How Tech-Savvy Destin Real Estate Agent Can Help Your Home Sale
Today I had the pleasure of letting a buyer know that his contract had been accepted on a waterfront lot near Destin Florida. This sale was accomplished with the tools of technology and the speed of a tech-savvy real estate agent. Who? Me. OK, here is the story….
A woman called me about two months ago having found my name on the internet and my writings about the real estate world on the Emerald Coast. She felt I was experienced, familiar with the area and liked my style. From having read many of my numerous blog posts, she had developed a trust before ever having met me. To me, trust is one of the most critical factors in choosing a real estate agent.
She told me about a piece of Destin area waterfront property that would be foreclosed on soon, near the residence of her long-time family home. In fact, she had tried to bid on it in the foreclosure sale, but the property had reverted back to the lender. Why did she want to engage me? She wanted to be ready the very moment the property came on the market in order to make an offer. I told her I would be ready. What did I do? I created a custom search in my Emerald Coast Association of Realtors MLS that would email both her and me as soon as anything was listed on the street where the property was located. Why did I enter the street name, not a specific address? Because the property was a lot. A real estate agent could possibly enter the address as “Lot X” or use a street number, or even omit the street number altogether. I didn’t want to take any chances, and it was a short street.
The morning the Destin area lot came on the market, I woke up about 5:00 a.m., a little earlier than my normal time, if you know me. Something possessed me to do a “send and receive” on my iPhone as I rolled out of bed. There it was! XYZ Street Listed! I immediately emailed the buyer and prepared the contract in the Florida Realtor online portal, Forms Simplicity. I had already created a draft contract after my first conversation with the buyer. Painfully waiting until 7:30 a.m., I ventured a phone call. I knew she was a high-energy person, so was hoping this early call wasn’t a disturbance. She was thrilled. We discussed the exact contract terms and I emailed it to her within minutes. Her earnest money was wired to a local title agent and we even did a short teleconference with her attorney. I alerted the seller’s agent I would be sending him an offer. I hit the enter button.
A few hours later, after a follow up call to the listing agent, he got in touch with me. The foreclosing entity would not entertain offers for five days, unbeknownst to him. He was a bit disgruntled and we had no choice but to wait. Five days later I received the call, “Offer Accepted!” My buyer had one word to describe the speed and efficiency of his offer to contract. “Outstanding”. I am not showing off. This was a fun and challenging situation where our goal was to beat any other buyer who wanted that Destin Florida area foreclosure property. I felt I worked in concert with the buyer toward her goal of buying that property.
What were the keys to this success story? 1. Trust between the real estate client and the agent 2. Having a game plan 3. Using technology to its fullest 4. Being prepared.
If you are thinking of buying or selling Destin Florida area real estate, hire a tech-savvy Destin real estate agent – one who won’t lose your opportunity.
It’s Wendy!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
850-650-7883 ext 204
