by Bea Peterson
“We’re still the same local business,” said realtor Rick Tinkham from his office on the corner of Munsell Street and Route 22. “We just need to be part of a larger company.” [private]Tinkham made the first move in 2011 when they joined Prudential Manor Homes. “At that time I spoke with Jan Shields. She was associated with Prudential and she was happy with them and respected them. I was really comfortable with what Prudential had to offer.” Tinkham has been more than pleased working with the Christiana family, owners of Prudential Manor Homes, now Blake Realtors. It was important to Tinkham, and his wife and associate Pam Tinkham, that they keep a presence in Hoosick Falls.
“Amazingly,” said Tinkham, “the company has been everything I hoped and thought, and after two and a half years it is continuously getting better.” Part of the “better” at this point is the merger with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, a company owned by Warren Buffet. And it is the largest real estate company in the country.
The original joint association provided Tinkham with a larger group of realtors to deal with, and a larger clientele. “We had some land here for sale,” said Tinkham. “A realtor from Delmar contacted us about the property. Without the association we never would have met this client and we never would have sold her the property.”
The recent joint venture with Hathaway increases realtors and clientele even more. “There’s a customer service department set up to take calls 10 hours a day from Monday through Saturday and eight hours on Sunday to make sure a prospective buyer or seller gets a person on the phone. That department reaches out to us and we can get back to a client in a couple of hours,” said Tinkham.
Admittedly, being part of three companies means less dollars per property, but that loss is outweighed by the services offered and the increase in listings. Tinkham has been in real estate for 30 years. He said, “we have more listings now than we have ever had and they are turning over faster.” The week of the interview Team Tinkham had three closings and four appointments that day. In the past year the Team has exceeded its goal every month but one. And the properties now range from local homes to lakeside properties, log homes, luxury homes and commercial properties.
Pam Tinkham noted the great technologies offered. “With the software we have now I can make a flyer in two minutes,” she said. The state-of-the-art computer programs make the job much easier and properties can be listed on a smart phone app. Plus, Berkshire Hathaway offers all types of continuous training.
Changes In The Market
Tinkham said 49 houses sold in the Stephentown to Hoosick area last year. In that area right now 63 homes are for sale, with 14 sales pending. “Years ago someone wanting to sell a home could set a high price and hope they would get it. Today you have to be very realistic,” said Tinkham. “It’s a black and white market. Banks are more cautious and, with the internet, buyers know more than they did years ago and know what the price of a property should be.”
Tinkham noted that Rob and Kathren Jaeger of Berlin are also part of Berkshire Hathaway. Tinkham will soon be aligned with Bennington agents as well.
Team Tinkham is still offering the same service it has always offered, “only now we have 10 fold more to work with,” said Tinkham. “There’s more paperwork involved, but this new structure works well.”[/private]