We are Eric Rojas and Bob DePalma, Realtors at Prudential Rubloff Properties. Thanks for over five great years of blogging and sales!
As buyers' agents, we help our clients understand what it's like owning a condo... from A-Z. While our clients are switching on the lights and looking at the counter tops, we're thinking about the position of the unit, the layout, the condo association, the common areas, and future maintenance that will need to get done outside and in. We want to talk about the reality of owning.
We work as a team with our clients to meet their goals for their lifestyle and more importantly, their pocketbooks!
Before you choose a Chicago Realtor call and ask how we add value to your sale or purchase.
I try and ride my bike as often as possible while working. Today, I rode over to a photo shoot of a new listing and to pick up some keys. Other than horrifying the Ravenswood neighborhood with my blinding white legs, it's a great way to work, get exercise and reduce my "carbon footprint". If you're a buyer open to riding bicycles rather than driving to condo or house showings, just let me know!
I make no claims to be greener than thou and I do drive an SUV. However, riding just makes a lot of sense when showing property, doing photo shoots, running errands...all in a days work. My partner Bob walks and takes public transportation for most of our day to day activities outside of buyer property showings.
Check out this Associated Press story I'm quoted in about riding as a Realtor.
I'm amazed how many home sellers and their representatives do not provide a property floor-plan on line (including $500,000 and up properties). I think the majority of properties on the MLS do not have a floor plan to view.
Let's just say a floor plan would be helpful. No?
As part of my listing package I have a professional floor-plan measured and converted to photo file and Pdf file (unless for some specific reason). These are put on the property brochure and uploaded to the MLS.
I'm a nerd who watches the Jim Lehrer Hour, Chicago Tonight and Charlie Rose like some people watch American Idol... religiously. I'm also a nerd smart enough to set up camp blogging four years ago. Not because I was a tech nerd; I'd never blogged or wrote HTML code before. Rather, I had to get found and get an edge in a sea of Realtors.
WatchEvan Williams was on Charlie Rose last week in a terrific interview. He explains how Twitter.com users push the envelope and create new outlets for his invention. I have a Twitter account but have not "employed it" just yet. However, I've been using the same principals he talks about; communicating how people like to communicate and finding new ways to USE the mediums.
I'm far from the first, but I bet I'm an early real estate texter, emailer and certainly blogger. Why? Because clients want to text, email and read blogs.
Naturally, I'll work with someone moving to Chicago. However, for clients moving out of Chicago and for clients, friends and associates moving from entirely different locations (say California to New York), we can provide the right people in each location to help sell a current property and represent them on a new purchase. We are confident in the network of professionals, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, because agents and brokerages have to meet regular standards to work with referral clients.
If you are moving from and to almost anywhwere and need relocation advice and services, please email or call my contact information in the right-hand side bar.
It's a nice take by two Boston Realtors doing their thing... selling real estate and riding bikes. Cool.
We are a small movement.
It's late tonight, but I promise to list some of the news stories being sent to me. For now, you can search my site with the keywords Realtors on bikes for the links.
I was interviewed earlier last week by Whitney Malkin of the Associated Press concerning Realtors working on their bicycles. The story appeared in the Chicago Tribune's Chicago Homes section and MSNBC.com business section... among other publications and web sites.
Of course, the quotes are a little out of context... but the basic point for me riding my bike is it's an alternative for certain personalities. It is also a fun and efficient way to get to showing appointments. The writer missed a main reason of my quote; My clients "don't care that I ride my bike", because my marketing is very good and I do last minute showings for them when Realtors and buyers call with little notice.
They "don't care" how I do it, just as long as I sell their place!
A whole lotta blog love this week...
The Chicago Real Estate Local is #4 in search for Chicagoland Realtors! At least according to Google.
I think some of the code I had in for large photo "streams" in the blog put the alignment way out of whack... Fixed for now!! Yeaaaaa!
Back to local real estate mumbo jumbo...
