Services Offered by The Source
Specifically, The Source provides to corporate transferees and/or individuals services in the following areas:
ORE SERVICES AT NO FEE:
Search and Selection of Best REALTORS – The Source’s Relocation Director was the Broker/Owner of a successful real estate franchise office. He has experience in hiring (and firing) of real estate agents and knows what it takes to make a successful agent. He will interview real estate agencies and choose two REALTORS in each city (origination and destination) for the transferee to interview to choose one to work with in each city. The Source will then advise all interviewed REALTORS as to who was selected by the transferee and who was not.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to Search and Select the Best REALTORS.
1. The Source utilizes only real estate agencies that are members of the Employee Relocation Council, the industry association that educates and informs employees, brokers and related companies on employment relocation issues.
2. The Source involves the relocation department/director at selected agencies so that there is additional oversight of the selected agent’s performance. The relocation directors want and seek additional future business from The Source and make sure their best qualified and highest producing agents handle referrals from The Source.
3. The Source communicates directly with the relocation directors and the selected agents on a weekly basis to insure that performance is satisfactory to the transferee.
4. The Source retains the right at any time and for any reason, or no reason, to terminate the association of a transferee with an agent if the transferee is unhappy with results, performance, or otherwise. The Source can then find another agent for the transferee without obligation to the previous agent. (This has never had to be done in The Source’s history.)
5. If the transferee has a previous agent who successfully worked with the transferee, The Source will include that agent on the “short list” of candidates for the transferee to interview, if that agent meets The Source’s agent qualifications.
Home Marketing – The Source’s Relocation Director was the Broker/Owner of a successful real estate franchise office. He is familiar with the activities that get homes sold versus those that simply get a seller off of an agent’s back. Before the home is listed, The Source can, if requested by the transferee, review an agent’s recommended marketing plans and listing price to opine on the sagacity of the agent’s work. Getting the home sold quickly, at the best price possible, with the least amount of inconvenience and hassle to the transferee and his/her family is the principal objective of this phase of the program.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to assist with Home Marketing.
1. The Source can review marketing plans prior to implementation to check for conduct of activities most likely to lead to a successful sale.
2. The Source reviews showing activity and feedback with listing agent on a weekly basis.
3. The Source communicates directly with the transferee as often as desired to answer questions and validate ongoing activity and provide a “second opinion.”
4. The Source will review any offers to purchase, at transferee’s request, before transmittal to buyers of any acceptance or counteroffer.
Destination Services – Before accepting a position in a new city, it is common for a transferee to make a visit to the new location. City tours and receipt of “hard copy” informational materials can be arranged by The Source. Following acceptance of a job comes locating, purchasing, financing, and closing on the home of choice in the destination city.
Advantages of utilizing The Source for Destination Services.
1. The Source will assist in the Search and Selection of the Best REALTOR in the destination city, as described above.
2. The Source reviews viewing activity and feedback with selling agent on a weekly basis to insure the right properties are being shown.
3. The Source communicates directly with the transferee as often as desired to answer questions and validate ongoing activity and provide a “second opinion.”
4. The Source will set up an area tour of the destination city with the selected agent to allow the transferee the opportunity to become familiar with areas of the city that best fit the transferee’s needs.
5. The Source will review any offers to purchase, at transferee’s request, before transmittal to sellers.
Professional Move of Household Goods – The Source can arrange cost comparison estimates for all moving and storage services. The Source will provide review of invoicing and supporting documentation.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to facilitate Professional Move of Household Goods.
1. The Source has multiple professional moving companies under contract that provide quality services and problem resolution. The Source is able to provide transferees with more than one cost estimate, if desired. Transferees may meet with a representative of more than on moving company and select the company with which to work.
2. The Source’s clients receive “national account” status, which translates into several benefits:
a. Discounted rates on move and storage services, up to 58% from tariff rates.
b. “Preferred Customer” scheduling, for specific moving dates, receiving priority over non-preferred customers.
c. “Preferred Customer” crews – the best and most experienced moving crews.
d. Focus on problem resolution. Problems do arise during the move of household goods, even when experienced and high quality movers complete the work.3. The Source obtains information and customizes the move services to match the transferee’s requests and needs.
a. Advantages/disadvantages of packing services
b. Evaluation of cost of transporting an item vs. replacing it at destination.
c. Need for and cost of “3rd party” services, such as appliance connect/disconnect, crating of fragiles, etc.
d. Evaluation of pet transport options.
e. Evaluation of personal vehicle, boat transport options.
f. Amount of insurance coverage needed
g. Important issues in storage of household goods.
h. Advantages/disadvantages of unpacking services.
i. Ways to reduce moving costs without sacrificing service quality.4. The Source provides invoice review along with review of all supporting documentation to insure accuracy in invoicing and to permit billing trouble shooting.
5. Forwarding the invoice to the transferee after review with “recommendation for payment.”
6. Work as liaison between transferee and mover to achieve resolution of any damage claims.
Temporary Housing – Living in a hotel room can become a drag in a very short time. So can hauling some of your own home furnishings to an unfurnished apartment, depriving your family of its use most of the week, and your use of it during the times you are back at home with the family. It’s nice to have a “home away from home” to come home to after some of those 12 and 14 hour days that are frequently required at the start of a new job. The Source can arrange for furnished temporary housing to meet your needs, whether it be for a week or a year or more.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to secure Temporary Housing.
1. The Source has multiple Professional Housing Providers to contact on your behalf which allows The Source to generally be able to provide transferees several housing options that meet the transferee’s needs.
2. The Source customizes the housing accommodations to match the transferee’s requests.a. Length of stay
b. Placement of pets (usually)
c. Furnished vs. unfurnished
d. Equipping to meet special needs (handicap, home office, baby furniture, etc.)
e. Matching desires of transferee to amenities presented by the apartment community in which the housing is located.3. The Source can review invoices for all temporary housing arranged through The Source to check accuracy to quotes and reduce invoicing errors.
4. The Source will forward to Corporate Clients all housing invoices on a single day with a letter providing explanation of each invoice. For those housing providers who do not invoice, The Source will provide the Corporate Clients with a reminder of need to pay included in the letter.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES AT NO FEE:
Apartment Locating – All communities have a multitude of apartment communities. . . .but not all apartment communities are alike: newer vs. older, floor plan variations, number of bedrooms, availability, lease terms, pet policies, amenities, rental rates, etc. No need for you to spend hours on-line on the Web or pouring through an apartment guide to determine which communities meet your particular needs and which ones don’t. Let The Source do the legwork for you and provide you with a pared down list of only those communities that meet all your requirements.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to assist with Apartment Locating.
1. The Source has cooperation agreements in place with multiple Apartment Management Companies and apartment communities nationwide. By working with multiple communities, The Source is generally able to provide transferees several options that meet the transferee’s needs, allowing the transferee to select the option that he/she likes best.
2. The Source customizes the search to match the transferee’s needs.a. Lease terms
b. Pet “friendly” communities
c. Special needs communities – handicap accessibility, specific school districts, etc.
d. Any other transferee special requests – sand volleyball, resident business center, tennis court(s), workout facilities, waterfront views, etc.3. We spend our time completing the apartment search so the transferee can continue to focus on other activities, such as work and family.
4. We know all the “right questions” to ask on the transferee’s behalf: availability to transferee’s timeframe, current rental costs, move-in costs, deposit costs, availability of “preferred employer” discounts, etc.
5. The Source can often negotiate a reduced, initial, refundable deposit amount, thus decreasing move-in costs.
6. The Source eliminates the communities that won’t work for the transferee so he/she doesn’t waste time contacting properties that are too expensive, don’t have availability, don’t accept pets, etc. This saves transferees time and effort.
7. The Source will provide not only availability information and costs, but floor plans, amenity lists, names of leasing agents to be contacted, etc.
Elder Care – Many of the employees most likely to be considered for transfer are members of what is now being called the “Sandwich Generation.” They are responsible for care-giving not only to their children but are being called upon in increasing numbers to be care-givers for their parents, also. Elder care is quickly becoming one of the largest hurdles employers must overcome in persuading employees to accept transfers. The Source has access to a listing of resources that can aid the “Sandwich Generation” transferees in determining how much and what kind of elder care in available at their destination.
Spouse Employment Assistance – The Source has as clients employment placement services. The Source also has as clients many corporations with human resource departments that are often looking for qualified individuals to fill available positions. Because of these connections, The Source is in an unusually good position to aid “Trailing Spouses” who are interested in re-entering the job market once the transferee and family have settled in. The Source also has excellent relationships with numerous traditional employment agencies.
Broker Market Analysis – The biggest single impediment to the sale of a residence is overpricing. Any residence, whether it is a castle or a shanty, will sell quickly if it is priced competitively. This doesn’t mean that a transferee has to give away his/her residence in order to complete a quick sale and make a quick transition. But the problem with overpricing a house is that worsens an already bad situation. The longer an overpriced house doesn’t sell, the longer it won’t sell. An overpriced residence becomes “jinxed.” Prospective buyers begin to wonder what must be wrong with it if nobody buys it after six months and most houses are selling in six weeks. The Source can arrange for a professional Broker Market Analysis (“BMA”) to be performed on the ERC standard form so that a good pricing decision can be made by the transferee.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to secure BMAs.
1. As a member of the Employee Relocation Council (“ERC”), The Source knows which real estate brokerage companies are qualified and trained to conduct BMAs to the standards established by ERC.
2. Using a Source referred brokerage to conduct a BMA generally will lead to a quicker sale of the transferee’s residence and at a figure closer to the maximum price that was attainable for that property.
Mortgage Loan Assistance – Every real estate market is blessed with many reputable mortgage lenders. Unfortunately, every real estate market is also rife with disreputable and unethical mortgage lenders, as well. How does a buyer, unfamiliar with the local assortment of mortgage lenders tell the reputable from the unethical? It takes help from The Source or one of The Source’s cadre of real estate agents. A proven record of dependable, reliable and honest mortgage lending is the best preventative against disreputable and unethical lending practices.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to provide Mortgage Loan Assistance.
1. Using a “bad” lender can lead to greater frustration and anxiety in the home purchase process. The Source can help to minimize these feelings by providing, in conjunction with the REALTORS, a list of mortgage lenders who have proven their professionalism and reliability through past transactions.
2. Using proven lenders can save the transferee (and the company) money in the short term in the form of lower closing and loan initiation costs.
3. Using proven lenders can save the transferee a great deal of money over the life of the mortgage by obtaining the best rates possible from professional lenders who provide competitive interest rates.
Group Moves – While moving a group entails the same services needed when moving one family at a time, it also requires extra attention and effort. The opportunity is there to provide group presentations and counseling about the destination area. Group moves often involve several employees who are moving only because their jobs are moving and who really don’t want to go. Multiple moves at the same time can cause abnormalities in the real estate market at either or both ends. Human Resource departments can be stretched to the limit of the existing staff in dealing with so many transferees at the same time. The Source understands these dynamics and works accordingly.
Advantages of utilizing The Source to coordinate Group Moves.
1. The Source provides one point of contact for the HR Department to communicate regarding the entire department/company relocation.
2. The Source provides an “outside the company” resource for transferees to address their fears and concerns relating to the group’s move.
3. If necessary, The Source will add the necessary manpower to handle the logistics of the relocation so that the company doesn’t have to deal with the addition of temporary staff.
4. The Source can distribute the relocation business at both the origination city and destination cities, to numerous qualified service providers, to engender goodwill toward the company for “sharing the wealth” when a move has to occur.
The Source For Relocation Services, Inc.
Clearwater, Florida 33755
Tel: (866) 253-5300 24/7: (813) 380-8200
E-mail: [email protected]
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