Roger Lee
Broker/Owner
Abe Hamideh
Executive Officer, CFO
HomeSmart Realty West
Carlsbad, Calif.
Region Served: San Diego County
Years in Real Estate: Roger: 19; Abe: 11
Number of Offices: 4
Number of Agents: 712
What’s your secret for remaining relevant in today’s ever-changing real estate landscape?
Abe Hamideh: Part of it is the fact that we’re revamping our marketing and social media. In addition, our prices are competitive, and we have the right group of people around us. We’ve also instituted an open-door policy within our offices, which shows our agents that we’re always available to answer any questions or concerns they may have. It’s also important to note that we host at least four classes a week, so our agents are up-to-date with disclosures and marketing trends, as well as what’s going on within the industry.
Roger Lee: Our drive to succeed is another key factor in remaining relevant. Abe and I are always putting back into the company in order to give agents what they need. Thanks to our affiliation with HomeSmart, we’ve been able to offer our agents an all-in-one solution for leads, management, marketing and getting new business.
How does your company make its agents’ jobs easier?
AH: By taking care of their paperwork. Our RealSmart Agent back-office has allowed us to streamline the entire process, so the only thing the agent has to do is scan their paperwork. It then goes to our back-office, where we have people who put everything in the right place and let the agent know if anything is missing. Not only is it very effective, but it also helps our agents be more efficient and spend their time with their clients or on their marketing. We like to engage with our agents, as well. We’re 712 agents strong, and each agent has their own unique ideas, so we push them to get out of their comfort zone and bring their ideas to the table so that we can make them a reality.
RL: HomeSmart’s 100-percent commission transaction fee structure gives our agents a lot of flexibility as far as making the transaction work in their favor. Because of the fair commission structure that’s in place, we’re seeing our agents succeed.
In what ways do your agents use technology to better serve their clients?
RL: Our agents have access to a host of tools that allow them to stand out among the competition, most notably the listing presentation they can grab when heading out on a listing appointment. The presentation outlines the tools we provide, which include a YouTube video, flyer and website for each listing. As soon as a listing is put into the system, it generates these components. It also syndicates the listing to other sites.
AH: Agents can access the listing presentation on their iPad and even incorporate a picture of the home into the presentation so that they can show the seller exactly how they’ll be marketing their home.
What sets HomeSmart Realty West apart from other brokerages?
AH: Our back-office and the technology we have that allow us to be more efficient in how we support our agents. Instead of having to invest our money into third-party systems, we’re able to provide our agents an all-in-one platform to help them with marketing, CRM, and more.
RL: What sets us apart from other brokerages is the fact that the agents within our firm have a lot of flexibility, more options and a lot more tools at their disposal.
For more information, please visit www.homesmart.com.
Paige Tepping is RISMedia’s managing editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at paige@rismedia.com.
