Real Estate Confidential is a weekly chitchat about new listings, sales, or other insider info on the Martha’s Vineyard real estate market, by Fred Roven, Martha’s Vineyard Buyer Agents. It appears each Friday in The Minute.
Now that I have covered who can you trust, let’s move on to what does a real estate agent do.
Once I realized I was on Martha’s Vineyard to stay (a 10-year decision), real estate seemed ideal to me. I had not been on a time clock since high school. I was fascinated by the changes happening in real estate 20 years ago — from the status quo of sub-agency to the concept instead of seller agency, buyer agency and exclusive buyer agency.
Clients often remark that I must get tired of showing property, sometimes the same property, over and over again. They wonder how I can keep working with the same client for months. I remind them of two things. On average, from the time you discuss, perhaps at the breakfast table, buying a vacation home, to closing a purchase is 18 months. Next, showing houses is my job, one that I never tire of. At the end of the year I have $xxx and though there have been many steps from seeing your dream home to the day of closing, setting up schedules and showing homes is what I do.
I am energized by telling stories about Martha’s Vineyard and why I treasure the opportunity to live here. Joy can be infectious and many buyers seem to “get it” right away. (Although I have been caught telling the same story twice!) I love describing my favorite beaches, favorite chefs, favorite restaurants, especially new dining spots that are notable but might not be well known yet.
Most important (to me anyway) are stories about the scores of trails on The Vineyard particularly trails my best boy Nico loves to run and cavort on. The number of trails keeps growing, and every season can bring a different experience. Nico’s favorite of course is when a trail ends at a beautiful, secluded beach and he gets to do his flying dive into the water. The trail stories often begin with a brief history of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, the recipient of the buyer’s extra 2% closing cost. The Land Bank has been a major contributor to the 25,000 acres of protected land on Martha’s Vineyard (out of about 60,000 total acres). We still have not walked half of those acres and I look forward to many more years of hiking.
I still enjoy every new client, hearing their stories, listening to their buying dilemmas and issues, and then, considering these elements, embrace the challenge in my work: finding their ideal dream home, and thus a satisfying solution for all involved. I truly believe this does not have to be adversarial and there is a price and terms perfectly suitable to both buyer and seller (and broker) and there you have the sale price.
Writing about searching for real estate, I got to thinking, what would come up in a search if I put in my important considerations. I would want a medium size home with some proximity to water on over 1 ½ acres, and although willing to pay for luxury, not in the extreme high end. I came up with an interesting grouping: more than I might expect were contemporary, none were in Edgartown or Oak Bluffs, most had access to a private beach, and more had guest houses than I would have guessed. A couple were pond front on barrier beaches (my favorite views), a couple had access to golf (I do not play), and all had views that went forever.
A complete list of my favorites currently on the market can be viewed at My Favorites.
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