About three years ago, a group of us at RE/MAX took a course called Senior Agent. The context of the course was, in my estimation, quite brilliantly led by Barry Lebow. In it, he described an aging demographic and how best to deal with our seniors. There was much resistance in the course to one concept: value added paid service above and beyond the commission. In other words, payment for the additional things we, as agents, bring to the table. I have never implimented this aspect of the course-it is hard enough sometimes fighting for our fee of 5 or 6%. I did, however, put together a small, subsiduary company as part of my business called "Seniors on the Go". In it, I established how best to deal with our seniors. Most of my business this year has been with a more mature demographic. Consequently I have dusted off the hours of work I did putting together Seniors on the Go and used it in 2 presentations yesterday. Frankly, and I'm very proud of this, there was a lot of valuable information. When seniors are selling, whether they have to for health reasons or whether they are moving because the home has just gotten too much for them, there are many factors to consider. In most cases, the people have lived in their homes for many years. As a result, there is much emotion attached to the property. Also in many cases, there are years of memories by way of nik naks, photos and sentimental clutter. Wading through this is often a monumental task to undertake. Often, in the case of estate sales, the "decluttering" is left to family members. Part of the package I provided was information and phone numbers for Habitat for Humanity, Waddington's (auctioneers), Jewellery appraisers, Handymen....the list goes on.
Since I love working with seniors so much, my next step is going to be putting together a comprehensive checklist, so everything becomes easier for my senior friends and their families.
When we go to sell a home, we often take for granted that people watch all the home staging shows we do; I like to think that getting back to the basics of helping people transition is really what we are about. That help, in my opinion, should always extend beyond the sale.
Cheryl Bower
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