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BUSINESS BASICS
Started as a Realtor in: Late 2008, right when the market took a downturn, he had to work hard to create a unique foundation.
Specialization: Residential detached/attached all Vancouver East & West, downtown Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and Tri-cities.
One-piece of advice for your clients: Take the time to find the right Realtor. When you do, it’s important to listen and have trust in them and ask questions along the way.
Why TRG The Residential Group? It’s a boutique real estate brokerage, which allows Shaz to be Shaz. He can invest in his brand and put efforts to promote him and his services. Six brokers with over 120 years of real estate experience own the business and they provide mentorship to all of their agents. Industry involvement is also important to him and the company, one of the owners was the former president of the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) and the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
“Our experience working with Shaz has been a pleasant surprise. His approach is refreshing and holistic. He is the consummate professional with a personalized approach, always reinforcing the feeling that he is on your team. His level of organization, attention to detail and high standard of customer service distinguish him from others. From our perspective, he has set a new standard and we look forward to continuing working with Shaz as our family grows and our real estate needs do too.” Prashant Ohri & Anjana Moitra-Ohri, Clients
Q & A
1. What differentiates you from the 11,000 licensed real estate agents in the Greater Vancouver area? My background. I have work experience in management and strategic marketing, that’s allowed me to develop skill sets, elevating the customer service experience. I’m strategic, detail-orientated, and marketing focused. In particular, when it comes to selling homes, we develop a plan and materials to target a specific demographic that the homes fit. My custom features sheets, targeted email campaigns and single property websites are a few examples of my marketing touch points compared to the cookie-cutter traditional approach.
It’s a competitive environment, which I think is good. It provides an opportunity to push and challenge the boundaries. For me, entering the industry in a down market was a good test, and forced me to show my unique attributes in order to set myself apart.
2. What is your favorite success story? When I started in real estate, my first client was my mom. A couple came in to view the home and didn’t have a Realtor. I spent some time to get to know them and understand their needs. We realized this home wasn’t right for them. After my open house, I took them for a drive around to show them some different neighborhoods. Two weeks later I got a call from them asking me to be their Realtor. They didn’t have a mortgage broker yet, so I set them up with a contact, got them pre-qualified and showed them several homes. We soon found a home put in an offer and purchased. They then referred me to their brother who wanted to sell. My mom’s listing actually resulted in getting me three clients and my business just grew from there.
3. What inspired you to be a Realtor? Three things:
- My dad was in real estate in the 80’s and it really shaped who I am today.
- Having had personal experiences with a few different realtors, I felt that the whole process could be done better. I thought that, if I were ever to get into Real Estate, I could change it to be more effective.
- I have a background that compliments real estate well. My management, marketing and communications experience is something that really sets me apart…there aren’t many real estate agents that have my type of resume.
4. What do you think clients look for in a real estate agent and what do you think clients should look for in a real estate agent? I think clients look for someone that is personal, understands their needs and goals, and someone that is confident.
What they should also consider when seeking a real estate agent is what added value they will bring. Look at the services offered and the type of person they want to work with.
Each buyer has their own individual needs. Whether it be for investment, first time buying, or moving up the property ladder, I’ve developed a unique program to deliver based on their needs.
Sellers, I mentioned, we take the time to develop a plan that specifically targets the demographic we are focusing on. A Realtor should be investing their time and resources to represent the property they are marketing. Out of the 11,000 realtors how many are full-time and make the investment that is needed for their clients.
I do things to help educate my clients. For example, I have a great deal of experience reviewing Strata documentation. Clients may not understand them, so I help to break them down to their simplest form. I let them read first and then we review together and make a summary list of questions we have regarding the documents. The better we understand these documents, the more confident we are in moving forward in purchasing the property.
“Sincere, amazing and thorough Realtor to work with. He is a very thoughtful person. I can always count on him; he has always been there for me. A professional, dynamic and I repeat, amazing person!” Angela Chase, Realtor, TRG The Residential Group
PERSONAL SNAP SHOT
About: Shaz grew up in North Burnaby and lived and went to school there for over 20 years. He now lives in Vancouver and is very familiar with many of the downtown residential buildings. As well his main office is located in downtown at 849 Homer Street. He enjoys running, biking, skiing, travel and generally being outdoors in the summer months. His background is in marketing, sales, and management, which he is actively applying to his real estate career by creating a unique value proposition for his clients.
He’s Unique because…
- He is a strata guru. Having sat on a number of different councils, Shaz has gained a thorough knowledge of strata process and documents
- If he weren’t a real estate agent he would be in brand development, strategy and communications.
Likes (If you had more time, what would you do more of): He likes getting up early in the morning and going for a good workout and having a good breakfast. He likes to try to have a balanced day, challenging to do in the real estate industry, but he make sure he takes time out to breathe, de-stress and start fresh.
Loves (can’t live without): Shaz loves food from different cultures, trying diverse and new things as well as exploring anything.
THE EXTRAS
He believes his clients see him as an up front, organized, strategic and strong communicator. He feels that his marketing background is one of his best features. He loves that every day is different and that he can never know what to expect or who is going to call him next. His least favorite part of the job is all the tedious administration. Shaz would much rather be hanging out with his client than managing documents; there’s a lot of paperwork in the job which clients don’t see, but its necessary.
There isn’t one type of clientele that Shaz works with, “Everyone is so different” he says. However, last year most of his clients were first time homebuyers or clients starting a family that needed to upgrade to more space.
He keeps up with his professional development courses and fits in more than the minimum required credits. He attends speaking engagements and industry discussions to learn and understand different opinions being shared within the industry.
