Broker/Agent Magazine - July 2003
Broker/Agent Magazine - July 2003
Arcadia/Camelback Tour
Heather MacLean of Realty Executives grew up in Phoenix's Arcadia/Camelback area and has gone back to her roots. She created and organized the Arcadia/Camelback Tour with 30 agents attending the first meeting in June 2000. Her efforts have proven highly successful and today she continues to organize and direct the tour which now has over 110 member REALTORS® and 10 to 15 new members joining each month.
Heather said "I literally awoke in the middle of the night and thought, "I am going to start a home tour in Arcadia." Arcadia is a thriving market and there are numerous other tours in the Valley and this area is missed... why not here?" She added, "I was the new kid on the block and one of the youngest REALTORS® when I went into business, so I had to work very hard for credibility. One of the greatest things I've received from directing this tour for three years is the wonderful relationships I've built with other REALTORS®."
The Arcadia/Camelback Tour meets the first and third Wednesday of each month with many top-produciong Arcadia agents attending regularly. Tour sponsors change annually and this year Security Title is the sponsoring Escrow Company and Vista Mortgage is the lending sponsor.Security Title provides breakfast for the agents with Javier Zuluaga serving as the host. The meeting starts at 8:30am and is held at the Camelback Christian Church on Camelback Road and 62nd Street. "This is a great time for REALTORS® to network," Heather said. "Agents check their egos at the door and we talk about our buyers' needs and listings. This forum is a wonderful relationship builder, let alone an incredible arena for the sale of real estate. Typically we get between 40-60 agents per tour."
Along with breakfast, agents receive up-to-date information from guest speakers who may include representatives from pest control companies, staging companies, or insurance companies, to name but a few. There are typically 9-12 homes on tour and agents caravan between houses. There's a six-month rule whereby homes can only be toured once in six months regardless of the listing company. Prior to the tour, agents receive feedback comment cards to fill out on each home. Later, the feedback is compiled by Ron Briskman of Vista Mortgage and is distributed to only the listing agent of the home being critiqued. The tour ends with lunch in the last home on tour and is sponsored by that home's listing agent.
Anna McDowell of Realty Executives said, "If you are a listing agent with a home on tour, you receive feedback from Ron a day or two later. This is all done anonymously, and the feedback is invaluable to us and to our clients." She added, "Heather has done a terrific job putting everything together and she's always professional and so organized! I really look forward to these Wednesdays because they're low-key, relaxing, and fun! Agents openly share ideas with each other which in turn is a tremendous benefit to our clients."Susan Tibbets with Century 21 Distinguished Properties said, "The tour is a wonderful opportunity to directly meet and network with other REALTORS® who work in the area. By attending the tour, we're not only able to see existing inventory, but to learn about future listings as well. If you have a home on the tour, this is a great way to market it as well as obtain feedback on the property for your client."
As you can well imagine, much hard work and dedication goes into producing the tour twice a month. Heather readily credits her assistant, Nicole Serrin. "I couldn't do it without her," she said. "Nicole types the tour lists, helps the organization and answers the 20 or so phone calls we get each week inquiring about the Arcadia/Camelback Tour." Heather laughed recalling, "Nicole's first day as my assistant was the same day as our very first tour and she's still here!"
