I’ll keep this short and sweet in order to spare The Academy of having to drive me offstage with unflattering music.
Thank You.
I’ve worked very hard to get to where I am and I’m truly blessed to have gotten here from where I was. Always put other people first–it will ensure you’re forever taken care of.
I consider myself a tech savvy agent. It is of the utmost importance to stay ahead of the pack when it comes to implementing technological advancements into marketing and business. I’ll often check out blogs and websites of companies in larger, trendy markets, such as Austin, Nashville, Atlanta, etc., to see what agents in these young, diverse cities are doing and test some of their strategies in our market.
After skimming through a blog from a Texas Realtor a few weeks back, I decided to utilize a strategy which has been very successful for this particular Realtor. The agent has been streaming his open houses live. I’ve adopted the term “Open House LIVE!”
Upon arriving at my listing I set up an account on www.ustream.com. Ustream allows you to stream basically anything, as long as the content is consistent with their agreement policy. Once I had my account squared away it was a simple as writing a description of what I would be airing and titling my stream.
One of the strongest assets of the Open House Live! is that I was able to interact with my viewers via the live chat. Many people had questions about the property and some simply dropped a line letting me know how cool and innovative the idea was (thank you Texas agent, you owe us Tennesseeans anyway so we’re even).
Every 30 minutes I would give viewers a live tour of the property. Macbook in hand, I paced the entire property getting live video of every nook and cranny of the home. Doing an actual tour alleviated the problem of my Macbook being stationary, which constrained it to streaming video of a single room.
Attendees of the open house loved the idea and, in turn, I looooved this. See, many prospective buyers have the contingency of having to sell a property before purchasing. The Open House LIVE! was marketing my business to every prospect that attended the open house. In fact, one attendee told me she would be in touch once she decided to put her house on the market.
Open House LIVE! links to various social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,
AOL Instant Messenger, etc. Therefore, the majority of my viewers were actually local. Don’t get me wrong here, I love the random viewers I picked up from across the country because they stumbled onto my page but it’s very doubtful that I’ll sell the property to the highly complimentary man from Bend, Oregon.
Since my Open House LIVE! debut was so successful, I will now be streaming all of my open houses. Be sure to check them out on my Ustream Page if you won’t be able to attend in person.
Seth
What started out as a conversation between Shirley Warren and myself in my living room last year has inevitably ended up as 144 real estate transactions, nearly $20,000 donated to local charities, 18 of the best Realtors in the region working collectively and momentum heading into our second year. I cannot express how blessed I have been throughout my first fiscal year as the Director of Signature Properties. We truly have something special going on at this office, not only because of our giving nature as individuals but also because of the cohesion among our team of Realtors. Real estate is such a demanding, frustrating and competitive business that back-stabbing and unethical behavior has almost become the norm–not here. I have never been part of such strong camaraderie since my college basketball days. Everyone is friendly. Everyone exercises ethics and mortals. And most importantly, everyone in this office stands by one another.
I’ve provided a slideshow below that highlights Signature Properties first year. And here’s to many more to follow!
Filed under Buyers, Events, Signature Properties
I want to stray off of the beaten path of real estate and discuss a few things that are taking place here in Kingsport, as well as voice my opinion in regard to changes I would love to see take place.
Around this time last year, an article in the Times-News prompted me to contact Lea Ann Rasar, Director of Move 2 Kingsport. The article highlighted an influx of young, culturally diverse professionals that were relocating to the area. Specifically, the article stated that 1 out of every 7 new Kingsport residents fit the aforementioned criteria. Therefore, why is it that city leaders, retail recruiters and community event organizers seem to have such difficulty catering to this trend?
Retail
Believe me, I am an avid supporter of buying locally. However, when the aisles and shelves of local clothing stores are stocked with regular/classic fit shirts, baggy slacks with more pleats than a Scottish kilt and suits that Perry Mason wore during his suits on 50’s television then I’m forced to exercise one of two shopping options: out of town or online.
The Fort Henry Mall has to be revamped–and I mean completely. “Hey, that’s the Kingsport Town Center, now.” Wrong. Until the gigantic illuminated red letters on the facade of the building clearly stating “Fort Henry Mall” come down then I’m not calling it any differently. Anything can change its name, but until a reputation follows suit then no change has occurred. Since the empty-promised proposal years ago that was supposed to bring in a food court, contemporary glass and brick facades, “monumental” entrances, new retail, etc. the only changes that have taken place have been businesses leaving. Now, if the new movie theater/entertainment complex is the catalyst the Fort Henry Mall needs then I’ll eat my crow. However, bumper cars and laser tag do not solve the pressing problem of a lack in retail.
Downtown
Three to five years ago downtown seemed to be heading in the right direction: dilapidated buildings had been converted into loft apartments, restaurants were becoming prevalent (12 Bones, Cafe Blu, Stir Fry, Kingsport Grocery) and there was some semblance of night life with music acts on Broad St., The Bus Pit and the aforementioned restaurants.
Fast-forward a few years later and only one restaurant remains (Stir Fry) which, consequently, doubles up triples-up as the only place downtown to get a happy hour cocktail and/or enjoy live music. Bluegrass on Broad and Twilight Alive still seem to be doing well but they have failed to progressively bring in bigger acts over the years, as anticipated.
What is going on with the State Theatre? What should be the nucleus of downtown Kingsport is actually more of a lysosome, sitting there accumulating waste and debris. My suggestion??? Check out The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC. The newly constructed parking garage and free downtown parking could accommodate traffic, heavy foot traffic would be present at least two/three days/nights per week which would be palatable to current/potential business owners downtown and with eventual growth, the need for downtown housing would arise.
Community Events
I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on this because too much has been spent already. Racks by the Tracks and Oktoberfest have both been huge successes and since the two take place in completely different seasons then there’s no competition, right? Wrong. For God’s sake, it’s $2,800! Get over it. Why not cross-promote your events? It’s called fusion marketing and it’s a damn successful means of guerrilla marketing. In other words, benefit from one another before you ruin it for everybody.
Kingsport now has a population of over 50,000 people, an interchange of two major Interstate highways (81 and 26), one of the highest-rated convention centers in the South and a Fortune 500 company in Eastman. Also, when combined with MSA of Johnson City the resulting population parallels that of Huntsville, AL, Chattanooga, TN, Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC, among many other mid-major cities.
Check out their entertainment/retail hubs:
Huntsville, AL: Bridge Street
Chattanooga, TN: Hamilton Place
Asheville, NC: Downtown Asheville
Knoxville, TN: Turkey Creek
Please feel free to share.
Seth
Filed under Kingsport Businesses, Local Market
With rates hitting all-time lows it’s an ideal market for first-time buyers. How about a little more incentive? I want to highlight a fantastic loan program geared specifically toward first-time homebuyers: BB&T’s CHIP Loan.
I’m currently working with Kim Richards at BB&T-Fort Henry Drive on our 2nd and 3rd CHIP Loan. It truly is a fantastic loan for first-time buyers or buyers with little or no down payment. I’ll highlight a few specifications and requirements but for more detailed information regarding county income limitations check out the worksheet provided below, as well as www.bbt.com
100% financing (no down payment) with no PMI is available with a 680 credit score and income under $ 40,160 in Sullivan Co., TN (see attached worksheet for income limitations in surrounding counties).
97% financing (3% down payment) with no PMI is available with a 620 credit score and income under $60,240 in Sullivan Co., TN (again, see attached worksheet for income limitations in surrounding counties).
The unusually warm temperatures we have been having thus far this winter have not only birds and flowers in a frenzy, but also the real estate market. In my four years as a Realtor® I have never seen a February like the one that just passed. Currently, the “Pending Board” in my office at Signature Properties has 25 properties scheduled to close during the month of March. Twenty-five pendings would be more common for May or June, not February or March, but hey, I’m not complaining.
Below, I’ve linked a recent article from MarketWatch highlighting the rebounding real estate market. Since February’s Pending Home Report won’t be released until March 21, the most recent data is the January report. However, if the success of Signature Properties in February is indicative of the national market then the prognosis is good!
Filed under Buyers, Events, Local Market, National News, Sellers, Signature Properties
We hit a company milestone this week. Since our opening in early May, we have now donated over $ 10,000 to local and national charitable organizations. Signature Properties is on pace to smash our fiscal year goal of $ 12,000 donated. Of the 52 different non-profit organizations to which we have donated, around 90% have been local. Therefore, our money is staying primarily within the Tri-Cities which is phenomenal.
A big thank you to our fantastic team of agents here at the office, our clients for placing their faith in our agents and to the various non-profit organizations out there for using the funds we have donated to alleviate pain and hardship.
Let’s build on this momentum!
Over $ 11,500 have been donated to various charities since 5.5.12.
Filed under Buyers, Events, Local Market, Sellers, Signature Properties
Seth Jervis - Signature Properties 
