For my business and my clientele, being a “specialist” matters. The journey towards a market specialization has morphed into a hyper-specialization and it started 22 years ago, a natural evolution that I was totally unaware of at the time.
I love puzzles, I become fixated and relentless in my pursuit of the finished product. In my work, those puzzles are people, their stories and how to manage the process of moving them towards their goal. Often with so many different pieces to manage at the same time every single thing in my life takes second place until all the pieces are found and properly placed.
After high school I was on my way to pursuing my most deeply rooted and long standing dream of practicing criminal law. That began the study of Philosophy and later Psychology. The latter because it was practical and people based, the former because language and perspective are what I see as art and I loved every moment of every class and every lesson and every paper. It wasn’t to be and Real Estate at 22 years of age is what I embarked upon.
Beginning as a new home sales person I worked with my Father, I learned the old ways of dealing with people and taking the time to listen. There were no systems and no assistants and no email or text messages. It was people to people, knowledge-based sales and deeply understanding what made you and your product better than any other option. This led me to the Professional Home Builders Institiute and the Master Builder Certification Program. Moving through the 18 course program I also moved through Builders, from Crestview Homes, to Reidbuilt and consulting initiatives with some smaller builders in rural communities interspersed. Although I was a sales person at heart, I was now also capable of managing my job sites, estimating, assisting the site superintendents, and running the area sales suites.
With a few years under my belt and some successes I found my love of architecture, glass, concrete and design had been reignited. I continued on to achieve the specific designation as a Condominium Specialist and had a joyful and successful career within the Inner-City Calgary specifically my home of Cliff Bungalow and Mission. 15 years ago, as my family grew and my priorities changed, I began a committed pursuit of Rural Real Estate in the foothills of the Rockies, my home of Bragg Creek. This is where I have remained focused and devoted and will continue to do so for as long as possible.
This is a snippet of what makes me a Hyper-Specialist within Bragg Creek and the Surrounding Area:
-
1. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of property tours and an undisclosed number of transactions in and around the greater area. A career that totals thousands of transactions
-
2. A topographical understanding of the area, its elevations and flora (which affects soil and buildings)
-
3. Hundreds of hours spent understanding and discovering lands adjacent to the municipalities that are undocumented and add value to property
-
4. Understanding Azimuths and Bearings for light exposure
-
5. Knowing what areas offer what type of connectivity and the different solutions for enhancements
-
6. Courses on Preserved Wood Basements and relationships with structural engineers to assist with prospective purchases and listings
-
7. Understanding Uranium channels and off gas mitigation
-
8. The basics of geology and plate tectonics so that intelligent conversations about mountain building can occur
-
9. A general understanding of septic systems and having a team of specialists to assist with inspection, remediation and maintenance
-
10. A team of highly specialized water treatment affiliates and well specialists along with a significant understanding of different wells, aquifers, and water sources specific to the general area.
-
11. Foothill weather patterns
-
12. Hazardous material disposal and the costs involved-rural properties tend to accumulate unwanted materials
-
13. A general understanding of the effects of logging on parcels of land and the value impacts
-
14. Easements, Encumbrances and Restrictive Covenant
-
15. Reliable connections and contacts within Rockyview County, Foothills County and the MD of Big Horn to address building concerns, bylaws and area structure plans
-
16. I have created connections and relationships with whom I consider to be the most highly specialized and capable in their field allowing clients to garner the purest and most accurate information through the property selling and buying process.
These 16 points begin to outline what it may mean to be a market specialist. There is no way to complete this list and the education involved is ongoing, some formal and some garnered only because of the generosity of the specialists who have been willing to take me on as a student for the duration of the inspections over the years.
A market specialist is a title that I began to use only when I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could be relied upon by the public, my clients and my peers to speak to nuances about my area that mainstream knowledge did not allow for.
Every single acreage is so different that each one requires trusted instinct, high level expertise, years of experience and a team of specialists. I am a Bragg Creek and Greater Area Specialist for Real Estate and my devotion and commitment to you grows every single working day.
I will leave it to you to decide if a "specialist" is a title that should be taken seriously or not.
Collaboration is key when committing to be an authority and a specialist, find out in my next blog WHO AND WHY I rely on when it comes to areas that I remain committed to but with which I do not have an intimate understanding, and also what it means to me to be a Market Authority.