Hail Mary Effort Proves Worthy of This REALTOR’S® Strategic Open House Move

In real estate, you win some, you lose some. Yet for this REALTOR® from Florida, losing one turned into a trifecta of wins. All because of a very unusual set of circumstances at a very popular open house.

As every real estate agent knows, open houses can be feast or famine. On this particular day, Gregg Center, a REALTOR® with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Sarasota, FL, lucked out. His luxury property listing had quite the appeal for a number of discreet buyers.

“I was somewhat surprised when six different couples entered the property at once,” said Gregg. “It was a blessing and a curse because, obviously, I wanted to engage all of them equally.”

With questions about the property looming and little time to waste, Gregg turned to the app he traditionally relies on in similar circumstances. This time he wasn’t so lucky. “I tried to engage each of my open house visitors by relying on data from my real estate app,” he said. “But its unresponsiveness frustrated them. I felt frustrated as well. High-end buyers have high expectations, and my ‘go-to’ app didn’t perform when they wanted more information.”

What makes Gregg a good agent? He’s quick on his feet. “Right then and there, I remembered that I had downloaded the RPR app about three days prior to my open house and played around with it for about 30 seconds, with no real strategy in mind. I’m new to RPR so had honestly forgotten about it. But I had to do something and followed my instincts.”

Within seconds of the last couple leaving, Gregg pulls up RPR on his phone and heads off his prospects at the door. He moves the conversation forward:

Gregg: “Thanks for stopping by. Do you have any questions about the property?”
Visitors: “We’ll contact you if we do.”
Gregg: “Is this the only house you’re looking at or are you interested in this general area of town?”
Visitors: “The area.”
Gregg: “If I said I know of other homes in the area and could show you them right now, with photos and facts, would you allow me to help you?”
Editor’s Note: Gregg begins praying, “please work, please work” as he pulls up the RPR app.
Visitors: “Yes”

To Gregg’s astonishment, RPR’s app returns search results within seconds, instantly displaying every home for sale within a half mile radius of where they are standing … including, of all places, a listing right across the street.

“I couldn’t believe I missed the house across the street,” remarks Gregg. The sign was poorly placed and I didn’t see it on my MLS. But there it was, right there on RPR.”

He continues with his soon-to-be client. “There’s a place across the street. No open house scheduled but I can set up a tour for tomorrow if you like. And here’s everything you’d want to know about the property,” as he shows them his phone.

Less than 24 hours later, Gregg’s new clients make a $2.1 million offer on the house across the street.

But here’s where it gets even better.

“We win some, we lose some,” said Gregg. Turns out the buyer and seller could not agree on the seller’s contingencies. “Yet, my client was so impressed by my ability to instantly respond to their needs that they decided to sign on with me to purchase another home, including selling their current home AND four parcels of waterfront property they want to list.”

One might say, Gregg had a good day.

Today, Gregg touts RPR as one of his most essential business tools. “I use the app in every single sales opportunity, especially on buyer tours,” he said. “It shows that I have market information readily available and never have to say ‘let me get back to the office/computer and put together some information for you.’ I can do it with the app when they walk into the kitchen and have it finished and sent to their email before they have moved to the dining room. It essentially does everything for me.”

“Well, not everything,” he adds. “I’m waiting for the app to make all my appointments for me. I’m sure RPR is working on that.”

Snapshot

  • REALTOR® in Sarasota, Florida

  • Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

  • Veteran of the US Navy

  • Serves on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of Missouri Military Academy

“I can have a property report – mini or regular – sent to their email within a matter of seconds. And not only did it work the first time, for me, it works every time.”

Gregg Center, REALTOR®, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

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30 Comments

  1. Maria Liccardi June 20, 2016 at 10:30 am - Reply

    I just downloaded the app! I’m so excited to start using it and taking advantage of it? Knowledge is so important! Thanks for sharing!

  2. Kathleen McMahan June 21, 2016 at 5:40 am - Reply

    I am downloading today!! GREAT ARTICLE!

  3. Gilda Karbassi June 21, 2016 at 7:19 am - Reply

    Just downloaded!

  4. Sonia June 21, 2016 at 8:42 am - Reply

    That is great!!! This inspires me to familiarize myself with the app.

  5. Jeannette Bryant June 21, 2016 at 3:52 pm - Reply

    I’m inspired by your story. I’m not very savvy with computer technology, but so inclined to download the app. That’s my goal for this week, I’m going to download the RPR app and have that tool available for my next client.

    Thanks for sharing your story.

    • Laurie Brown June 22, 2016 at 12:06 pm - Reply

      Sounds good, Jeannette. And please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Customer Support team (877.977.7576) if you need help. Or you may be interested in watching this quick video tutorial about the app. https://blog.narrpr.com/video-learning/rpr-mobile/

  6. Bonnie Seidler June 22, 2016 at 6:53 am - Reply

    Thanks so much for your success story. I, too, have used RPR exclusively on my home computer, but now I am downloading it as well to my iPhone! Quite an inspiration your story was! Best of luck to you moving forward.

    • Laurie Brown June 22, 2016 at 12:09 pm - Reply

      Thanks Bonnie. We love hearing from our members. Let us know how it goes.

  7. Tamara Georges June 22, 2016 at 10:53 am - Reply

    Thanks for sharing. I am downloading it to my phone.

    • Laurie Brown June 22, 2016 at 12:11 pm - Reply

      Thanks for taking the time to share, Tamara. We love the app as much as our members do and are always eager to hear your stories from the field, if you’d like to share more. Also, here’s a quick video tutorial on the app: https://blog.narrpr.com/video-learning/rpr-mobile/

  8. Pete Bilicki June 22, 2016 at 11:40 am - Reply

    Great article and I just downloaded the App….

    Pete Bilicki
    Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
    Rancho Santa Fe

  9. Kyle Else June 22, 2016 at 1:27 pm - Reply

    MyRPR reports quickly arm clients with a position to hold the line and close today, not tomorrow. There’s no stronger approach when negotiating price then having trusted data and market expertise to educate consumers.

    • Laurie Brown June 23, 2016 at 7:55 am - Reply

      Love that sense of urgency, Kyle. We wish you much success!

  10. JOSE G. CASTILLO MBA June 22, 2016 at 6:29 pm - Reply

    I use this app for both residential and commercial real estate. It provides alot of useful information for my clients.

    • Laurie Brown June 23, 2016 at 7:55 am - Reply

      Thanks for sharing, Jose. So glad the app is valuable to you.

  11. Ruth June 23, 2016 at 3:13 am - Reply

    That would not be allowed in Maryland, as the open house agent represents the seller during the hours of the open house.

  12. Anna Bealer June 23, 2016 at 7:43 am - Reply

    What a fantastic article. Just downloaded the app. Appears to be very user friendly! Thanks for sharing.

  13. Clarice Neukam June 24, 2016 at 3:08 am - Reply

    I’m a REALTOR in Maryland and we aren’t allowed to discuss any other property other than the one we are holding open. It’s do to our agency law. We are there representing the seller and to sell that home. WE have to explain agency as soon as possible once the visitors come in. If they leave their contact information on the sign in sheet we can contact after the open house.

  14. Stavros Mitchelides June 25, 2016 at 7:37 am - Reply

    I love RPR, and am obsessed with the desktop version, but I am constantly annoyed by the ios app being painfully slow on a brand new iPhone 6s+. When I load a properties details, the tabs that contain all of the information take too long to load, and when you want to click on one to expand it (prior sales for example), the slow loading of all of the other tabs causes them to jump around on the page, inevitably causing me to click on the wrong tab, only having to then wait longer for them all to open so I can get to the one I wanted. The app is great, but the speed leaves much to be desired. Maybe it’s the Miami MLS that causes this?

    • Laurie Brown June 27, 2016 at 9:09 am - Reply

      Hi Stavros, I’m going to reach out to you via email. We may have some helpful ideas. Laurie

  15. Tonya June 26, 2016 at 6:10 am - Reply

    Downloaded

    • Laurie Brown June 27, 2016 at 9:09 am - Reply

      Great! Let us know how it goes.

  16. Roberta Tengerdy June 26, 2016 at 10:50 am - Reply

    Gregg is an amazing agent, he is innovative and thinks quickly, thrilled to have him at Sotheby’s.

  17. […] Read the details about his experience with RPR. […]

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