Have you ever showed up to a real estate office or even the title company's office & thought, "boy this place sure feels stuffy?" You weren't sure if you could speak, answer your phone, use the restroom... it just didn't feel inviting.
Jeremy Sposato, CEO for J. Roberts & Company, took notice of this through his many years in the business, and is aiming to make a change to the face of real estate. "My goal is to create an open, airy feel to our real estate stores. We want the customers to feel welcomed, comfortable, and engaged. That's why we've created MyHomeKinect real estate stores. It's a game changer, for sure."
After reviewing the prototypes, I have to agree with Mr. Sposato.
The concept feels like an Apple store. There is a lot of glass, which is classy & timeless by design. There's a conceirge desk that welcomes the clients & professionals alike; staffed by a licensed Realtor, ready to be at your services. The idea here is a 'one-stop-shop' for all things real estate with on-duty Realtors, Title Agent, Mortgage Reps, and an Insurance Agent. As a buyer, seller, investor or even a renter, you can truly have all your needs met in one convenient, high-tech location.
The HomeKinect stores are going to be laid out to resemble the workflow of a real estate transaction. First, you'll be greeted by the Realtor Agent at the door, to discuss your goals, wants, needs, and they'll decipher which path through the store you'll make.
Are you a Buyer? Do you need financing? Do you need homeowner's, flood, or wind insurance? "Step this way," Jeremy says as he brings the client into the Mortgage Reps office. Here, the Buyer will get pre-approved; empowered is more like it - now they have the knowledge of what they can afford to purchase. (You don't go to the grocery store without knowing how much money you can spend on groceries.... do you?)
"Once pre-approved, we bring the client to our high definition, touch screen, 42" flat-screen mapping tables. Here's where the Agent begins to hone in on the areas of interest for the client; do you want to be near a beach? near a specific school zone? near a specific highway for commuting to work? This allows both the Agent & client to focus in on their specific regions of interest."
From the mapping tables, the next step is the 'Zip Tour Rooms', which are another cutting-edge-technology that Jeremy has implemented in his real estate business. "We can show our Buyers 30-homes in 30-minutes," boasts one of the J. Roberts & Company sales associates, "without even having to leave the office yet!" The idea here is to hone in on a set of specific properties, typically no more than 5 homes, to go and see in person. J. Roberts & Company's VP of Marketing, Mr. Randy Weber, says, "We find that anything more than 5 homes can become a real burden on the buyers, as they'll confuse details from the individual houses & forget some important things about them in some instances, too."
If you're a Seller, they've got you covered, too! There is a 'Home Valuations Bar' in the store, where a homeowner can come and meet with an experienced listing agent, discuss the market, and review the home's property value. Upon review, the homeowner can sign up for the Home Valuation Protection Plan, which will give them periodic updates of the homes market value, graphing it over time to show market trends. If there is a mortgage balance, that can be included in the graph to show the decreasing mortgage balance versus the home value, which will help aid in selecting the "when to sell" by showing the homeowner when they are in an equitable position. According to Chuck Campbell, BPO/Valuations Specialist for J. Roberts & Company, "Essentially our goal is to help in protecting our clients from another housing bubble!"
It's easy to see how J. Roberts & Company is making great strides and going through great lengths, to change the face of real estate for centuries to come. For more information about J. Roberts & Company, please visit www.jroberts.com, or www.facebook.com/jrobertsandcompany for their corporate office, which is located in Fort Myers, or www.facebook.com/jrobertsandcompanytampa for their office here in the Tampa Bay area.
Good luck & I look forward to seeing you guys prosper!
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