Western Mass Homes Lesley Lambert

Westfield

Old school opens the door, new media closes the deal!

One of my newer listings came to me in a very interesting manner and I have been intending for a few weeks to write about it, but have been experiencing a time deficit!

Earlier this summer I received a phone call asking me to come over to present a market analysis and marketing plan for a house in Westfield, MA. The home owners were ready to move and would be interviewing several real estate agents in the area.

While on my initial visit with them I inquired how they chose me to interview for the job and they pulled out a letter that I had sent them FIVE YEARS prior!

2008.11.12 - The letter

Opening the door…

At that time I was returning to my real estate career in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts after a maternity leave. As part of my campaign to generate leads I sent hand written letters to homes that had recently become expired listings. This couple decided to stay in their home for a few more years, but kept my letter and when they were ready to put their Westfield home back on the market, they remembered that Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty had sent them that personal letter.

Closing the deal…

When I returned to meet with them for my presentation, they had already met with the other REALTORS that they were interviewing. I gave my full presentation highlighting my new media and internet marketing plan for homes for sale in Western Ma.

After discussing how I use video, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, single property web pages, Google maps and a ton of websites like Trulia, Zillow and Craigslist to market my homes for sale, they were impressed and decided to use me as the real estate agent.

Moral of the story?

I will be hand writing all of my expired letters from now on.

Second moral?

I will continue to focus my attentions on internet based marketing and will be exploring for fresh new ideas to bring to the home sellers of Western Massachusetts to get their homes sold!

A day in the life of a REALTOR

You know what? Being a REALTOR isn’t easy and it demands a lot of time and attention that most people might not think about. A lot of people that I chat with have an impression that real estate isn’t a “real job” because we don’t work traditional hours.

I happen to know first hand that a full time real estate agent works a lot more hours than most people realize. In addition to going on showing and listing appointments we have a lot of running around, phone calls and computer time that can absorb a day. I thought I might use my day today as an example of what a full time, hard-working real estate agent goes through.

8:30 am – coffee while reading emails and real estate news
9:00 am – gather up my kids (it is school vacation) and head to the office. Thankful that Park Square Realty in Westfield is family friendly!
11 am – drop kids at play date and head out to deliver purchase and sale agreements to listing in Chicopee for signature
1 pm – present marketing and pricing plan to potential listing client in Westfield, MA
3 pm – back to Park Square Realty’s office to check messages, emails and prepare for evening showings
4 pm – pick up my kids and work from home for an hour. Work on website marketing for listings and start editing video for a virtual tour.
5:30 pm – head back to Chicopee to show three properties to some first time home buyers
8 pm – home to research recent comparable sales because buyer is considering making an offer, write this blog post, write a blog post for my column at Masslive and another for Agent Genius Magazine.
10:30 pm – finish emails and blog posts – ran out of steam and will have to finish that virtual tour tomorrow.

During the course of the day I am answering calls and emails on the go…thank goodness for smart phones!

All of this costs my household something though, and I know other agents pay the same toll….

The laundry is piled up, the dishes need doing, dinner is late and sometimes not so healthy and don’t even get me started on the garden!

Ah well, it is all worth it when a buyer signs for a house that they love and a family selling their home is able to make their next move!

photo courtesy of Robbert van der Steeg on flickr

Real Estate Geek Girl

Many of you know that I am not only a real estate agent at Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA, but a total geek girl and that I love using social media for developing friendships in real life. I have been blessed with so many wonderful new friends and clients and even an amazing boyfriend because of my use of social media that I can’t help but share my success stories and encourage others to try using social media to grow their business and personal lives, too.

Recently I wrote a post for my column at Agent Genius Magazine that shared the truth, that most of my closed real estate transactions in 2010 came to me through social media in one form or another. The post got some attention within real estate circles, but I was floored last week when out of the blue Mike Myatt of N2Growth sent this tweet:

The link provided led to a blog post about people who have social media influence and included the likes of Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuck and Dell Computers. Within the post was a video which included a highlighted quote from the Agent Genius post mentioned above. Watch this short and entertaining video which highlights Social Media Influence and includes yours truly:

This week I was featured in another blog about QR (quick read) Codes. The post was describing the multitude of applications for using a QR Code and featured this video about my use of QR Codes for marketing real estate in Western MA made for me by my talented and wonderful boyfriend, Morriss Partee. I learned about QR code technology at PodCamp Western MA and have been incorporating it into the marketing of my homes for sale in Westfield, Ma and the surrounding Pioneer Valley towns. This video crafted by Morriss explains what a QR code is and how I am using it to help my homes for sale stand out and get homes sold.

I am proud, excited and thrilled to see that my use of social media isn’t just improving my life, but I am able to share some of my hard earned knowledge to help other people working to use these tools.

If you are a fellow real estate agent looking to use social media as a tool in your marketing and prospecting you can read my contributions to Agent Genius Magazine.

If you are a consumer looking for real estate news and advice you can visit:

My personal blog
My real estate blog
My Masslive blog

Things are looking up in Western MA Real Estate!

look upThis week the manager of Park Square Realty announced that the market has made big strides in improving over last year.

Statistically, Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA has increased Sales Volume by 15.6 % and increased Park Square Realty Sale Sides by 25.9% as compared to the first 5 months of 2009.

On a more personal note, I moved to the #1 Agent at Park Square Realty for the first half of 2010, which is also a big improvement over last year (I was about 9th).

So, good news for Lesley Lambert and for Park Square Realty, but what does that mean to YOU?

Well…the market is improving. Consumer confidence is higher and people are buying homes in Western Massachsetts. If you are considering buying or selling a home in Westfield or Western Massachusetts now you have statistical proof that the market is better. A recent article quoted the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS announcing a 44% increase in home sales statewide.

Curious to see what your Western MA home is worth? Considering buying your first home in Western MA? Thinking of buying investment property in Western MA?

I am only a call or a click away if you want some advice, guidance or help with your home buying decisions.

Lesley Lambert, Park Square Realty, Westfield MA 413-575-3611

Map Monday: Investment/Multi-Family Homes in Westfield, MA

Welcome to this week’s installment of Map Mondays! Each week I take a certain niche type of property or area in Western MA and showcase the homes for sale in that area.

This week’s map shows the Investment properties or Multi-family properties for sale in Westfield, MA. This is a great area to own multi-family investment property as there is a strong rental market and the proximity of Westfield State College.

I can help you get an appointment into any of these properties or if you don’t see what you are looking for, I can help you find just the right home. Please call me, Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty anytime at 413-575-3611 or use the interactive business card below to get in touch.

Lesley Lambert, REALTOR, real estate agent at Park Square Realty has been serving the Greater Westfield area’s real estate needs for over 21 years. She has extensive experience as an investor and landlord herself and is here to help investment property or multi-family home buyers in Westfield.