This is the time of year when a lot of end-of-year and holidays lists are made—they’re fun! Recapping, thinking back, reflecting, rating, and ranking…who doesn’t love a good list?
This blog post comes on my 10-year “Nestiversary,” so I thought I would give you the top 10 ways Nest differs from other agencies. I haven’t always been at Nest, but I have been an agent for more than half my working life, so I feel like I have some chops here!
Here’s my Top 10 Ways Nest Breaks Away:
1. It’s Got Nothing to do with Real Estate: Our business model is focused on good business, period, wherever that takes us. We are not wedded to the standard house-selling market ideals and traditions. Running a tight ship is founded on solid principles that apply to any business: do good work, focus on people, make processes people-centric, and have fun.
2. It’s Got Everything to do With Real Estate: Then again, it’s real estate. And that means you have to know what clients need and want and provide tools to make that happen: detailed neighborhood videos so you can see what places are like from afar; regular explorations of the marketplace via our market report; using pro photographers and making sure our marketing efforts on your behalf are timely, effective, and not outdated.
3. Here’s Yer Sign: If there was something to be gained by our clients by having our faces on the sign in your yard, believe me, we would do it. But advertising what we look like is not relevant to buyers and doesn’t help our sellers. They care about property details: “Is this the house for me?” Our signage focuses on getting info to buyers to sell houses, not what we look like.
4. Office, Shmoffice: Before coming to Nest, I worked for a brokerage where getting a big ol’ office was the sign of…something! But active, successful agents don’t spent that much time IN an office. We are out meeting clients, attending inspections, going to closings, delivering materials, solving problems. And the offices we do have for folks who can’t or don’t want to work from home? Small enough to get the job done, not palatial rooms that we pay rent for that then pass on to our clients in the form of more fees. Sure, we have a lot of screen time, and a quiet place to work is key, but Nest isn’t focused on a bunch of office real estate just so everyone can say, “hey, look at my desk and door!” We’re more interested in being where you need us to be.
5. Picky, Picky: There are more agents who come to Nest wanting to be Nesters than are taken. Our brand was built on people, to serve people, so having the right fit is key. Our brokerage is filled with all sorts of agents from weirdly different backgrounds and areas of focus. But the common trait is being focused on making the right decisions, for the right reasons.
6. Dual Agency? Nah: Dual agency is illegal in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas, and Vermont. It just doesn’t benefit buyers or sellers.
See this article in Realtor Magazine.
So we don’t do it. And we don’t hire agents who practice this. We believe that every party in a transaction deserves their own representation and advocate. In dual agency, only the agent comes out ahead.
7. Party On! We believe in people and connections, period. In the end, our work is about helping people create a life for themselves, so we celebrate that every year with our clients. Check out this video from our 2019 celebration.
We think our clients are worth celebrating and we do it annually, publicly, and fun-fully!
8. We’re Data Dorks: In a good way, though. That helps our clients make sense of a moving target, plan for the future, and justify decision-making. We produce quarterly and annual reports for our clients. Having data is only meaningful if you share it, so we produce data products that are meaningful for everyone.
You can read our 2019 mid-year report here…it’s free! No sign-ups, no email, no questions. Just our present to you!
9. Share-sies: Sure, we are all agents at Nest, and all independent agents who ultimately work for ourselves, so in some sense, we are each other’s competition. But it never feels like that. Our regular meetings are collaborations for getting the best info, ideas, tips, tricks, and heads-ups so that all of us are moving the experience for our clients forward. This isn’t common in the brokerage world. I regularly get requests for info about private septic issues that I am happy to answer at length (really, it’s one of my favorite topics), and I know just who to call when I have a client who needs a recommendation for a driveway repaved, a high-end kitchen consultation, or an insider connection with a local school. No one lives, or works, in a vacuum, so having access to the smartest people with a broad knowledge base is key.
In fact, this blog is just one of many that are written by in-house smarty-pants agents on a huge variety of topics. Check them all out here.
10. We’re 10: Agents often go where the wind blows, looking for the best opportunities. As independent contractors, we can take our licenses wherever we want to. The agents who make it to 10 years? There’s a reason. We like it here; we see the benefits for ourselves and our clients with Nest keeping one step ahead of us, dreaming up things and ideas and events and opportunities we can pass on to our clients. I am not the first 10-year Nester (or the only one!), but just one in what will surely be a long line!
Congratulations, Deborah, on 10 years with Nest! We’re lucky to have you! – N.R.
Deborah Rutter is an Associate Broker at Nest Realty with a passion for teaching. She knows buyers and sellers make the smartest decisions for themselves when they are armed with data and insight. She has taught first-time homebuyer education classes, and is a featured contributor on our blog. To learn more about Deborah, visit her agent page.