Nic Booth, Realtor with F.C. Tucker, sees her current job as a perfect way to utilize her people skills and her sales background, while providing a flexibility that allows her to have sufficient time for her husband and two daughters. The manager at her F.C. Tucker office had been talking to Nic about this opportunity over the last three years and this year seemed like the right time to start her real estate career. Nic likes to educate and help people, and in her mind there is no better industry in which to do that than in real estate.
In February of this year, Nic passed her Real Estate License test and joined F.C. Tucker. Nic has the autonomy of her own business, but she also has the support system of F.C. Tucker. Nic believes that we are living in times where we have to go back to basics in business. Every person she meets for the first time receives a handwritten note within 24 hours, followed up with a personal phone call. In this day of emails, the written note and phone call, not to mention the personal connections they make, stand out from the competition. It is important not to just have a list of contacts. In this business, she see her “contact” list as a list of relationships. As with any relationship it requires nurturing…often! She also has a client-appreciation program where she shares real estate information once a quarter. In addition to that, Nic feels it’s important to do something as simple as meeting someone for coffee and asking them that all-important question, “How can I help you?”
Complementing the personal touch are the systems available to Nic through Tucker’s support system:
1) Office Listing Administrator (handles all multiple listing service input and revisions)
2) Office Advertising Administrator (handles a variety of support materials provided by the Tucker Company to market homes)
3) Managing Broker (office manager available for support and consultation with transactions)
4) Marketing Department (a staff of nine designers, writers, Web developers and media placement specialists located in Indianapolis)
5) Relocation Department (staffed by 12 full-time relocation specialists and connected to the nation’s largest relocation network).
Currently, Nic will certainly work with anyone who is interested in selling or buying a house. In the near future, she will be working to develop the first-time buyer niche. These first-time buyers are a special group that Nic hopes to focus on. It is her feeling that she can grow with these customers as they move up to more expensive properties. In addition to a continuity with customers, Nic also pursues multiple properties with one customer. In fact, she has already encountered a customer for whom she has written three offers. In Real Estate, you have the traditional sale, the foreclosed home sale and the HUD home sale, which are homes that are sold at auction on the Internet. For her very first transaction, she wrote offers on all of the three scenarios above for one client.
For prospects, Nic’s best source of referrals is her friends who are also her biggest cheerleaders. In addition, in her previous position as Membership Director at the Skyline Club, Nic met numerous individuals who will provide referrals. Based in Noblesville, Nic is involved in her local community and is working to be known by business owners in the Noblesville, Carmel, Fishers and Westville areas, which will in the end pay off by way of clients. The Real Estate business is most definitely a relationship business.
Customer service involves warm fuzzies as well as hard data. The best example of customer service Nic recalls was holding her clients’ four-month-old baby during the closing. It enabled her clients to read and sign the most important documentation to purchase their home. Calm kids equal calm parents!
Nic informs her clients about the latest real estate market conditions. For those that are selling their home, Nic shows the number of homes currently on the market in their area, what those homes are selling for, and the number of days the homes are on the market. This information is important so their home is priced right. Buyers get to see a comparative analysis of all the homes on the market so they can feel comfortable making an offer and getting as much home for their money as possible.
She uses a powerful software system called TrendGraphix to help determine price, market conditions and very detailed information when researching properties. TrendGraphix enables her to look at historical sales data in any location, with a specific eye to price per square foot, current market trends, and much more. This is in addition to the full complement of software systems and cutting-edge hardware provided by the F.C. Tucker Company.
One piece of information Nic would like to share involves a tax credit opportunity that will phase out after this year. Until December 1, 2009, there is an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers or for those who have not owned a home in the last three years. Due to this credit, the market is showing favorable home sale trends. F.C. Tucker also has money to lend through Tucker Mortgage and a title company, Title Services. Buyers who choose to use Tucker Mortgage and Title Services will receive an additional $500 toward purchasing their home.
Nic Booth
F.C. Tucker Company, Inc.
(317) 776-0200
nicattucker@yahoo.com
