NEW YORK 6-20-22

NEW YORK EDITION

5

WAYS TO TRANSFORM RENTERS INTO OWNERS FEATURED AGENT

LUIS MOLINA

Beyond Cleaning and Decluttering: WHAT IMPROVEMENT EXPENSES MAKE THE MOST SENSE? 3 SUREFIRE METHODS THAT

THESE 7 HABITS ARE THE REAL SECRET TO SUCCESS

MAKE FOR A PRODUCTIVE MEETING COVER STORY

Area Specialist

SAMANTHA CURRY

NEW YORK EDITION

LUIS MOLINA

With his caring attitude and love of eduLuis forms lasting re 7 17 cating his clients, Luis Molina stands clients that continue apart as a rising star in Long Island real ing. “Most of our bu estate. The child of immigrants from relationships we build Latin America, Luis got an early start try to stay on their m in real estate at age 16 when he helped media content, mail save his dad’s house from foreclosure. follow-ups every qu “I was fortunate enough to come across touch with every cust an investment group who took me in with, and they remem SAMANTHA CURRY LUIS MOLINA when I was very young,” Luis recalls.

“I this industry, the mor started working with the company and the more business yo they taught me the ins and outs of foreclosures and short sales. From there, I Giving back to his co CONTENTS Area Specialist became more and more passionate about ant to Luis, and h SAMANTHA CURRY real estate.” at the is in his fourth nonprofit to help and educate youn 4) 5 Now WAYS TOage of 21, Luis 18) 3 SUREFIRE year in TRANSFORM real estate and already has a thriving business munity.

When he is not working o RENTERS METHODS THAT and a loyal client base. be A found going to the gym, re INTO OWNERS MAKEcan FOR ing his real estate skills in his free PRODUCTIVE MEETING Luis heads Elite CLEANING at eXp Realty with five other says, “I always want to learn more 14) Team BEYOND DECLUTTERING: WHAT 20) THESE 7 HABITS agents AND working under him. He serves the Long Island The more the business grows, the IMPROVEMENT EXPENSES ARE THE REALto it!” area, where he grew up. “Long Island is a great place dedicate THE SECRET TO SUCCESS to live,”MAKE he says.

“It’sMOST a little SENSE? getaway from New York City, just 45 minutes away by car or train. We have The future looks bright for Luis, a amazing wineries, and there’s a lot of variety from one continuing to grow his team, even neighborhood to the next. It’s best of both worlds, 100 deals a year, and expanding h Phone 310-734-1440 | Faxthe 310-734-1440 and that’s why we love working here.” properties. “I love helping familie mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com customers,” heTop says.

“Having th No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior consent of the publisher.

Agent Magazine is publishedportion

by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions are from taken to ensurebeing the accuracy materials, Top others is A significant of Luis’s business comes ableof published to share it with Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. repeat and referral clients, a testament to the trust he more passionate about real estate a To subscribe or change address, send inquiry to mag@topagentmagazine.com.

Published in the U.S. inspires. “A lot of people are attracted to what we are doing,” Luis says. “We’re young, and we’re making a difference in the community. We’ve grown our busi2 Top Agent Magazine ness by coming up with ideas together and helping

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5 Ways to Transform

Renters into Owners Perhaps the largest demographic of untapped business lies in the rental market. From major cities and suburbs to rural communities—renters across generations are opting to rent rather than own. The question is: why? For starters, many Americans are undereducated about the inventory and financing options available that might suit their budget and lifestyle. Secondly, many would-be homeowners have difficulty 4

visualizing the potential investment of purchasing property, and how homeownership can build wealth and security in the long-term.

As an agent, you’re always on the lookout for potential clientele. Now, to guide renters toward the real estate market, keep a few of these strategies in mind as you meet and greet this untapped demographic.

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Show renters that purchasing a home isn’t impossible

Possibly the biggest hurdle for renters is believing homeownership is possible. Beyond saving for a down payment and boosting credit scores, there are dozen more factors to consider: affording utilities, homeowner’s insurance, renovations, property taxes, and more. Besides that, assembling pay stubs, finding an agent, arranging house tours, negotiating a price, and timing the transition are all major considerations to surmount.

One way to combat this thinking is to make the process transparent and demystified. Find examples of past clients who made the leap successfully, or profile the average buyer in your marketplace and see how that renter compares. Provide evidence that it’s been done before and can be done again, then build a game plan from there.

into play. Consider making a checklist, or step-by-step road-map, that guides clients through the process from start to finish. This way, you’ll manage expectations and create a path to ownership that’s specific, instead of abstract. They won’t have to wonder what goes into buying a home when they can look at an interactive site or read a document and see the steps outlined before them, with you there to guide the way.

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Collaborate with mortgage professionals to find the right financing opportunities

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Help would-be homebuyers create a road-map to ownership

It’s no secret that buying a home can feel overwhelming. Compared to signing a yearlong lease on an apartment, taking on the house-hunting process is a daunting affair.

That’s where your expertise as an agent comes Top Agent Magazine

Many renters aren’t aware of the variety of mortgage financing options out there that cater to first-timers, offer low down payments, or down payment assistance. Most buyers believe that the standard 20% down is a hard and fast rule, when in reality, there’s far more flexibility out there to cater to renters where they are. There are even loan options catering to freelance workers, renovation options, and other unconventional routes to ownership.

Work with a mortgage pro and find the route that suits your renter best.

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pay monthly in a mortgage—while building a lasting asset.

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Compare and contrast rental rates with monthly mortgage payments One way to convince renters to make the shift is to demonstrate the savings potential of paying into a monthly mortgage, rather than throwing away rent on a property they don’t own. To do this, draw up the average rental rates in your area, then find some potential listings that would demand a similar amount in monthly mortgage payments. Sometimes placing these numbers and images sideby-side can prove to renters that what they manage to pay monthly in rent, they can

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Paint the big picture

For most, renting isn’t the most sustainable financial option when it comes to housing.

Rents rise, families grow, and retirement looms.

Building a financial future and homeownership go hand-in-hand. When planned appropriately, buying a home can create a path toward retirement and position homeowners in a better place for further investment in the future. A rental has little security or investment returns to offer, while owning a home makes a renter king or queen of the castle.

Prospecting renters as potential homebuyers may seem like a time-intensive way to cultivate new clients, but logic is on your side.

Keep these tips in mind as you broach the conversation with renters in your hometown.

All it takes is clear-cut value proposition and a listening ear.

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Area Specialist

SAMANTHA CURRY

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SAMANTHA CURRY Samantha owns and leads New Scotland Realty consisting of five agents and growing. Their list of services includes property management, construction management, investment syndications, and residential and commercial sales.

For Samantha Curry, real estate offers a way to combine her love of people with her passion for investing. She and her husband, Dan, spent their 20’s in Los Angeles, where they became inspired by all the opportunities this industry has to 8

offer. “We would take road trips and listen to real estate podcasts,” she explains.

“We always knew we wanted to ‘house hack,’ but we knew we couldn’t afford the California market.” With family in New York, the two decided to move to Top Agent Magazine

Washington Park in Albany NY, the 81-acre park was created during the 1870s-80s from a design by Calvert Vaux and Fredrick Olmsted, who is famous for New York City’s Central Park.

Albany, where they purchased their first duplex. After a few years, Samantha decided to switch from a corporate sales career to real estate, and hasn’t looked back since. Samantha owns and leads New Scotland Realty, the brokerage arm of New Scotland Development Companies, consisting of five agents and growing.

“We’re an investment oriented firm,” Samantha says. “We have many different arms of our company.” Their list of Top Agent Magazine

services includes property management, construction management, investment syndications, and residential and commercial sales. Serving the greater Capital Region, the vast majority of their business consists of repeats and referrals from the various sectors of their company.

It’s their investor-first mindset that sets them apart from other brokerages in the area. “Everyone at the firm truly thinks 9

of each transaction as if we were the purchaser,” Samantha says. “So we look at things through a different lens than most people would. We are very analytical, and when we meet with people, we often have multiple different strategies to capitalize on their assets.” Aware that the industry constantly changes, Samantha and her team are keen to continuously learn.

They keep up on the latest technology and constantly stay updated on any new developments. “There’s always something new to learn, which is partly why

it’s such a fun business to be in.” When it comes to selling properties, they utilize all the best marketing tools, and recently started offering virtual tours, which they’ve found to be helpful for investment properties. “Many buyers are from out of town, so they appreciate being able to see all the details online.”

Word spreads fast about New Scotland Realty, with current and past clients praising them for their work. One recently said, “Simply put, Sam was exceptional.

Samantha doing some demo at her and her husband’s personal Airbnb rehab project @ourantiquebungalow 10

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New Scotland Management, the property management division of New Scotland Development manages about 100 historic units on Madison Ave directly adjacent to Washington Park as a part of their 400+ units under management.

The selling of the house presented some compounding curveballs in having a few of the rooms rented to tenants on varying schedules (including one of whom was 100% WFH) - she went beyond the call of duty (and her own time) in not just coordinating with me, but also availing herself to my tenants as she worked out schedules for house showings and related aspects that best addressed these conflicting realities in light of COVID-19 further complicating how to appropriately balance all of this. In addition to her flexibility, Sam was also highly responsive; available whenever needed and both agile and expedient. We absolutely will work with her again and recommend Top Agent Magazine

150-152 Central Ave Albany NY, historic 1889 brownstone sold by Samantha March 2022.

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Samantha and her husband Dan who owns Curry Carpentry & Design (@currycarpentrydesign) and their trusty hounds Lilu & Cody.

her without reservation.”

With a deep love for Albany, Samantha always makes time to give back. She is currently starting a program that helps landlords overcome the stigma of Section 8 housing. “It will be a very long-term program. The ultimate end goal is for tenants to be able to tap into a lot of

the resources out there for housing and eventually homeownership.”

As Samantha’s business grows, she plans to continue delivering exceptional service to everyone she encounters. “It’s been really exciting seeing the impact we can have on the community through real estate. People want to have pride in where they live.”

For more information about Samantha Curry please call 518-545-3136 (office), email samantha@newscotlanddevelopment.com, or visit newscotlanddev.com. You can also follow her and her company on instagram at @capitalregioncurryrealtor and @nsdcompanies www.

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Beyond Cleaning and Decluttering: What Improvement Expenses Make the Most Sense?

Decluttering open spaces, emptying cabinets and drawers and removing knick-knacks might seem like obvious – and free – ways to improve a home’s presentability. Unfortunately, however, not all sellers or agents are willing to do much more than decluttering and cleaning.

Think of the listing as a reflection on yourself. If you didn’t comb your hair, shine your shoes, dress 14

neatly and drive a clean car, people would think you don’t care about yourself. They may wonder, “If he doesn’t care about how he presents himself, how is he going to present my house?” Likewise, not prepare a house for its most beautiful presentation might cast doubt on how the overall marketing will go. And, while not all changes will be immediately noticeable, chances are that what isn’t changed will be noticed.

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Ashley Aguilera, REALTOR®, broker and owner of The Aguilera Team in California’s Murrieta Valley and Temecula, says that after every consultation, her team formulates a game-plan. “We want to set their property apart from everything else on the market, but also fall within the comfort zone of the seller’s lifestyle,” she says. Changes may run the gamut from minor repairs and moving furniture for better flow, to adding accent pieces to harmonize the home’s look or create a “wow” factor before professional photography.

Many agents recommend conducting a professional inspection prior to listing; some will even hire the inspector at their own expense. Of course, any necessary repairs found during inspection and not repaired before listing must be formally disclosed. But wouldn’t it be nice to have no surprises during the buyer’s formal inspection?

In general, some improvements are required, others are low-cost and others pay for themselves

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with lower time on the market, competing offers or higher sale price.

Landscaping & Exterior First impressions begin outside. Be sure to mow and edge the lawn regularly; prune back overgrown trees and hedges; hire a professional to repair uneven pavement (especially if it’s a hazard); remove or replace dying annuals; and clean or repair porches or railings. Are there dry or dead patches of lawn? An inexpensive repair to the irrigation system might be the solution.

While painting an entire house can be extreme, a wise investment is to paint trim, porches, steps or railings that may look tired or have too many colors; choosing a single, neutral color for trim can create a bright, cohesive look. Finally, check the roof, gutters and windows, looking for spots to caulk, shingles to replace, or debris to remove.

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Paint is extremely important if the home has faded or dirty walls, holes or chips on paint or plaster. If an entire paint job is not feasible, at least consider cleaning repairing the obvious and adding a fresh coat of semi-gloss to baseboards, moldings, windowsills, doors, banisters balustrades and built-ins. Don’t overlook the ceilings!

A long-ago leak from a second-floor bathroom may have been completely repaired and moisture abated, but a patched-up ceiling is a red-flag.

Kitchens and baths

Walls, carpets, ceilings and trim Next, it’s time for agent and seller to open up to one another about the interior. Janelle Holte, who leads Seller’s Edge Home Team in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, loves walking into a home knowing that her team will be the driving force behind selling it.

“I like seeing how owners took care of it and raised their family in it,” she says. “But I won’t sugar-coat anything, so I tell them not to shoot the messenger!” She gives it to them straight, explaining what needs to be done to stage it to present well from a buyer’s perspective.

Those changes often include repainting at least the primarily living areas and replacing carpet, especially worn carpet or carpet that has faded or stained beyond what professional carpet cleaning could remedy. Sometimes, all that’s needed is professional carpet stretching to remove any buckling prior to cleaning.

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Most agents agree that the easiest costs to recoup in home improvements prior to selling are those spent in bathroom and kitchen updates. Complete remodels are unwise; you can’t anticipate the style preferences of their buyer. But refinishing, touching-ug up or painting cabinets can create a great impact, while also forcing the seller to remove unwanted or overstocked items from cabinets and drawers. Don’t forget the cabinet pulls – shiny, new nobs look nice.

Lee Ritchie of Ritchie Realty Group in Columbus, Ohio, gives a reminder to discuss any and all issues up front. “People need to be able rely on the professional who’s presenting, pricing and marketing their home,” she says. An honest and diligent agent will be an open book about the current market conditions, the quality of comparable listings and the potential return-on-investment for improvements.

Some agents, like Debra Dobbs of @properties in Chicago, even roll up their sleeves to help with decluttering and repairs. While not at all required or expected, doing so sure lets sellers see the investment their agent is willing to make for them.

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LUIS MOLINA With his caring attitude and love of educating his clients, Luis Molina stands apart as a rising star in Long Island real estate. The child of immigrants from Latin America, Luis got an early start in real estate at age 16 when he helped save his dad’s house from foreclosure.

“I was fortunate enough to come across an investment group who took me in when I was very young,” Luis recalls. “I started working with the company and they taught me the ins and outs of foreclosures and short sales. From there, I became more and more passionate about real estate.” Now at the age of 21, Luis is in his fourth year in real estate and already has a thriving business and a loyal client base.

Luis heads Team Elite at eXp Realty with five other agents working under him. He serves the Long Island area, where he grew up. “Long Island is a great place to live,” he says. “It’s a little getaway from New York City, just 45 minutes away by car or train. We have amazing wineries, and there’s a lot of variety from one neighborhood to the next. It’s the best of both worlds, and that’s why we love working here.”

A significant portion of Luis’s business comes from repeat and referral clients, a testament to the trust he inspires. “A lot of people are attracted to what we are doing,” Luis says. “We’re young, and we’re making a difference in the community. We’ve grown our business by coming up with ideas together and helping each other out.”

When it comes to marketing listings, Luis and his team have a 27-point marketing plan every listing goes through to ensure optimum exposure. This runs the gamut from professional photography to social media, as well as paid advertising online and in local newspapers. The results bear out the success of this model, and last year Luis and his team closed 54 deals.

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Luis forms lasting relationships with his clients that continue long after the closing. “Most of our business comes from relationships we build,” he explains. “We try to stay on their mind through social media content, mailers, postcards, and follow-ups every quarter. We keep in touch with every customer we’ve worked with, and they remember who we are. In this industry, the more people you know, the more business you will do.”

Giving back to his community is important to Luis, and he started his own nonprofit to help and educate young people in the community. When he is not working or giving back, Luis can be found going to the gym, reading, and sharpening his real estate skills in his free time. Mostly, Luis says, “I always want to learn more and keep working.

The more the business grows, the more time I want to dedicate to it!”

The future looks bright for Luis, and his goals include continuing to grow his team, eventually closing over 100 deals a year, and expanding his portfolio of rental properties. “I love helping families and educating my customers,” he says. “Having that knowledge and being able to share it with others is what makes me feel more passionate about real estate all the time.”

To find out more about Luis Molina, call 631-568-8561, email teameliteny@gmail.com, or visit zillow.com/profile/Molinaluis20 www.

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3 Surefire Methods that Make for a Productive Meeting Sometimes a business meeting can achieve exactly what it sets out to do: communicate, assess actions, set goals, or otherwise. Other times, meetings can feel like a drain on your time and energy, and only advance your agenda in marginal ways. While meetings are an integral form of communication in the professional world, how can you ensure that they are both productive and worthwhile?

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The truth is, it takes intentioned planning to make a meeting a success. A well-curated meeting makes partners and employees feel unified as a team, excited about what’s to come, and motivated to achieve a collective goal. With that in mind, consider a few approaches below to maximize your next meeting and ensure that all parties involved leave with a renewed sense of direction and inspiration.

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1. Create a detailed agenda in advance Oftentimes meetings are scheduled with a loose goal in mind—to hash out the terms of a contract or to strategize a new marketing campaign, for example. To ensure your meeting is productive, time-efficient, and achieves its end, create a detailed agenda in advance. This means breaking down your overarching goal into pieces and outlining what’s required to complete each component. You might also consider making time blocks for each respective component, so there is a clear structure and hierarchy in place. Not only does this ensure that time is used wisely and evenly, but it also creates order and momentum for the greater task at hand. What’s more, you’ll want to distribute this detailed agenda in advance of your meeting, so that all attendees will be familiar with the format and delineated goals of your gathering. This will set a professional tone, while keeping team members and conversation on task.

2. Reserve off-topics ideas and comments for later Too many meetings are derailed when an off-topic question or comment is made and hijacks the attentions of attendees. While it’s natural that outlying issues may arise when all team members are gathered, you can ward off distractions by creating a so-called holding area for off-topic talking points. This holding area will serve as the receptacle for any off-topic or lower priority addendum, and you can create a chunk of time towards the end of your meeting to readdress those Top Agent Magazine

points separately. Once you’ve achieved the highest priority goals of your meeting, you can then return to the items in your holding area. Note: be sure to familiarize your staff with this approach so that the expectation is already in place and interruptions won’t distract from your meeting’s true intent.

3. Conclude every meeting with a brief summary and action items The very last thing you should do before concluding your meeting is to reemphasize the main takeaways of your gathering and outline a specific list of action items. Again, successful meetings are clear and give attendees a sense of direction. That’s why reiterating action items—or next steps in need of completion—to each respective employee is an essential component of a productive meeting. Likewise, summarizing main takeaways unifies a team’s understanding of what’s important and why the meeting was called in the first place. Ending on a concrete yet proactive note helps launch team members toward the next event in their day and gives them a sense of confidence as they tackle their duties.

Meetings don’t have to be a formality or a bore. When planned and executed with incisiveness, they can inspire your talent roster and streamline productivity in your office.

Especially in the world of real estate, ensuring everyone is on the same page and doing their jobs effectively is key to success and longevity. Put a little planning into your next meeting, and you’ll save yourself valuable time and energy as you move forward.

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Success– These 7 Habits Are the Real Secret to Success What is it that makes some people so successful and others not? Is there a secret recipe one can follow, as easy as baking a cake, which will give them the strength to achieve their ultimate goals and have it all?

The answer is that, in a manner, there is. The trick is in how you think about success and what it means for you. Many people define success as achieving their personal goals, but could this be leading them to look at the world a little too narrowly? The people that are truly successful in every aspect of 20

their lives don’t stop at simply achieving their personal goals. They succeed in many avenues of their life, including their job, relationships, health, and family just to name a few.

It turns out that ultra-successful people tend to have quite a number of things in common. One main skill many seem to possess is high emotional intelligence, or the ability to manage your emotions so that you can stay calm and focused even in high

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stress situations. Luckily, it seems not all of them are simply born with this ability, but have many strategies they use to help them achieve higher emotional intelligence. Here are seven strategies and habits that will help you achieve success in every area of your life.

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BE COMPOSED The first thing successful people always seem to have under control is their composure. Successful people stay calm and composed when the going gets tough and fingers start pointing. They don’t panic. The secret? They understand that in life things are always changing. It doesn’t matter if something is bad at the moment because that will change soon enough. In this topsy turvy life all you can really do is adapt in order to stay happy and remain in control of how you react.

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BE KNOWLEDGEABLE Have you ever noticed how successful people always seem to have such a wide range of knowledge and interests?

Successful people do know more because they are always working to grow and learn. They strive to constantly increase their self-awareness. If a spare moment exists, then they will fill it with some kind of self-education. They do this because they are passionate about learning new things and ways to improve their life.

Ignore the fear of being judged and ask questions, because that is the only way you can learn. Successful people don’t

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fear asking questions. They fear not asking those questions and growing stagnant.

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BE DELIBERATE It is important to think and reason before you come to a decision. Successful people don’t rush. They seek out advice from other, they think of all the aspects, and sleep on their thoughts before finally making their decision. Your gut instinct can be misleading, and lead you to make a rash decision that you will come to regret later.

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BE CERTAIN, AND SPEAK WITH CONVICTION Successful people speak with certainty.

Unless you communicate your ideas with conviction and certainty, then you will have a hard time getting people to listen to them.

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BE POSITIVE Successful people use positive body language when they are talking to other people. Their tone is enthusiastic, they maintain eye contact, leaning in towards the person speaking to show interest.

Successful people use it to draw those other people in. How you say something can be just as if not more important that what you say to people. Positive body language can completely alter how your speech is perceived by others, and helps to keep attention on you and what you are saying.

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BE MEMORABLE BY LEAVING A STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION You only have once to make a first impression, and they are incredibly important, as they are closely ties to positive body language. You have around 7 seconds to convince a person to like you after you initially meet them. That is how long it takes them to decide when they meet you. After that a person is simply spending the rest of the conversation justifying that initial reaction they had. You can make sure you make a good first impression by having strong posture, a firm handshake, a warm smile, and open shoulders.

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BE FEARLESS Successful people know that to give in to fear is a choice. They don’t let the fear take over, instead focusing on the rush of euphoria that comes with conquering fears.

All of this adds up to having a high emotional intelligence. What helps you to succeed is the ability to control those whirlwind emotions so you can stay calm and focused on actually succeeding. These habits can help you gain a higher emotional intelligence, but as you probably already know, anything involving dealing with your emotions in a healthy manner takes serious work. So, don’t give up if you fail the first time. You must always try and try again.

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Laughs!

Graham Harrop Graham Harrop Cartoons Cartoons

Putting the power of humour to work for you!

Putting the power of humour to work for you! grahamharrop.com

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