants to m sale. She is careful, th be clear with clients a benefits as well as th sides of a purchase. “Y some agents out th just want to make it advance the whole thi CYNDI FOSTER AIMEE NEIMAN ing to be easy,” Aimee says. “I tell my clients if it’s not. I give them realistic expectations.

CYNDI FOSTER very real with them and transparent with them ing to her principled approach, she avoids dua listings on owner-occupied homes or properti CONTENTS there is emotional attachment. “I refuse to do tell my sellers that too because I don’t think 4) MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA 15) That

BY THE NUMBERS: ical. earns me a lot of respect for them MARKETING YOUR CALLING UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE that I really truly am working in their best int CARD VALUE OF SQUARE FOOTAGE Practices like that make Aimee a hit with he 6) 5 WAYS TO TRANSFORM 22) TO year OVERCOME In herHOW first full as a REALTOR®, she ha RENTERS INTO OWNERS YOUR WORKPLACE up an impressive $3.4 FEARS million in sales in an Northeast Ohio where home values can fa national averages. The agent adds continuin tion in diversity and pricing strategy to advan Phone 310-734-1440 | Fax 310-734-1440 profession. Her efforts have landed her on t mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com leadership council of her brokerage. “Those No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior consent of the publisher. Top cations) definitely help with my business too Agent Magazine is published by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions are taken to ensure the accuracy will often leaveexpressed me reviews on realtor.com, a of published materials, Top Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions or facts supplied by its authors. To subscribe or change address, send inquiry to mag@topagentmagazine.com. one I’ve gotten so far has been five stars.”

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Published in the U.S.

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Aimee avoids print marketing such as postc Top Agent Magazine newspaper ads. She instead finds social med her ready access to buyers and sellers. Havi

mailto:mag@topagentmagazine.com

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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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5 Ways to Transform

Renters into Owners Perhaps the largest demographic of untapped business lies in the rental market. From major cities and suburbs to rural communities—renters across generations are opting to rent rather than own. The question is: why? For starters, many Americans are undereducated about the inventory and financing options available that might suit their budget and lifestyle. Secondly, many would-be homeowners have difficulty 6

visualizing the potential investment of purchasing property, and how homeownership can build wealth and security in the long-term.

As an agent, you’re always on the lookout for potential clientele. Now, to guide renters toward the real estate market, keep a few of these strategies in mind as you meet and greet this untapped demographic.

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Show renters that purchasing a home isn’t impossible

Possibly the biggest hurdle for renters is believing homeownership is possible. Beyond saving for a down payment and boosting credit scores, there are dozen more factors to consider: affording utilities, homeowner’s insurance, renovations, property taxes, and more. Besides that, assembling pay stubs, finding an agent, arranging house tours, negotiating a price, and timing the transition are all major considerations to surmount.

One way to combat this thinking is to make the process transparent and demystified. Find examples of past clients who made the leap successfully, or profile the average buyer in your marketplace and see how that renter compares. Provide evidence that it’s been done before and can be done again, then build a game plan from there.

into play. Consider making a checklist, or step-by-step road-map, that guides clients through the process from start to finish. This way, you’ll manage expectations and create a path to ownership that’s specific, instead of abstract. They won’t have to wonder what goes into buying a home when they can look at an interactive site or read a document and see the steps outlined before them, with you there to guide the way.

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Collaborate with mortgage professionals to find the right financing opportunities

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Help would-be homebuyers create a road-map to ownership

It’s no secret that buying a home can feel overwhelming. Compared to signing a yearlong lease on an apartment, taking on the house-hunting process is a daunting affair.

That’s where your expertise as an agent comes Top Agent Magazine

Many renters aren’t aware of the variety of mortgage financing options out there that cater to first-timers, offer low down payments, or down payment assistance. Most buyers believe that the standard 20% down is a hard and fast rule, when in reality, there’s far more flexibility out there to cater to renters where they are. There are even loan options catering to freelance workers, renovation options, and other unconventional routes to ownership.

Work with a mortgage pro and find the route that suits your renter best.

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pay monthly in a mortgage—while building a lasting asset.

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Compare and contrast rental rates with monthly mortgage payments One way to convince renters to make the shift is to demonstrate the savings potential of paying into a monthly mortgage, rather than throwing away rent on a property they don’t own. To do this, draw up the average rental rates in your area, then find some potential listings that would demand a similar amount in monthly mortgage payments. Sometimes placing these numbers and images sideby-side can prove to renters that what they manage to pay monthly in rent, they can

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Paint the big picture

For most, renting isn’t the most sustainable financial option when it comes to housing.

Rents rise, families grow, and retirement looms.

Building a financial future and homeownership go hand-in-hand. When planned appropriately, buying a home can create a path toward retirement and position homeowners in a better place for further investment in the future. A rental has little security or investment returns to offer, while owning a home makes a renter king or queen of the castle.

Prospecting renters as potential homebuyers may seem like a time-intensive way to cultivate new clients, but logic is on your side.

Keep these tips in mind as you broach the conversation with renters in your hometown.

All it takes is clear-cut value proposition and a listening ear.

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CYNDI FOSTER

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CYNDI FOSTER “I love getting to meet new families and the opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives. And it’s never boring – every day brings something different.”

Cyndi Foster has always been a sales person at heart. “I was that kid with a lemonade stand on the street corner,” she laughs. That passion led her to earn a double major in marketing and organizational management 10

from Malone University, which she applied in the corporate world for 12 years. Once her children reached a certain age, however, she realized she needed to find work that would give her more flexibility.

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“Real estate was perfect in many ways,” Cyndi explains. “It allowed me to be there for my children while also offering a service that is so valuable to people. I love getting to meet new families and the opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives. And it’s never boring—every day brings something different.”

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Cyndi got her license in 2018 and today serves clients in the Canton-Akron area of Northern Ohio with Schmidt Realty at Coldwell Banker. She’s already built a thriving business. Last year she closed 38 transactions for a sales volume of almost $9 million, with around 75 percent coming from either repeat clients or referrals. Her 11

reviews are filled with well-earned praise, with one couple writing: “She took an actual interest in getting to know us personally so that she would be able to find the perfect new home for our family. Cyndi was always available to show us anything we wanted to see and was wonderful at providing us with options that she knew would fit our needs. Overall she made what should have been a very stressful time in our lives

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one that we can look back on with nothing but happiness.”

Her sellers are in good hands too.

While she does most of her business in Summit and Stark counties, Cyndi will drive up to an hour away to list a home for a client. She utilizes a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes both digital and print ads, leveraging social media and glossy ads in local publications to attract

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“I pride myself on exceeding clients’ expectations while making the process fun,” says Cyndi. “People are in the middle of making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, so I put all of my focus into making sure they are happy with both the experience and the result.”

the maximum number of buyers to each listing. Whether she’s working with buyers or sellers, Cyndi makes their experience stress-free with an approach that is both professional and personable. “I pride myself on exceeding clients’ expectations while making the process fun,” says Cyndi. “People are in the middle of making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, so I put all of my focus into making sure they are happy with both the experience and the result.”

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Cyndi does a lot of work in her community too. When her youngest son required surgery to correct a congenital heart defect, she and her family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for two weeks.

Every year Cyndi and her family host a fundraiser for the charity, raising $11,000 in 2021 alone. She also donates time and money to her children’s sports teams, and reaches out to people in the community wherever she sees a need.

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Going forward, Cyndi plans to keep developed with clients, making sure growing her business and find ways they know that she will always be to improve on the already excep- there for whatever they need. tional service for which she’s built a reputation. Moreover, she wants to maintain the relationships she’s For more information about Cyndi Foster, please call 330-936-7533 or email cyndi.foster@cbschmidtohio.com.

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Top Agent Magazine

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 Top Agent Magazine

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

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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.

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. 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.

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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.

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From there, draw out the wall you measured and measure the remaining walls in the

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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.

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AIMEE NEIMAN Like any REALTOR®, Aimee Neiman wants to make the sale. She is careful, though, to be clear with clients about the benefits as well as the downsides of a purchase. “You have some agents out there who just want to make it sound in advance the whole thing is going to be easy,” Aimee says. “I tell my clients up front if it’s not. I give them realistic expectations. I’m just very real with them and transparent with them.” Adding to her principled approach, she avoids dual agency listings on owner-occupied homes or properties where there is emotional attachment. “I refuse to do it, and I tell my sellers that too because I don’t think it’s ethical. That earns me a lot of respect for them to know that I really truly am working in their best interests.”

Practices like that make Aimee a hit with her clients.

In her first full year as a REALTOR®, she has racked up an impressive $3.4 million in sales in an area of Northeast Ohio where home values can fall below national averages. The agent adds continuing education in diversity and pricing strategy to advance in the profession. Her efforts have landed her on the agent leadership council of her brokerage. “Those (certifications) definitely help with my business too. Clients will often leave me reviews on realtor.com, and every one I’ve gotten so far has been five stars.”

Aimee avoids print marketing such as postcards and newspaper ads. She instead finds social media offers her ready access to buyers and sellers. Having experience with paid ads and Facebook boosted posts, she gets more traction with the platform’s buy/sell/trade groups. In those groups, she says, she gets the most post engagement. Aimee also meets prospects while advertising free home valuations and marketing material at local businesses.

Real estate allows Aimee to continue a record of customer care earned in a previous career in retail Top Agent Magazine

management. She left that field on a doctor’s advice and found a natural fit in real estate. Hailing from a family of real estate attorneys, “it just fell into place,” she says. “I like sales. I’m used to that, but this is so much more. I’m just really passionate about my job. I like architecture so I always love actually seeing the houses themselves.” The career switch affords Aimee more opportunities to manage client relationships, which she maintains through check-in calls and texts every three or four months.

With her agency in its infancy, Aimee already has begun serving her community in a way she wants to make an annual tradition. During what she calls “The Summer of Giving Back,” she donates a portion of the proceeds from her listings to six different charities. She lets her sellers in each case decide where the money goes and makes the gift in their name. As her business grows, Aimee plans to expand that altruism, as well as efforts to improve governance in the profession after ascending into a leadership role with industry networks.

To learn more about Aimee Neiman, please call 330-620-1123, email AimeeNeiman@kw.com or visit aimeeneiman.kw.com www.

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Laughs!

Graham Harrop Graham Harrop Cartoons Cartoons

Putting the power of humour to work for you!

Putting the power of humour to work for you! grahamharrop.com

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How To Overcome Your Workplace Fears Fear is something that can help protect us from danger, but it is also something that can be a hindrance to us in our lives, especially when it keeps us from potentially thriving and growing as a person. This is especially true in the workplace. Here’ a look at some proven ways to overcome common workplace fears.

your head, what exactly you’re feeling and why, it can help deflate the fear. Think of it as releasing some of the fear into the ether.

Yes, you’ll still be nervous about your presentation, but a lot of what was holding you back is gone. You’ll feel lighter, and hopefully have just enough butterflies to make your soar.

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Really owning the emotions that are putting you in a place of fear, is the first step.

By just naming it and then talking it out in

Nothing can make you feel more isolated than going down the path of “This is something that only happens to me.” Trust me,

ASSESS THE FEELINGS BEHIND THE FEAR

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TALK ABOUT YOUR FEARS WITH A TRUSTED CO-WORKER

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it doesn’t, and you might be surprised to find out that some people have had it even worse. Talking to someone you trust and admire, hearing their own fear horror stories and how they overcame them, will help normalize what you’re feeling. Releasing yourself from the idea that it’s something about you, will be an enormous relief.

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THINK OF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

Although it might seem counter-productive, truly assessing what the worse outcome of the situation you’re afraid of serves two purposes. It might lead you to realize the worst case scenario isn’t that bad after all.

Of course it could also lead you to a really uncomfortable thought, you could lose your job. As bad as that is, it also gives you an opportunity to start focusing on what really matters, and how you might grow from the experience and possibly end up better off.

Countless people in their dream jobs now, were once fired and thought it was the end of the world. Hopefully, that won’t happen to you, but learning to have confidence in your abilities to always find a way, will be a great tool in overcoming fears.

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COMPARTMENTALIZE

If you’re a super-organized type, you might try actually setting aside time in your day to focus on your fears. It might seem odd, but it will let you NOT focus on your fears during the other hours of your day. Think of it as a task, you aren’t just sitting there worrying, Top Agent Magazine

Start thinking of fears as challenges.

As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed.

you’re taking in your fears and figuring out ways to overcome them.

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START THINKING OF YOUR FEARS AS OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

Start thinking of fears as challenges. As scary as it might seem to face them, for the most part they are things that can be fixed.

A lot of fear is based on inexperience which leads to a lack of confidence. A common fear is workplace evaluations. Instead of looking at it as hearing everything that is wrong about you, think of it as an opportunity to see where you can improve. Going into it with a positive attitude rather than a defensive posture, will make the whole thing better for both parties.

Overcoming fears is oftentimes about a simple attitude adjustment. Like anything it takes practice, but the results of that practice will lead to a life that you’re able to thrive in both personally and professionally.

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