Solid expansion is the mark of a healthy business, but it’s not always common in today’s environment.
We have all witnessed the shortfalls of today’s paradigm of business in the wild fluctuations in all asset classes and markets. However, a strong business is capable of providing value and thus producing a profit and growth, no matter the circumstances. On rare occasions, when a company pulls this off, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of something great, indeed.
This certainly has been the case with Coldwell Banker Trails And Paths. Trails And Paths is a real estate brokerage, owned and operated by the Brown family, living in the Las Sendas area for the past 15 years. And with all the headwinds in the real estate market these days, they still have managed to expand.
This is no small feat.
The company has grown to support four primary businesses. First off, you have the regular resale business division. Secondly, Trails And Paths now offers an in-house mortgage division. Thirdly, they feature full service in the areas of short sales and lender-owned, or REO properties. And lastly, Trails And Paths has added a division with a focus on the investor, which features a REAL ETSATE INVESTMENT SPECIALIST.
Of course, many of us are familiar with the first area. That being your normal real property transaction, which takes place absent any unconventional procedures. This is, of course, the standard transactional business, which occurs between your everyday buyers and sellers. But what you may not be familiar with is that this transaction accounts for only a small part of today’s market. Some estimates show this to be 30 percent to 35 percent or so. With this being the case, maybe normal isn’t the best word to describe this area anymore.
Which leads us to the second division—mortgage. Ron Brown and his team have worked to ensure those aforementioned normal real estate transactions do not fall apart at the financing level. Having the in-house mortgage division allows for more personal interaction with underwriters, who ultimately decide whether or not a client is a good risk. When coupled with high-tech service and extremely competitive rates, this mortgage division helps support buyers, sellers and agents by allowing for the highest probability of mortgage approvals, which, of course, leads to a greater degree of closed deals. This, of course, is in the best interest of all principles involved, but also creates more income opportunity for agents of Trails And Paths.
In developing our third division, a great deal of thought went into how the short sale market could best be served. Contrary to popular belief, the short sale market is quite large, and it exists in all areas. No one has been immune. Areas that we tend to think of as affluent or wealthy, like Las Sendas, have a short sale market, which needs to be serviced, and Trails And Paths is doing just that.
They have agents whose primary focus is short sales. That is important to note. A short sale transaction is completely different from other more standard real estate transactions. They require a greater time commitment and timely follow-up in addition to meeting the deadlines and documentation requirements of today’s lenders. When done properly, a short sale creates a win-win-win scenario, whereby the lender gets to recoup some of its cash, the borrower gets freedom from a burdensome loan or an upside down loan-to-value ratio, and a new buyer gets a deal on a great property.
Successful short sales are not accidents. A quality short sale agent is the only guarantee that a seller can rely on to create the best chance at a positive outcome and avoiding foreclosure. Anything less, and a seller could find himself in a foreclosure.
Finally, we come to the division focusing on REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT. I am reminded of an old business adage: In business, you only get what you negotiate. There is a great deal of power in that idea. And for an enterprising seller, buyer or real estate agent, who understands this, a great many doors open.
What if your transaction was in trouble? Maybe due to financing or foreclosure or whatever reasons you can imagine. Then, you realize you have access to investors. Perhaps an investor would be your lender, or perhaps you structure your transaction another way. But the point is you now have more options. That’s what the real estate investment division is all about. Having access to this division gives all principles and agents a greater possibility of a closed transaction.
And let’s not forget about the benefit to investors. Many of the Trails And Paths investors are earning double-digit returns on their money. Contrast that with today’s returns in other markets, and you’ll see a strong opportunity for yourself as an investor.
For details on these four divisions, and specifics on how you can benefit from working with Coldwell Banker Trails And Paths as a buyer, seller, agent or investor, give Ron Brown a call today at (480) 355-4700.