Carol Scott launched her brokerage, Scott Silver Concierge Realty, after noticing the lack of updates in Florida homes during her own house search. She knew her experience in real estate investing could help sell homes faster on the listing side of real estate.
A house for sale is a product
When Scott first meets with clients, she tells them what the home could sell for as is. Then, she comes up with different scenarios involving staging or renovations that could get the homeowners more bang for their buck.
“Then, I can bring in my team and oversee all of the project management of those renovations because, frankly, that’s one of those things that’s so daunting for homeowners,” she said. Because of her experience real estate investing, Scott knows what upgrades will sell well and what won’t.
Scott has seen the difference updating can make in selling a home in her own neighborhood. She said there’s a home in her neighborhood that hasn’t been updated since the early ’90s, and it’s been sitting on the market for months. On the other hand, another house with the same floor plan — but fully updated — sold in four days. The homeowners put in under $10,000, Scott estimated, but sold the home for $60,000 more than they would have otherwise.
Negotiating isn’t a battle
One of the keys to Scott’s success is understanding that negotiating means “solving a problem together.” She finds that the best outcomes come from working together with the client to create a solid relationship that continues long-term. “So you have a need, I have some solutions. Let’s work together and see how it can be a win for everybody,” Scott said.
Have a plan
Behind the scenes, Scott has every aspect of her brokerage planned out and written down to keep it running smoothly. In fact, Scott Silver Concierge Realty is so planned out that it could be ready for sale or franchise at a moment’s notice when it is fully “grown.” Every employee has access to the processes of the company from presentations to email signatures, developed by Scott from the beginning.
When all of this information is written out beforehand, Scott believes it keeps the company running smoothly should there be a leadership change, “ideally, even better than when you were there in the first place.”
The point of this organization is to stop the brokerage from being too dependent on its owner. “It’s your baby, but then you have it developed and grown in such a manner that somebody else can come in and follow your rules, systems, processes and procedures, yet bring their own unique and individual experience into the mix to change it up just enough so that it really suits that market as well as it should,” Scott said.
Find out more about Scott in her podcast “The BiggerPockets Business Podcast” or her book The Book on Negotiating Real Estate. You can also find her online or on Instagram.
Chris Haddon is an entrepreneur based in Washington, D.C., a partner at Hard Money Bankers and a co-founder of REI360.net.
