David Tonna, President of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR), is on a mission to educate today’s home buyers, MercuryNews tells MHProNews. Some 90% of all home buyers begin their home shopping online. Most search for a property for 6 months before they contact a real estate agent. But home buying is more than facts found online, because there is both information and misconceptions found on the web.
Tonna says he spends no less than 90 minutes with a future buyer upon their first meeting. He says, “Homeownership is an investment in your future and offers immediate benefits and long-term value. Realtors are trusted resources for the most up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate real estate information because they know the communities, see many homes and can help buyers successfully navigate the increasingly complex buying process.”
Buyers are asked to describe their ideal home, lifestyle, schooling needs, commute goals and their location/community amenities. Tonna presents buyers with a bound manual outlining the buying process, including the complexity of their home search, offer(s), escrow, contingencies and closing. Then they go over forms the buyers will encounter. “This process takes the mystery out of home purchasing,” Tonna stated.
Tonna notes the internet may bring international buyers. He also contends that Realtors ® do more than generic real estate agents or online information alone, because websites can’t replace a Realtor ®. “The process I describe illustrates that Realtors are not simply order takers for properties they found on the Internet and visited at an open house. It raises the level of our professionalism in our industry,” says Tonna.
SILVAR and Tonna stay politically engaged as well, he’s pictured above at California’s U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein constituent breakfast.
As regular MHProNews readers know, many of these same points apply to manufactured and modular housing. The need for professionalism routinely starts with a good online engagement strategy, but must include trained and motivated professionals who deal with prospective buyers with an appealing customer service and education approach. Given the widespread misinformation about manufactured homes, more best practices methods and online engagement must take place to attract increasing numbers of qualified home buyers. ##
(Photo credit: SILVAR)
