Virtual showings are gaining popularity

It is undoubtedly true that the continuous development of technology has brought us countless possibilities to make our lives easier. These days, this fact is more evident than it has ever been. While it is true that in some states organizing showings with the necessary protective equipment and social distancing is allowed, a much safer, considerably easier, and faster option is organizing a virtual showing. Hence, real estate agents are doing their best to utilize all the potential among technology trends with an impact on the real estate sector and provide their clients with premium-quality services even during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The use of video calling apps has skyrocketed

Just a few months ago, a visit to the real estate agent’s office was a must for all those who wanted to gather all the vital information, ask myriads of questions, schedule a showing of the property they are interested in, and finally agree on the terms. At the moment, it is a much more convenient and intelligent decision to use Zoom, Skype, or a similar video calling application to have a conversation with your current and prospective clients.

Even if they are moving from neighboring states, like New York, for example, real estate agents in Connecticut can help their clients find and purchase a home that meets their expectations without coming to the state first. By organizing a video call for the buyer and the seller, agents help them stay safe and also save a lot of their time and money on various expenses. Though it is true that we all feel much more confident when we see a property in person, virtual showings and video calls between real estate agents, sellers, and buyers are the best solutions during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Attending webinars to gain new knowledge

Attending various webinars is inevitable now that real estate agents are adjusting to the “new normal” during the COVID-19 outbreak. To be able to stand out among competitors who are all experiencing the impact of this difficult situation, real estate agents have to keep up with everything technology offers to keep their business going. Hence, mastering virtual staging as one of the trends in real estate is not their only task.

Real estate agents are given an opportunity to upgrade their skills and knowledge by finding out all about DocuSign, Dotloop transaction management, Matterport 3D home tours, electronic signings, FedEx’d documents, and many more. These new skills and knowledge will be very useful not only in the current situation but also in the years to come, as they will enable real estate agents to introduce some major changes and improve the way they do business even when the pandemic is over.

An important benefit of these webinars is the chance to share experiences with colleagues, discuss the tools and strategies they use, and finally discover those that will work best for your real estate business. Together, real estate agents brainstorm some new ideas and practices that will help them cope with the current situation in the industry.

Emotional support

As we all know, social distancing is imperative during the pandemic. For the sake of their own well-being and that of their families, everybody should limit contact with others to a minimum. This physical distancing causes immense stress to many real estate agents and consequently, they have various difficulties staying focused on their business and satisfying the needs and requirements of their clients.

It is very important to understand that social distancing, though it makes us physically apart, still lets us stay in touch. Real estate agents all around the state and even beyond should offer each other support and act as a team. By sharing the latest information, the best and most effective protocols and safety measures, real estate agents will succeed in protecting themselves and their clients, and still, stay in business without any financial losses.

Keeping pace with all the changes in the industry and making an effort to adapt to them properly is the best advice now when real estate agents are adjusting to the “new normal” during the COVID-19 outbreak in Connecticut and the whole world.

Real estate agents will always be needed

Although the coronavirus outbreak has caused myriads of problems on various levels and in various fields, the real estate industry has no reason to worry. Real estate agents will always be necessary as no life circumstances will ever prevent people from selling or buying their homes and looking for a new place to live.

Every change comes with its own set of challenges that people in the industry will have to decipher in order to stay in business and become successful despite the fierce competition. Real estate agents are adjusting to the new normal during the COVID-19 outbreak by using technological advances, gaining new knowledge on webinars, and providing each other with immense support. Finally, a great number of the new approaches applied in these difficult times will remain standard practice in the years to come.

REAM: What first drew you to fine art?

IG: I was raised by a father who was an art collector, always adding new pieces to his collection, so art became an important part of my life from a very young age. It has always been one of my main passions, along with medicine. I studied art history at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and my love for art has only grown since then. It’s one of the few things that brings a common peace and understanding to humanity, going all the way back to the first cave paintings 40,000 years ago. Art is a central part of what it means to be human, and I’ve always known that it is what I want to devote my life to – I was raised with it, and I will die with it.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

REAM: What compelled you to start your own business?

IG: In short, the challenge. My whole life I’ve loved to prove people wrong when they say I can’t do something, and to succeed when they challenge me. In this case, that challenge came from my husband. I was married to a wealthy man, but I never wanted to have everything handed to me on a silver platter; I wanted to live an exciting life where I had my own mission and achievements. One day, my husband challenged me to get a job – not in a rude way, but as a genuine push to help me achieve what I wanted in life. The only thing I wanted to devote my life and career to was art, so that’s exactly what I did.

Forty years later, I’m glad I made that decision. I proved to myself and those around me that I could achieve my dreams, and I get to do what I love every day. I like to say that I’ll die with a phone in my hand, making a deal. And it’s true, I don’t see myself ever retiring. Every day I get to enjoy the life that I built for myself over decades of hard work.

REAM: How do you think marketing of this type of fine art assists real estate agents?

IG: The addition of fine art to a home can add a lot of value, especially to the discerning eye of higher-end clients to whom every detail matters.  When you have a beautiful sculpture tying together a room, or a large, engaging photograph or painting, you can bring a whole new degree of life to the layout.

It’s easy to gloss over the details of decoration and pick any piece that will fill a wall, or match up with the general color scheme, but when you include a beautiful work with a life of its own by a highly skilled artist, it creates an effect that very few other things can achieve.

when you include a beautiful work with a life of its own by a highly skilled artist, it creates an effect that very few other things can achieve.

REAM: What do you enjoy most about your day-to-day work?

IG: I love improving peoples’ lives with art. I build up a relationship with my clients – because a gallery should be much more than just a place where you buy art. When people come to me, I really take the time to get to know them as a person. I find out their passions, what they want, and try to discover their true feelings through art. I don’t try to understand what they want to buy, but why they want to buy. Once you figure all that out, you can truly enhance their life by procuring for them something that they love, that really adds sincere joy to their lives.  It’s not about finding something that simply fills an open wall. When I know that I’ve truly added value to a client’s life through my hard work, and I’ve shared my deep love and appreciation of art with someone else, I’m reminded of exactly why I went into this business. It truly is a great feeling, and one that I never want to give up.

REAM: What is your vision for your company?

IG: My vision is that it keeps going strong, I’ve already made my gallery into what I want it to be with lots of hard work. I’ve built up my reputation over 40 years with over 400 corporate clients, many of whom still call me today when they need something. I’m happy to have the trust and reputation I do, and I’ll keep channeling that into my gallery to help bring the beauty of art into as many lives as possible.

REAM: Are there any changes coming in the near future that you’re excited to announce?

IG: Yes! We have some amazing developments coming up, things we’ve been working on for quite a while that we’re very excited to roll out.  I’ll save the announcements for when things are finalized, but I’m very excited for what the future holds!

Real Estate Agent Magazine Publisher Judith Dickson sat down with Bobbi Mathues of Century 21 AllPoints to discuss her transition from entertainment to real estate and the many obstacles she faced in her new endeavor along with her plans for the future of her career. 

REAM: Why did you decide to follow a career in real estate?

Mathues: I spent a number of years in the broadcasting industry. First at NBC in NYC and later at ESPN in Bristol, CT. After several years in that industry, I felt burned out and I wanted to do something completely different without the constraints of a corporation and a nine to five job. So, I decided that real estate was the perfect answer for me. I would be able to use my time as I wanted and I wouldn’t be paid less than a man, the commissions would not be discriminatory.

REAM: Tell us a little bit about your career.

Mathues: I first worked for a smaller independent real estate agency and they were very good to me, but I had to re-­learn everything I knew from corporate life. My first couple years were rough, but I am not a quitter and never gave up. It is hard work to be a real estate agent and a new agent must rely on friends and relatives to drum up business. I was new to the area and my family didn’t live in Connecticut. And, I hadn’t made too many friends at that point. The agency I was working for went out of business after the founder died. So, I moved to Coldwell Banker in Avon and really enjoyed the camaraderie with the agents and learned a lot and did more business.

After a few years with Coldwell Banker, I moved to RE/MAX Hometown in Simsbury. That was a very good move for me. My business just bloomed, and I did lots of business with RE/MAX and enjoyed every minute of it. At the 10-year mark with RE/MAX, two other agents and myself decided to buy and open our own franchise so we bought a Realty World franchise. We were very excited to own our own business, but after a few years each one of the partners decided it wasn’t the right fit for them, so they left and I continued the franchise. I owned Realty World Hometown for 15 years. And closed it in 2019 and joined Century 21 AllPoints in Avon. They have treated me very well and I am happy there.

REAM: Tell us about one of the biggest challenges in this industry.

Mathues: Lead Generation! How do you overcome it? Tell everyone you know and even people you don’t know, that you are a real estate professional. When I was brand new I even ran TV commercials.

REAM: Who are your real estate mentors?

Mathues: Craig Proctor is a RE/MAX agent who is very successful and taught a real estate program which I followed for years. And Jay Kinder and Michael Reese formed a company called Kinder Reese which also did real estate programs and conventions. I followed their training for quite a few years as well.

REAM: What career goals do you have for the next five years?

Mathues: I want to continue to be a very active agent working with lots of buyers and sellers and turning them into my trusted friends and advisors, and enjoying their company.

REAM: Tell us about your first sale.

Mathues: One of my first closings was with a buyer who bought a house in Bloomfield and came to the closing with a bag full of cash. Of course, the attorney couldn’t accept cash, so I had to take the buyer to the bank to get a bank check. That is how green I was, I didn’t know you couldn’t pay in actual cash!

REAM: How are you involved in the local real estate community?

Mathues: I continue to be on committees at the Greater Hartford Association of REALTORS®. And, I have served on the board of directors at both GHAR and the CT Association of REALTORS®, as a director.

REAM: What are your hobbies?

Mathues: I LOVE spending time at the beach, and I love to travel.

REAM: Why did you decide to follow a career in real estate?

Lavigne: I spent the first good portion of my working life on the residential real estate mortgage financing side of the business and figured the next step toward mastering the entire transaction was to work on the real estate side of the transaction to learn the entire process from the very beginning through the end of the closing with the finance company which I spent many years doing as a loan closer.

REAM:  What does your experience in a previous career bring to your real estate business? How does that benefit clients?

Lavigne: My clients will benefit from my 32 years of extensive mortgage financing background, I worked in a couple of the largest most efficient banks with some of the best in the industry who mentored me into becoming well versed in all areas of the mortgage transaction.

I will be able to protect my clients from the erroneous and misinformed mortgage professionals that are out in the industry today making many false or inaccurate claims to the consumers causing the clients to get into transactions that are not any better than what they claimed they would be. I know all the secrets and the way originators are trained to persuade customers into doing business with them instead of the others,  its a lot of smoke and screens and psychological games that I refused back then and refuse to do today for any type of sales involving such an important life changing transaction.

REAM: What drew you to your current real estate team? What were you looking for?

Lavigne:  I actually got drawn into considering real estate after talking to a good Friend Steve Schappert who is the Broker for Connecticut Real Estate Brokerage in Thomaston Connecticut.

He and I have had many conversations and started networking together last summer and we have built a good relationship and have included many more people since then into the social network. I am still not with Steve or anyone else. I am considered a free agent looking at all options for now before I make a final decision in March or April after I select a broker to sponsor me.

REAM:  What career goals do you have for the next five years? The next 10? Where do you see the peak of your career?

Lavigne: My goal in the next five years or my wish is to become a broker and help my daughters get into real estate after high school to have a second job which in time might become their main job if they like it and do well in it.  I would like to hand off to them a very successful business that will provide for them when I’m not  here anymore.

REAM:  What are some of your hobbies outside of the office?

Lavigne:  I enjoy spending time with my family, my wife is a registered nurse and my high school sweetheart, together we adopted four children, we have time shares in Cape Cod and Rhode Island that we spend time at each year.

REAM: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Lavigne:  I wanted to thank you and the publication and everyone here in the mortgage and real estate industry. Most have been very helpful with advice and were willing to share a moment when I asked them about the industry or to explain something to me.