Special offer

Today's utilitarian brokerage office can be very small

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with (831) 626-4000 CA #01772851 HI #RB-21268

Brokerage offices, the "brick and mortar" kind, have changed considerably during the past few years, mostly because of technology which makes real estate professionals able to work out of their "home office" so much more efficiently. What does a broker really need in terms of space and equipment?

Must Haves for those brokers who have salespeople:

1. A commercial address with a sign on the door to satisfy the powers that be.

2. A seating area to meet clients (let's call this the "conference room"--which can be the entire office.)

3. A file room that can be locked (even though there are less and less files these days).

4. A door with a wide mail slot with drop box where something can be delivered (unless you keep regular office hours and someone is there).

5. A wall to hang the broker's and salespersons' licenses on.

Office Space - Optional:

1.  A place for a receptionist or "floortime" salesperson.

2. A private office for the broker that can be locked.

3. An open area with space for sales people to come and plug in their computers (no one really needs "their" desk).

Equipment:

1. A copy machine.

2. Office stuff like pens, pencils, copy paper.

3. A watercooler, coffee machine, small fridge, (Splurge on these homey items.)

4. Universal Office computer - for use when scanning, faxing, printing MLS pages, etc.

5. Land phone line (with a small brokerage, may not even be necessary).

5. Wi Fi (although with HOT SPOTS on one's phone, this is not even necessary)

My thoughts:

Make the brokerage office a small jewel with comfortable seating, great lighting, with some good art on the wall and carpet on the floor. Fresh flowers are always uplifting. Serve excellent coffee in real cups. Also a big screen to preview listings. These are some of the things that clients will remember. Maybe one of your staging consultants can help get a real "wow" effect.

Posted by

Hella Mitschke Rothwell, Broker/Owner/REALTOR 

 

Let me be your independent real estate broker for oceanfront and oceanview property in California and Hawaii.  If you are a seller/owner, I will travel to your property to help get it ready for sale, then list and market it. If you are a buyer and we have a Buyers Representation Agreement in place, I will preview property on your behalf anywhere in California and Hawaii.  Please call me to discuss how I can help you.

Search Hawaii Listings on www.HellaHawaii.com

Member: Honolulu Board of REALTORS; National Association of REALTORS; Hawaii Association of REALTORS; Del Norte Association of REALTORS; California Association of REALTORS; MLSListings, Inc., the premier MLS listing service in Northern California.

 

________________________________________________________________

Hella Mitschke Rothwell (R)

Real Estate Broker/Owner/Realtor®
Licensed in California #01772851 & Hawaii #RB-21268

Tel. 808-226-1095 or 831-626-4000 

Fax 1-877-822-9332

www.HellaHawaii.com

www.HellaRothwell.com

www.RothwellRealty.com

HAWAII OFFICE: 1128 Ala Napunani Street, #1809, Honolulu, HI 96818

 CALIFORNIA OFFICE: Su Vecino Court, Lincoln & Dolores between 5th & 6th, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

MAILING: P.O. Box 4554, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

 
Email: HellaRothwell@gmail.com


Facebook             REALTOR LOGO      Equal Housing Logo

 

Disclaimer: Hella Rothwell does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Comments (12)

Winston Heverly
Coldwell Banker Access Realty - South Macon, GA
GRI, ABR, SFR, CDPE, CIAS, PA

I want to expand, and wonder if I need more than this to compete out there...

Jul 19, 2012 03:26 PM
Art Welch
Superstars Realty - Buckeye, AZ
Broker

My office is what was designed to be a detached casita of my home, it's in the front with good parking across from a park.  I have 2 conference rooms one is my front porch with comfortable seating and a great view.  Less is more and for me it works great.  I currently have 15 agents, as my costs are low they are passed on to them.

Jul 19, 2012 03:26 PM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker

Winston: I don't know what you have now, but in my opinion, expansion should be with marketing rather than  using your money for "brick and mortar". Art, #2, has 15 agents and a small but comfortable space.

Art: It sounds like you have the perfect setup. You added another good feature, parking. You proved my point, as well, since you have 15 agents. They don't need to work out of an office, they are "independents" and should be out there doing independent sales.

Jul 19, 2012 03:51 PM
Carolyn Kolba
Serving Mentor, and all of Lake County, Ohio - Mentor, OH
Keller Williams Realty- Mentor, Ohio

Hella... I fully agree with you.  I think the days with the mega-sized offices are passing into history.  Who needs all that space anymore ?  Good post... and it will be interesting to watch the responses.

Jul 19, 2012 04:44 PM
Tom Arstingstall, General Contractor, Dry Rot, Water Damage Sacramento, El Dorado County - (916) 765-5366
Dry Rot and Water Damage www.tromlerconstruction.com Mobile - 916-765-5366 - Placerville, CA
General Contractor, Dry Rot and Water Damage

I like your list Hella, maybe you can design my office for me!  :)

Jul 19, 2012 05:12 PM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker
Carolyn: and partly it's because buyers don't walk into brokerages anymore, they shop online
Jul 19, 2012 05:21 PM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker
Tom: Do you even have people come to your office? I presume they call to make an appointment.
Jul 19, 2012 05:28 PM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

I do business with a number of boutique Realtor offices, they all do amazing volume. They keep their overhead low and kill with service.

Jul 19, 2012 09:51 PM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker

Joe: As you say, it's not the size of the office, but the service. Give your clients a good experience. But going back to size of offices, in the past it was to have space for the agents to be close to the services the broker provided. That is no longer needed since everything pretty much is now online.

Jul 20, 2012 01:55 AM
Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES
Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL
Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living
Hella, I've been with an independent brokerage for the last six years and my broker has embraced exactly these concepts. We are now the largest independent in our area with over 70 agents and this business model has helped many of us to thrive in a market that was more than challenging.
Jul 20, 2012 11:29 AM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker

Silvia: It just makes good financial sense, doesn't it? And your brokerage with 70 agents just proves the point.

Jul 20, 2012 01:45 PM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hella -- while I work in a traditional office -- I can see the advantages of thinking "outside the box" --- why not make our offices reflective of the world today?   Good post.

Jul 21, 2012 01:24 AM