312 Estates is a hands-on real estate firm with proprietary technology and marketing that is 2nd to none which is focused to benefit our Buyers and Sellers. Although most firms will make the same claim; We do it! Our boutique firm is very unique in several ways.
Here is what we do:
* We focus our money, technology, activities, and management structure on our customers’ need to sell or purchase a home…NOT on attracting new agents which is the number 1 focus of nearly all Brokerages.
* We have Broker Reciprocity agreements with all firms. This is important because a small customer focused firm like ours needs agreements to ensure its customer’s listings are receiving the same internet marketing as the national firms.
* We pay for databases of not yet listed properties. Some brokerages maintain a list of properties not yet listed for which we pay to access. We do the same for our seller clients properties not yet listed.
* We invest in Zillow, Trulia, and other marketing websites to ensure prime listing status.
* We maintain a database ranking the best properties on the market within given price ranges.
* We provide separate websites for our listings with a proprietary tracking code.
* We invest in the best digitally enhanced photography. Our pictures are computer generated by combining 7 different length exposures to create amazing photographs of homes we are selling.
* We invest in a floor plan developer whose program becomes our virtual tour allowing customers to test what their furniture will look like within the spacing of the property.
* We have relationships with contractors to do virtually anything you need to get your home ready for sale or to complete your dream in the new home you purchase.
* We have relationships with stagers to add those visually appealing touches to create value.
* We have relationships with appraisers so we know upfront where difficulties might lie and then work to correct them so we will not have an appraisal problem.
Additional benefits and how we are different:
* Many companies assign a showing agent when you request to see a property. We do not hire showing agents. We strive to develop a client/agent relationship which includes using our expertise and being very honest about the positives and negatives of a particular property. In some cases, we may advise you to wait for a better property that is shortly going to be on the market.
* Every firm receives the same commission per deal. Unlike many larger firms, we serve our client’s needs by purchasing additional marketing, establishing networks on and off the market, and having service providers with whom we’ve developed a relationship through our years of experience. We are not worried about an immediate commission and will at times recommend against a sale if it isn’t in the best interest of our client.
* Many firms spend large amounts of money on marketing their real estate brokerage to increase sales volume by attracting realtors (agents) to work for them. We are very different in that our resources are focused on personally serving our buyer and seller client’s needs in the most effective way we can and not for the promotion of a brokerage.
* Real estate is unique and one home is never identical to another. To evaluate property value for a customer’s listing or value on a purchase, we do not rely on the mls estimated real value tool, real AVM or Zillow’s zestimate to provide a comparative market analysis (CMA). These tools are algorithms which are helpful but never the basis to determine the price. For this reason we have our own algorithms that complement but are more precise than the traditional evaluation tools.
* Our valuation practices are different in two ways: (1) We physically see the property to understand what buyers will think of the property. This is a very significant factor in what a buyer may be willing to pay for the property. Evaluation factors include location, layout, exposure, initial impression, décor, and extent of clutter. (2) We have our own algorithms with a three-tiered approach.
* Tier one is similar to the mls algorithm to create a CMA. However, we extract listings that should not be included. For example, if a property is being evaluated in Lincoln Park, more than likely other comparable properties being considered (in a different neighborhood) may be on a busy street or next to the el train. Thus these listings should be eliminated within the algorithm.
* Tier two is a proprietary database which takes properties sold at the time the current buyer purchased the property and then compares it to the current sales within the market of similar properties within a given neighborhood. This provides a percent increase valuation from the time the current owner purchased the property until the current market. This information is valuable because the current owners purchased the property in the same market the comparable properties were purchased and now recently sold. Thus the goal of our algorithm is to compare the percent change in a property when purchased to the current market taking into account the current market factors and similar neighborhood. We add a rehab factor if warranted. This proprietary system works to evaluate homes for seller’s valuation and substantiation of value for a buyer.
* Tier three tracks and assigns codes to homes in the areas we work. We track similarly ranked homes to come up with what we believe is the value of the property. We put a lot of emphasis in this valuation because no two properties are the same. As agents we concentrate much of our time looking at property, meeting people in the neighborhoods, and keeping relationships with our colleagues in the industry to understand value. One or two sittings in front of a computer looking at a traditional CMA tool will not give this in-depth knowledge.