Meeting A Success!

The First Meeting was a Success!

The first office meeting of Better Properties Brokerage at our new address in Vancouver was a success. Not all agents made it (yes, clients come first), but those who did got to see our new office and conference room, see first hand how to use our new electronic file management system, and meet our mortgage and insurance partners (who provided the delicious lunch!). It was also an opportunity for many to meet Ben Winfield, Owner, and Mitch Canton, Designated Broker, in person. During the introductory time of sharing, Mitch explained that he closed his own company to work for Better Properties Brokerage because he saw the value of this business model, of empowering agents financially and to be a part of something bigger than himself that can change the industry.

Meet Our Partners

The meeting started with some sandwiches, chips, drinks, and cookies provided by our partners who then introduced themselves and shared about their companies. Our Mortgage partner is PrimeLending Mortgage with offices in Vancouver by the mall and in Longview, and offices across the nation.

PrimeLending is that perfect blend of big bank amenities, with small town service. They are a bank, which enables them to fund loans in all 50 States, but being categorized as a ‘small bank’ allows them to establish their own appraisal pool, fund loans in-house, and that translates to loans funding in 3 weeks to 4, versus 45-60 days with ‘big banks’. Bill Maxwell is the area manager and point of contact for our clients as he still loves to work on loans.

Our Insurance partner is Pino Insurance with an office in cascade park and licensed in WA & OR. A memorable moment was when Jim Pino, Owner of Pino Insurance, boldly declared that 85% of insurance agents are incompetent. Sure, that may seem bold to say, but with the background Jim has, he can say it and mean it. The fact is not all insurance plans are created equal and too often the agent writes a policy simply because it is a standard their company recommends, not because it is what’s best for the client. That’s what he refers to as incompetence and it surely isn’t meeting the needs of their clients.


Operational Aspects Covered

IDX Search is a great feature we’re proud to offer for all our agents through our website. Used primarily as a lead generation tool, it’s also powerful to direct your current customers to register and use our tool versus the RMLS service. On our site, users can save their searches, get email notifications of newly listed homes that meet their criteria, and get home suggestions from their realtor who’s helping them in the process.

Our electronic file management system allows our agents to upload documents to our server and manage them without ever stepping foot in the office. This also allows Mitch, our broker, to review documents and give feedback from his home office as well. What this means to our clients is a quicker, more efficient service.

Operational aspects of our electronic phone systems were covered. A must for an office of our style (No Floor Time Required of Agents) means when someone calls the office phone they can get routed to any agent even if they’re not in the office!

The Wrap

In the end, it was a good first meeting of the team and partners and we’re all hopeful it continues to be a prosperous new year ahead. Our next meeting will be April 6th as we participate in the Virtual RealEstate Barcamp training day. Look for updates to come as all involved in real estate, mortgage, insurance, and those looking to enhance businesses using social media, blogging, etc etc should attend.