The power of the RLP staff meeting
Planting the seed, making connections.
We, Royal LePage Penticton REALTORS®, meet once a week to find matches for local listings and exclusive buyers.
Royal LePage real estate agents are dedicated, each one of us doing the very best we can for our clients with continued education, solid market updates, checking current interest rates and trends along with industry- related news.
We have designated professionals in regular attendance at these meetings including a lawyer and a mortgage broker every week and representatives from institutions such as the TD and Royal Bank.
Almost every two weeks our office manager Roger Love brings in speakers such as a CMHC analyst and home inspectors. Others include Wade Webb, broker-owner of RLP Kelowna as well as a real estate speaker/trainer). We also hear from mould and rodent company representatives and oil tank removal/ environmental specialists.
After our meetings a couple of weeks ago, we toured the newest listings in certain areas of town to familiarize ourselves with the market inventory, give feedback on pricing and, hopefully, connect it to a buyer we are working with. This is routine after each Wednesday morning staff get together.
After one particular meeting recently, a co-worker and friend, Steve Thompson, told me he thought I had the buyer for his condo along Skaha Lake. I enjoy working with Steve as he is extremely professional and diligent (he also took my office when he moved to Royal LePage and gave me a Lululemon gift certificate….in my good books). I smirked and agreed, must put positive energy out there in the universe, you just never know.
Well, I had been working with a young condo buyer in the price range up to $130,000 and we had our eye on this ‘ok’ condo that would ‘do’ and it was going to court the following Thursday. We could not go any higher than $130,000 on this condo as the appraised value was $127,000 and she didn’t want to top up the amount the lenders would mortgage to her. (lenders will only lend the appraised value).
So, I went on tour with my REALTOR® friend Alana. We always have so much fun chatting and walking through Penticton real estate listings. We followed Mr T up to the 2nd floor of this three- story commercial/residential building right on Skaha Lake Road. To our pleasant surprise, we found this gorgeous condo with slate flooring, modern blue and white colors, upgraded countertops, new appliances, flat screen TV’s. It was a staged, candles lit, ambiance galore well-appointed home with a hot tub on the balcony. This place was stacked – wired in surround sound music system, a huge master with its own full bathroom, lots of storage. It was ideal and that is an understatement.
The price was $195,000 and I knew that calling my client who was capped at $130,000 was a long shot, maybe even insulting. Good thing she is also a friend because I couldn’t even make it to the staircase (there is an elevator) but I am health conscience at the best of times. I called her number, clenched my teeth, and told her she had to see this place. It was only a block from her work and out of her price range but she just had to come and see it, for whatever mystical reason I had to get her in there. She was hesitant but agreed. She wanted to cancel but I arrived at her work with my tour buddy within 30 minutes, she hopped in and all three of us scooted up to this condo.
The feeling was mutual, we had to call in the big guns. If ever there was a time to plead with parents, beg, borrow or steal, this was it and the ball was in her court. I didn’t want to pressure her, but time was of the essence. Thank goodness she knew me as a person and not a sales person!
She had some blind faith and came up with some family funds to make an offer. (nothing wrong with asking). We had our mortgage angel take care of the rest. We wrote an offer that day.
I told Steve that I take directions well. I was bringing him an offer. I wanted it dealt with that evening because it was just too good to be true. We wanted to “play the game” but decided she would pay full pop because they were going to get it regardless. Steve prices his places right and the listing the floor above was $310,000 and had nothing on this one. I mean not even a sniff.
I told Steve we didn’t want to waste anyone’s time, we wanted this place and would pay full price, TV’s hot tub and all. We would not pay over but we needed an answer that night.
Steve called back to let me know he had another agent plead to wait to present the offer until their client had a walk through. Steve and his clients went ahead to look and deal with our offer. We got it. Full Price. Yes I know…why not try for a bit off. I’ll tell you why. Within 24 hours there was a full price back up offer just waiting for us to drop the ball and this was from yet another agent within our office. We Royal LePage agents were the only agents to take a look at this unit and had three interested parties within 24 hours of the office tour.
We were relieved and extremely excited to not have missed this one and also not be in a back-up position.
My buyer, in fact, knew the backup buyer, too bad – so sad. Early Bird gets the awesome Condo!