Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Demurchyan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Karina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Once upon a time it took my family 3 years and 4 realtors until we found the Realtor who truly acted in our best interests and ultimately helped us find the right house. By the time I got into real estate, I knew very well what I would have appreciated as a consumer and I put my heart into being that professional. I come from public accounting, audit and finance world, where I dealt with numbers all the time. After 4 years in a corporate environment, I was ready to interact with people more than numbers and reports, so I was very excited to marry my numbers skills to consulting clients on making well-thought out decisions in real estate. Boston real estate market is never boring, and I have thoroughly enjoyed going on purchase and sale adventures with my clients for the past 10 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Before becoming a Realtor, all I knew professionally was how to be an employee. Salary, benefits, office schedule, certain career path options, 401k matches, managerial guidance, etc. Going into the nobody-tells-you-what-to-do-commission-based real estate field meant a complete overhaul of professional comfort zone notions, particularly considering that I’ve never been in sales and wasn’t really planning on becoming a salesperson. I went into real estate with a mindset of a consultant / trusted advisor, which is not a badge you earn day 1 on the job, so it took some time to see what I was made of and confirm to myself that I really enjoyed this line of work and could be a great asset to my clients.
Karina Demurchyan, a.k.a. #MyBostonRealtorKarina – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
In the so called “old days” of real estate, when property information was far from accessible by general public, agents often specialized in certain areas and even types of properties using these “specialty areas” as part of their marketing pitch. Starting out in 2008, I remember hearing from one of the much more experienced agents that I needed to specialize in 1-2 geographic areas, meaning that I would have to refer clients interested in other areas to agents “specializing” in those areas. I’m not talking about referring out to Western Mass, this agent was suggesting I refer out South End buyers to her for example, since I was a Brookline based agent. I’m pretty sure that was the day when I figured out one of my working principles – my focus was going to be on long-term relationships with people, not areas. By 2008, property and neighborhood information was easily available for any diligent agent to research so instead of areas, I followed friends and friends of friends to many towns over the past 10 years. This approach allowed me to be a much more versatile advisor for clients in their first purchases, when many buyers start with certain towns on their wishlist and end up buying elsewhere, as well as in subsequent purchases and sales when they need a wide perspective on different areas in terms of local market trends and developments.
Some of the things I probably do well are: 1) educating my clients; 2) organizing and coordinating the process; 3) doing due diligence upfront as much as possible; 4) giving my clients super honest feedback; and 5) building rapport with other agents and professionals.
I usually meet with prospective clients in an informal tea / coffee chat format to discuss current market nuances and tools at our disposal, as well as, answer any questions about buying or selling processes. I try to get my clients brought up to speed and equipped to make wise decisions as early as possible in the process, so there is minimum stress down the road and a smooth working team in place. This initial meeting gives us a chance to see if we are a great match to work together or if I can refer them to another professional who would serve their needs best.
One of the first things I do is set up new clients with access to their personalized Google-drive folder containing professional recommendations, educational exhibits, cash flow analysis templates etc. When we find an interesting property with buyer clients, I reach out to a listing agent to gather as much intel as possible on what will optimize our position in a competitive bid situation, i.e. what matters to sellers, how they plan to review offers, etc. I work closely with mortgage lenders and usually get a green light from them before making an offer even if we have a fresh pre-approval letter. There are many nuances in real estate and assembling the right team upfront is half the battle in realizing my clients’ plans, so I make a big point out of introducing them to like-minded professionals whom I would trust with my own purchase or sale.
I work with a wide spectrum of buyers, including first time and 1031 exchange buyers, foreign buyers, investors and of course, sellers. I don’t normally deal with commercial properties but am happy to see if I can refer to a great commercial agent. I do a fair amount of out-of-state and out-of-country referrals – RE/MAX has a vast network of agents across U.S. and around the globe in over 100 countries now.
One of the best compliments I received was from a client who was looking for the right property for 4-5 months, nearly falling for a compromise option and finally stumbling on what really made him excited to come home to. It was a long and I’m sure tiring adventure for him, but he said that all throughout, he never felt like he was dealing with an agent, but rather a good friend who luckily happened to know a lot about real estate.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
In a fairly emotional business of residential real estate every purchase and sale adventure is like a little novella with plot twists and uncertainties. I get to work with people I like and meet new people that enrich my professional and life experience. I enjoy all of it, but especially those transactions where my advocating for holding out for the right choice helped my clients buy properties they were truly excited to come home to vs. settling for an OK place for the sake of just owning something. Homes are our recharge stations and I love being part of the matchmaking process 🙂 #HappyBeginnings
Contact Info:
- Address: RE/MAX Unlimited
45 Bartlett Crescent, Unit 1, Brookline MA 02446 - Website: www.KarinaDemurchyan.com
- Phone: 617-549-5503
- Email: KarinaDemurchyan@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybostonrealtorkarina/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyRealtorKarina
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyRealtorKarina
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com//biz/karina-demurchyan-re-max-unlimited-brookline
- Other: https://www.zillow.com/profile/KarinaREMAX/
Image Credit:
Ksenia Verdiyan @ https://www.facebook.com/VerdiStudio or http://www.verdistudio.com
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