Those who choose to practice the brokerage of residential real estate are met with a number of challenges. In order to be successful, for example, they must be visible, and they achieve this ubiquitous status through marketing and advertising.
Over the past 20 years, trainers and managing brokers have encouraged the inclusion of photographs. These pictures are often fodder for jokes, as many have been brushed by enough air to create a small tornado.
But Realtors are forced to differentiate themselves in any manner they can in order to gain market share and sustain their careers. Some spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on bus benches and billboards, even television. Their images and names become as familiar as local celebrities.
Their success breeds success. Such is the case with high-profile Realtors such as Shirley Zeitlin, Lura Bainbridge, Mark Deutschmann, Steve Fridrich, Whit Clark, Rick French, Kendra Cooke, Christie Wilson, Terry DeSelms and Karen Hoff. All have achieved remarkable success and branded themselves in unique ways.
One name that is missing from the real estate hero page is Linda Brake. Linda was the office manager at Fridrich and Clark Realty for 22 years and is legendary among local Realtors and the sellers and buyers she served. She died last week after an extremely short battle with cancer.
She participated in an industry that witnessed mammoth changes and initiated systems that adapted to the technology.
In her early years as the receptionist, she was the voice of Fridrich and Clark, which at that time was a small boutique real estate firm that has since emerged as one of Nashville’s premier companies. Steve Fridrich and Whit Clark, the principles, are quick to site Linda as being a vital piece of their success.
In her early years with the firm, the Multiple Listing Service books were delivered weekly. These resembled a Sears’s catalogue and held the keys to the real estate kingdom. Possession – quick possession – of those books gave the Realtor and edge over his competition. Brake ensured her group was armed and in the field within minutes of the delivery of the MLS books.
There were no appointment centers then, so each showing appointment went through her desk, and her pleasant, soothing (albeit firm) voice guided home sellers, Realtors and even buyers through the process. She was a friend and information source for thousands of clients and hundreds of agents during her legendary career.
Her office door was always open and often utilized as she provided inspiration to new agents and dejected veterans, alike. In these offices, each agent is an independent contractor and they are more independent than most managing brokers would prefer. Ms. Brake served as a stabilizing force bringing order into the chaos.
Her shoulders were large enough to hold the tears of an entire office, and her compliments resonated though many a struggling soul. All of the aforementioned superstars have benefitted from Linda Brake. And the next crop of superstars will shine in an industry made better by her.
Sales of the Week
The sales of the week this week are located in the Crieve Hall area, a neighborhood off of Harding Place near the exit from Interstate 65. The first is 4921 Darlington Drive and was listed by Mindy Orman of Prudential Woodmont Realty for $209,900. It was sold by Christie Wilson of the Wilson Group for $206,500 after only 16 days on the market.
The owners had purchased the home in 2005 for $173,500, so they realized a 19 percent return on their investment. Such an increase is similar to the so-called boom years.
The house located at 635 Devon Drive and listed by Melissa Clough of Keller Williams mirrored its Darlington neighbor, selling in 36 days for $197,000 after having been purchased for $171,000. However, this owner bought the home in 2000, so the holding time was five years longer.
It’s safe to sell again, hence the 30 percent increase in units sold in the area.
Richard Courtney is a broker with French, Christianson, Patterson and Associates and the co-author of Come Together: The Business Wisdom of the Beatles. He can be reached at [email protected].