Brian Thomas
Brian is responsible for introducing the VHP process to prospects and helping them implement it. He hires real estate agents, appraisers and other professionals as needed. “I do as much or as little as the Member wants me to do.”
“The idea is to arm us and the Member with information we can use to defend the listing price, defend low-ball offers and defend us from potential reappraisal when the home goes under contract.”
VHP services include obtaining prices for repairs identified during the inspection process and helping the Member decide which to pursue. For repairs that will be done, Brian even helps negotiate the price. He gets regular updates from the real estate agent and, in general, holds all professionals to a high level of accountability.
Maricita Hughes
“Our goal is to help new Members identify and pack the items that they are going to use at Park Springs, and not everything else,” says Maricita with a smile. The process is done with stickers and is part of a package of services that includes packing, moving and unpacking Members’ belongings.
Many Members lack the physical stamina to pack and unpack, and family members are often in another city or too busy to assist.
Park Springs contracts with a moving firm that specializes in assisting seniors in their Atlanta senior homes. Their care and concern for Members’ possessions is obvious in how they approach each move.
“Members routinely tell me how valuable it was to have help,” says Maricita. “They say, ‘I had no idea how important it was, but now I understand.’ By the second night they’re completely moved in, with no boxes in sight and everything in the proper drawer and closet.”
Tina Tyler
Tina says the consensus among the experts is that the market will likely slow down in the first quarter of 2012 and may pick up after that. “But it continues to be very slow – with 2012 expected to be fairly flat.” The same holds true in metroAtlanta.
Tina, Relocation Director for Coldwell Banker Atlanta Residential Brokerage, has partnered with Park Springs in a number of ways over the years. As part of the Vintage Home Program (VHP) team she prepares a market analysis to give Members an understanding of the value of their home. She helps price the home, offers guidance on improvements and even recommends vendors.
In her presentation she’ll touch briefly on economic forecasts, introduce the audience to tools that help real estate agents get market data and teach them to see a home from the buyer’s perspective.
