THE PHONE RANG in my office a month ago. A good friend and client asked me to work with a couple who were considering a move to Providence to work in his company, It has been a while since I worked with a client from out of town so I sought advice from our relocation director to understand exactly what the issues are. In the case of the family, one of the family members is offered an exciting possibility and the trailing spouse must leave his or her job, friends and life as he or she knows it. The children are worried about the new school and leaving their friends. So, unlike a local family that just has to deal with satisfying the house needs of the family, the relocated family has that and a slew of people following them saying: "Are you crazy, moving to Rhode Island?" I asked my new client to describe what was important to her in a house, and what their current house had in it that they couldn't live without. She fully described where she lived which she described as "typical" for her area. The only problem for me was that "typical" there was not going to translate to "typical" here. I happened to be in her area for a meeting and arranged to tour her home so that I could see where they were living and what was important to them. She was thrilled, and although most agents are not able to travel across country to see the house of their potential client, it made my job much easier as I combed through the houses available in Rhode Island for us to look at. Whirlwind Tour Finally the day came to tour the state with my new client. Our adventure began early on Friday morning; Armed with a binder filled with property information, a map of the area, and a picnic lunch, I picked her up at her hotel and drove to the schools that she was considering for her children. After six exhausting hours trying to assess the best school for each of her children, we went to see some houses. We then ended our day with a cold drink and a dinner at one of the great dining clubs in town. The next morning, at 8:45 a.m., I picked her up for a full day of house-hunting statewide. I put my pedometer on so we could make a game of how many steps we could take in a day. (It turned out to be a 15,000-step day). We visited a dozen houses, met with a contractor, visited Whole Foods, grabbed lunch for the car, toured every nook and cranny of every town we visited, as I always bow to the neighborhood expert, we teamed up with Judy Chace to tour properties in the southern part of the state. In addition to being one of the best agents in my company, Judy is one of the funniest people I know and our adventure continued. We laughed and talked about everything - from where we grew up to our jobs and children. By the time we were done and back to the airport at 6 p.m., we were zombies; but we were new best friends, and she had a great sense of why I love Rhode Island. This Week's Real Estate Insight My new friends have decide to stay put for now, and while you might think that all my time and work was for nothing, I took a step back and saw the bigger picture; I did right for a friend and client, and made a new friend. They just might end up relocating to Rhode Island, but the truth is, no matter where we go in our lives, there are wonderful people and wonderful places to see. I was glad to have introduced her to my world. ?Relocation: Falling in love with Rhode Island
- By Michael McCann
- Posted
THE PHONE RANG in my office a month ago. A good friend and client asked me to work with a couple who were considering a move to Providence to work in his company, It has been a while since I worked with a client from out of town so I sought advice from our relocation director to understand exactly what the issues are. In the case of the family, one of the family members is offered an exciting possibility and the trailing spouse must leave his or her job, friends and life as he or she knows it. The children are worried about the new school and leaving their friends. So, unlike a local family that just has to deal with satisfying the house needs of the family, the relocated family has that and a slew of people following them saying: "Are you crazy, moving to Rhode Island?" I asked my new client to describe what was important to her in a house, and what their current house had in it that they couldn't live without. She fully described where she lived which she described as "typical" for her area. The only problem for me was that "typical" there was not going to translate to "typical" here. I happened to be in her area for a meeting and arranged to tour her home so that I could see where they were living and what was important to them. She was thrilled, and although most agents are not able to travel across country to see the house of their potential client, it made my job much easier as I combed through the houses available in Rhode Island for us to look at. Whirlwind Tour Finally the day came to tour the state with my new client. Our adventure began early on Friday morning; Armed with a binder filled with property information, a map of the area, and a picnic lunch, I picked her up at her hotel and drove to the schools that she was considering for her children. After six exhausting hours trying to assess the best school for each of her children, we went to see some houses. We then ended our day with a cold drink and a dinner at one of the great dining clubs in town. The next morning, at 8:45 a.m., I picked her up for a full day of house-hunting statewide. I put my pedometer on so we could make a game of how many steps we could take in a day. (It turned out to be a 15,000-step day). We visited a dozen houses, met with a contractor, visited Whole Foods, grabbed lunch for the car, toured every nook and cranny of every town we visited, as I always bow to the neighborhood expert, we teamed up with Judy Chace to tour properties in the southern part of the state. In addition to being one of the best agents in my company, Judy is one of the funniest people I know and our adventure continued. We laughed and talked about everything - from where we grew up to our jobs and children. By the time we were done and back to the airport at 6 p.m., we were zombies; but we were new best friends, and she had a great sense of why I love Rhode Island. This Week's Real Estate Insight My new friends have decide to stay put for now, and while you might think that all my time and work was for nothing, I took a step back and saw the bigger picture; I did right for a friend and client, and made a new friend. They just might end up relocating to Rhode Island, but the truth is, no matter where we go in our lives, there are wonderful people and wonderful places to see. I was glad to have introduced her to my world. ?
