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Real Estate Agent |
RAINER 23,308 |
| Terry Hunter | ||
| MS Economics | ||
| location_on Newport Coast, CA — Hunter-Broker | ||
| insert_link http://www.Hunter-Broker.com | ||
| web Terry Hunter's Blog | ||
My clients benefit from working with me in several ways.
Their primary benefit is that I am "old-school" in my handling of my fiduciary (trust) relationships with them. My clients are CLIENTS, and not mere customers. As such, they are entitled to the benefit of everything I know, and everything I should know, and NOT just the things that happen to be convenient or profitable for me. At first, buyer clients are surprised when I suggest we "keep looking" rather than make an offer on a property, because they expect to be "sold" something, whether it's good for them, or not. Likewise for sellers when I tell them "...we can do better".
A couple of examples should make this clear. In one case I made a seller $100,000 in 45 minutes by renegotiating a full-price, 20% down offer up by $100,000 when it became clear to me that the buyer was not going to let the property escape her. In another case, I negotiated a price $149,000 less than going market for a buyer by adroit negotiations. This negotiation, in which I used a number of advanced negotiation techniques with the seller's agent, also included convincing the buyer to offer a firm RIGHT price, rather than a lower "starting" price, one that would have started a back and forth negotiation culminating in a higher ending price ... worse for her.
In both examples ( and many others), it is possible that my own interests would have been better served by taking a more pedestrian approach. And, of course, I briefed my clients on the benefits and downsides of taking these more aggressive approaches. However, my approach to my fiduciary trust relationships with my clients is that they are entitled to know what the possibilities are, and to make reasonable choices, even though it could mean lost income or much more work for me to find another property for a buyer or another buyer for a seller's property.
My program is "I advise, and my clients decide", once they have FULL knowledge of the opportunities and risks.
My clients also benefit from my over 25 years of experience as a broker for land, homes, and loans, and as a high-end custom home builder and general contractor. This is actually 25+ years of experience, not 1 year repeated over 25 times!
My perspective, which I fully share with my clients, is also enriched by academic studies, including a business undergraduate degree from Cornell University, an MS in Economics, and extensive post-graduate negotiating studies. I am also a 25 year member of Mensa International. My years as an USAF Combat Officer also helps me "keep a steady hand on the wheel" in times of market turbulence.
I remain expert in my specific area of expertise because I am tightly focused on it.
I ONLY handle homes and condos(no land, no 5+ units complexes, no commercial, etc.)
Typically, this is also ONLY in South Orange County (Irvine to San Clemente). However, I occasionally handle homes in North Orange County, Palos Verdes or other higher-end areas of LA County for BUYERS only, and then only with the mutual understanding that my knowledge of those areas is not as nuanced as it is in my primary area. This is typically for buyers who know these areas, and know what they want and where they want to be, but prefer to have my negotiating skills and techniques rather than working with a local broker. I do not represent sellers outside my area, referring them to one of my hand-picked experts in their area, instead.
My primary sub-areas are the "top of Irvine", Newport Coast, "top of Ladera Ranch", and Coto de Caza, because these areas serve a similar demographic of affluent buyers & sellers.
Affluent clients appreciate the extreme confidentiality I apply to all of their information, plus they enjoy working with someone to whom every word is not a new experience, and someone who can anticipate what they will want, and who understands how they want to be treated.
They also appreciate that they are working directly with the business ower, and appreciate knowing that their negotiations will be handled by me personally (a Master Certified Negotiation Expert... MCNE, from RENI), and not some junior agent. They also appreciate the extra effort of my personal creation of their contracts, plus my personal review of escrow instructions, amendments, projected closing estimates, final escrow billings and closings BEFORE these documents are sent to them or the other parties. It sometimes happens that I am able to catch errors that escaped the escrow officer before my clients are inconvienced, and also to protect their transaction from collapsing over misunderstandings with the other parties. After all, what good is a great transaction if it does not close?
In short, my clients appreciate that I am as expert in my field as they are in theirs. They also realize that there are a limited number of clients than I can handle personally at any given point in time, despite having an extended and expert support team. And, they know that when I reach that limit, I simply decline to take on more business until my current clients are fully taken care of, to maintain my high level of service to them.
It perhaps would be more profitable for me to accumulate junior agents to handle more transactions (less expertly), but I am satisfied with the level of business I and my support team are able to accomplish, and my clients are ecstatic about the situation. So, this is how it will remain.
Easy parking. Located next to 24 Hour Fitness
