Women in Real Estate

A Powerful Presence Among RISMedia’s 2021 Newsmakers

by Maria Patterson

Last month, RISMedia revealed the 300-plus industry professionals honored as 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers. Among this year’s Newsmakers, recognized in eight different categories, is a growing force of headline-making women in real estate. Here, we highlight just a few of this year’s honorees:

ACHIEVERS Jennifer Shemwell

President Phyllis Browning Company A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Shemwell leads the firm founded by her mother, Phyllis Browning. In 2020, the company was recognized as an innovator and leader in COVID-19 best practices, and surpassed many of their 2019 numbers within the first three months of 2020.

CRUSADERS Fee Gentry

Co-Founder & Chairperson ONE eXp In addition to co-founding the ONE eXp diversity and inclusion initiative, Gentry is the founder of the Black Network at eXp and a member of the board of directors at eXp World Holdings, Inc. Throughout 2020, she helped lay the foundation for action and awareness within eXp, setting company policies to fight racism and division.

FUTURISTS Kathryn Redican

Chief Operating Officer Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England, New York and Westchester Properties With Redican’s guidance, the firm rolled out more tools and campaigns than ever before to support business during the pandemic, including the ability to make offers on a property directly from the website, training materials on virtual open houses and creating a new designation: Virtual Specialist.

INFLUENCERS Nicole Lopez Cummins

Founder/REALTOR® True Houston Real Estate A property rights advocate, Lopez Cummins co-created an online platform in 2020 where vendors who had participated in traveling shows could continue to sell their goods during COVID-19. Lopez Cummins and team also helped vendors set up Facebook Business pages, using funds raised to create Texas Relief Warriors, a nonprofit for assisting hurricane victims.

INSPIRATIONS Anne Fish

Advisor Engel & Völkers Jackson Hole Fish is a real estate professional dedicated to pledging a share of her commissions to charities and nonprofits. Since she was unable to hold annual fundraising events in 2020, Fish stepped up her efforts and donated tens of thousands of dollars to local causes through her 10% of commissions at closing program.

LUMINARIES Marty Rodriguez

CENTURY 21 Marty Rodriguez Rodriguez is recognized as one of the most successful agents in the history of the CENTURY 21® franchise, her team ranking first in the country for 13 consecutive years, and first in the world for six consecutive years. Rodriguez quickly adapted to the challenges of COVID-19 and maintained her entire staff while providing top service through virtual business.

TRAILBLAZERS Tanya Reu-Narvaez

SVP Human Resources Realogy Holdings Corp. Reu-Narvaez has grown workforce diversity and inclusion (D&I) by building relationships with NAHREP, AREAA, NAGLREP, NAREB and WomanUP. In 2020, she launched the Inclusive Ownership Program to increase diversity in the Coldwell Banker broker/owner base, and took the Agents of Change events virtual. She also helped launch in-house Fair Housing Training and local D&I Councils.

TRENDSETTERS Chao Cheng-Shorland

CEO & Co-Founder ShelterZoom With a background in technology and forward-thinking ideas, Cheng-Shorland has helped to usher in revolutionary ways to manage documents and contracts in a secure manner. With the onset of the pandemic, she developed a software platform, DocuWalk, allowing agents to carry out high-quality services completely virtually. RE

To see RISMedia’s complete gallery of 2021 Real Estate Newsmakers, please visit rismedia.com/2021-newsmakers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced that Clinton Jones

started as the agency’s new general counsel. Jones succeeds Alfred Pollard, who is retiring from the agency after a distinguished financial services career. Since 2019, Jones has served as a senior advisor at FHFA. Prior to joining the agency, he served for 24 years in various senior legal roles at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services. Jones was also a vice president at Fannie Mae and an attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Lone Wolf Technologies has named Greg Robertson as

head of Sales, MLS/ Associations/Franchisors. Robertson, cofounder of W+R Studios, joins Lone Wolf with a wealth of sales, operational and industry knowledge. He has been active in the real estate technology industry since 1992, and currently produces the popular Vendor Alley blog, as well as multiple podcasts on industry issues, including Listing Bits. In his new role, Robertson will lead the company’s association and franchise cloud initiatives, spearheading a seasoned sales team to help associations and MLSs across North America bring more value through member benefits. He will also be instrumental in positioning Cloud CMA as part of Association Cloud.

AJ Canaria has

joined the MoxiWorks team as their new creative producer, where he’ll use his skills in creative storytelling, photography and videography to help continue to build brand stories for MoxiWorks and their brokerage clients. Canaria is known throughout the real estate industry for his authentic partnerships and photography, covering the most notable real estate events across the country. Prior to joining the MoxiWorks team, Canaria worked as the creative brand ambassador for Inside Real Estate and was previously the creative director for PlanOmatic.

Real Estate Webmasters (REW) recently announced that industry veteran and leader Amy Pye has been brought onboard as the company’s new art director. Having worked on branding and design campaigns for the likes of 7-Eleven and Intel, she brings her 15 years of art director and design experience to Real Estate Webmasters. Pye is not unfamiliar with REW. In fact, she’s been a freelance contract designer for many years with the company.

George Slusser, an

industry valuation expert, has joined WAV Group to head its new Mergers & Acquisition Advisory Division. As the newest member of the WAV Group team, Slusser brings more than 35 years of experience, including personal participation in over 300 real estate brokerage mergers and acquisitions on both the acquiring and selling side including hundreds of brokerage company valuations. Slusser most recently was the former COO and chief growth officer of SVN International (formerly Sperry Van Ness), and past president and COO of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate. Slusser will head a team that has participated in over 600 acquisitions and mergers with purchase prices totaling $1.1 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) New England Properties, Westchester Properties and New York Properties recently announced the promotion of several members:

Kathryn Redican

to the position of chief operating officer, and Meryl Freedman and Gregg Wagner to

senior vice president roles. In her new role, Redican will work closely with the company’s president and chief executive officer, Candace Adams, to spearhead network-wide financial and performance growth initiatives, oversee enhanced corporate strategy, and implement important communications directives for the brokerage’s more than 1,800 real estate associates. Freedman and Wagner will work together, sharing oversight of the company’s growth. Their mutual responsibilities will include a concentrated focus on amplifying marketshare, relationship-building and management, spearheading recruitment initiatives, monitoring sales activities and trends, and providing support for the brokerage’s office leaders and 1,800 sales executives. RE

For more executive happenings, please visit www.rismedia.com.

How to Manage Buyers’ Rising Concerns About Flooding

by Marc D. Gould

Floods are the most common and costly natural disaster in the U.S. and a growing problem that is not limited to FEMA’s designated high-risk areas. New simulations use high-resolution topographic maps and advanced modeling techniques to reveal a more detailed and comprehensive flood risk assessment.

For example, researchers at the First Street Foundation found that 14.6 million U.S. homes are at high risk of flooding. That equals roughly 15% of all residential properties and 6 million more homes than previously estimated by FEMA.

Further, flooding is not limited to coastlines or interior waterways. Heavy rainfalls can cause extensive damage in urban areas when rainwater runoff overwhelms sewer and stormwater systems. Frozen ground and paved surfaces exacerbate the problem.

Increasingly, homebuyers worry about purchasing a home that might flood—and the risk of rising premiums for flood insurance. What steps should managing brokers take to address buyers’ concerns and guard their brokerage from the risk of legal liability or other adverse actions?

Encourage your agents to take these steps to help buyers make informed purchase decisions and to protect themselves.

Know your role. Buyer’s agents need to meet all their legal and professional obligations without overstepping their boundaries and acting like flood risk experts. Know your state’s disclosure laws concerning flooding. And remember that the REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires disclosure of any reasonably apparent adverse facts, such as flood damage.

Be responsive. If a buyer is concerned about flooding, encourage them to do their due diligence and be ready to supply the best authoritative resources, including local experts like your floodplain manager, surveyors, engineers and inspectors with flood expertise.

Also, point buyers to valuable resources from credible sources. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has compiled an extensive list at nar.realtor/national-flood-insurance-program.

Get familiar with Flood FactorTM . Buyers searching for properties on realtor.com® may ask you about Flood FactorTM, a new flood risk visualization tool developed by the First Street Foundation, which behaves similarly to other realtor.com® mapping filters like schools, noise and crime. The tool also displays FEMA’s flood risk score.

Lean on RPR®. Did you know that the latest FEMA flood maps are also built into Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) ? Flood zone mapping layers are offered in RPR®’ s residential and commercial platforms.

Embrace transparency and build trust. Flooding is a somber concern, and the risk of litigation and damaged reputations must be taken seriously. Real estate professionals should not shy away from helping buyers understand risks, explore mitigation options and make informed purchase decisions.

Proactively serving as a flooding resource is the best way to build trust and earn more business. RE

Marc D. Gould is senior vice president of Member Development for NAR, overseeing a wide range of professional development programs for REALTORS®, including the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC). REBAC is the world’s largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer. With more than 27,000 active members, REBAC awards the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation to REALTORS® who have completed the specialized education and documented experience in working with consumers purchasing a home. To learn more, visit REBAC.net.

Get the Most Out of Your Real Estate Marketing Materials

By Buffini & Company

Exceptional real estate marketing is vital to the success of any business. After the challenges of last year, however, coming up with innovative ways to connect with your customers has become more difficult. After all, the magic of your marketing doesn’t just come from the flyers or emails you send; it’s the way you engage with your clients over the material that really stands out.

In order to target your efforts for maximum results, you’ll need to make your marketing materials come alive.

Sending monthly value-add pieces is a great place to start. Mail your top clients timely information on topics such as tax preparation, buyer and seller trends, time management and more. You can also supplement that information with a value-add email on a similar topic.

Once you’ve made monthly contact with your clients, it’s time to bring that marketing piece to life. Here are a few ways to follow up with your marketing pieces to separate yourself from the crowd and generate more leads.

Make a Call

One powerful way to capitalize on the

The magic of your marketing doesn’t just come from the flyers or emails you send; it’s the way you engage with your clients over the material that really stands out.

value-add flyer you mail is to call your clients to see if they have received what you sent them. Remember that every meaningful conversation you have with a client can develop and strengthen the relationship. Ask them about the content and any takeaways they may have had.

Write a Note

Instead of calling, you could choose to write to your clients to check in. Everyone appreciates a handwritten note. Keep it short and sweet and remind them that you are always on hand to answer any of their real estate questions.

Host a Facebook Live

Social media is a great way to reach out and connect with your clients. Consider hosting a Facebook Live to expand on the topic covered by the marketing mailer you sent. This isn’t as daunting as it may seem and will allow you to connect with your clients, friends and family in a more intimate way.

Write a Blog Post

Writing a blog post about the subject is a great way to dig deeper into the topic in question, providing yet another opportunity to connect with your customers. A blog post doesn’t need to be an entire novel. A short and helpful feature will hit just the right note.

Smart real estate marketing can add value to your business in 2021, but you must maximize your strategy to optimize results. To do this, you need a proven system that puts your clients first and keeps you front and center.

To take your real estate marketing plan to the next level, check out Referral Maker® PRO. The Referral Maker PRO marketing kit includes impactful materials, such as monthly notecards, marketing flyers and countless other benefits that will help you deliver a rock-solid marketing and lead generation strategy for 2021. RE

To learn more, please visit https://buffiniandcompany.com.