BUSINESS PROFILE
Local expertise, global reach BY BOB IRVINE
K
ate Bradley gives her RE/MAX Elite agents a lot of rope. “I don’t expect people to be here at halfpast 8 and leave at half-past 5. This is not that kind of job. Salespeople work hard and are self-motivated.” Companies do not usually become a global giant in a little over 40 years by adopting such a flexible culture, but that’s exactly what attracted Kate to pick up the Nelson franchise six years ago. RE/MAX does things differently. “Nobody babysits you – unless you want it.” Since her eight sales agents are self-employed, the result is a remarkable mix of highly personal service within the collective knowledge, marketing expertise and reach of a vast network – 100,000 agents in nearly 100 countries. Kate can sum up the culture she instils in a word: respect. “That applies to salespeople as well as our clients. 42
With vendors, you are asking people to give you their confidence for at least three months. You need to work as a team with them. The vendor needs to know what’s going to happen from day to day.” Properties are selling much faster at present, and Kate makes no secret that, like other companies, she would love to have “more listings, more agents and more rental properties – then my life would be perfect”. The Nelson RE/MAX property management division opened in Bridge St in 2014. After a big renovation and expansion of the main sales office at 7 Haven Rd, the rental division has now joined them. This provides a one-stop property shop. Rental owners can have their asset managed efficiently, and when the time comes, sold just as efficiently. Kate says having the two divisions
side by side gives a wider perspective. If a rental house sale is in the offing, the property management team can liaise with the sales team to make the transaction as smooth as possible. Real estate is a dynamic industry. When Kate signed on 24 years ago, “we were only just starting to use the fax machine! Now we receive emails from Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain, among a host of other countries. If an overseas buyer logs on to the global.remax.com website, the currency and language
“I have to tell clients everything I know about a property, by law. It’s all about disclosure. A private seller doesn’t have to tell you squat.”