What does it mean to be adept? At Spade and Archer our mantras surrounding our core value ‘Adept’ are as follows:
We are masters of our craft down to its core components.
We create beauty in all things we touch.
If we don't know we will figure it out.
We have impeccable taste.
We believe in providing quality service by honing in on what we are most adept at. For us here at Spade and Archer it is exceptional home staging made easy. For our friend Michael Kafoury with Urban Nest it is bringing to Portland quality real estate.
Michael Kafoury with Urban Nest Real Estate
Michael shares with us lessons that have helped define him as an adept real estate agent. He speaks to making the deal happen to client relationships.
One of the first lessons Michael learned in his three years as a real estate agent was “Don’t be an expert in something you're not an expert in.” When you don’t have the answer to a question sometimes the best answer is “I’ll get my guy on it and get back to you within 24 hours.” The follow through of getting back and always doing what you say you’re going to do is key. As Justin says, "We teach our clients the story they are going to tell about us.” Might as well make it a good one.
Michael has learned that when working with a new client you can tell them what to do based off of your experience and knowledge as an agent; but sometimes the clients need to learn on their own. Michael says, “Let people see what their decisions will lead to and kind of go from there.” Providing the clients the space to learn through the process is an important part of building trust in the relationship.
When asked which comes first the relationship or the deal Michael said the following,"You’re really doing a disservice to your client if you only take the relationship serious. There are things you can do right and things you can do wrong. And if they are doing things wrong and it's a detriment to them they can loose money, they can loose negotiation position, they could buy a house that has serious issues that is going to cost them tons of money and resale value and things in the future. There are so many factors to consider that can seriously hurt someone in the long term.” While giving the client space to learn also providing structure and guidelines to keep them from straying too far from the deal is important.
We are lucky to work with such an adept agent who brings an aptitude of knowledge with him. We can’t wait to see what Michael brings to the table as he gains more experience and pursues his passion of real estate.
To hear his entire episode on Behind the Yard Sign, click here.