Fun Parallels Between Owning Manhattan and Naples!

Fun Parallels Between Owning Manhattan and Naples!

Hello Naples Friends! If you haven’t caught “Owning Manhattan” on Netflix, you might want to check it out! I believe reality real estate TV shows are typically 1,000% cringe-worthy as most capitalize on crazy inappropriate workplace drama, ridiculous fashion, and fake storylines. Very rarely is business handled professionally and seldom resembles how my colleagues and I run our business in Southwest Florida, making it hard for us genuine service providers to be fans. Don’t get me wrong, this show is not void of unprofessional circumstances and ridiculous business attire, but it touches on more real business scenarios than anything else I’ve seen.

Today, I’m discussing fun parallels between “Owning Manhattan” scenes and what transpires in the actual Naples real estate market. If you’re planning on watching the show, this post contains spoiler alerts, so watch and come back!

Buydar S1 – E1

At about 13:55 minutes into the first episode, Ryan discusses one of his unique talents, which he coins “Buydar.” In short, he talks about how he can tell when “Buyers want to buy” and how emotional buyers differ from those who make decisions based on a financial position. “I have Buydar,” I said to my 15-year-old son (who also likes this show.) He looked at me funny and said, “I know, I’ve seen it.” The critical part missed in this scene was that many people assume this is where we try to take advantage of buyers. I suppose some agents do, but I’m willing to bet most are like me. We want to help you accomplish the objective you set for us. Ryan also talks about having Buydar, even when people aren’t physically in town, to view the property personally. It’s easy. I help buyers successfully purchase site-unseen properties all the time.

Rookie vs. Top Dog – S 1 – E 1

30:15 minutes in, we are introduced to the idea there will be a listing competition between a rookie and a “top dog.” This is a typical battle between “tenured and over-confident” vs. “new and hungry.” “New and hungry” did her homework and wowed the client with her knowledge. The tenured agent relied on his houseplant gift and expressed experience to win the deal. In fairness, I think Naples sellers could do a better job interviewing their listing agents. Far too many Sellers rely on a name they see everywhere and assume that the agent will do a really good job for them. If owners ask some good listing questions, they may be surprised at how little those agents know and what little they do to sell their listings. You owe it to yourself to have your service professional attend your showings and open houses and talk about it like nobody else can. Your listing agent should be the most excited person on the job site because “a sale is just a transfer of enthusiasm”…but more on that later!

The Dream Doesn’t Pay The Bills S 1 – E 3

At the beginning of this episode, Ryan shares that he came to NY to be a star. Then, the cost of living hit him in the face, and he figured out he needed to find a job/career that could help him pay his bills. I don’t remember his exact timeline, but his first reality TV job on Million Dollar Listing New York happened pretty early in his real estate career. This guy really deserves some props for tying those two things together. He wanted that Hollywood gig, and he got it! While my early sights weren’t on Hollywood, I did have a deep love for marketing. My two ultra-brilliant college friends who majored in marketing swayed me from that line of the profession simply because I felt like the industry would be too saturated to reap the monetary rewards I was after. Look at me today! I have been marketing myself and all my listings happily and successfully for nearly 29 years!

The Plaza Is Old, But It’s Still Iconic S1 – E3

The Plaza celebrated its 117 birthday this year! While Naples doesn’t offer anything quite that old, some of our best beachfront high-rises indeed show their age and some of the less desirable design features we can’t fix. Low ceilings, little windows, dumb floor plans, yeah, some of our stuff offers that. We aren’t quite at the stage of sending a wrecking ball through our high-rise product, although we have officially begun knocking down low and maybe even soon-to-be mid-rise structures. My point about all of this is if you have a problem with low ceilings or just the age of a building, let me know. I can direct you to all the new construction you can consider, or if you’re into retro remodeling projects, I can also point you there. Are you thinking about developing? I have experience with that as well. Call me because the last thing you want to do is the same as everybody else, which is an all too common occurrence here!

Social Media Influencer Of The Year S1 -E3

Throughout the season, social media came up consistently. Instagram was mentioned most significantly. The only Naples agent who is nearing 20,000 followers on Instagram more than likely buys their followers. They garner less than 20 comments per post and less than 200 likes. So everybody is either gluten for punishment and forcing themselves to see things they don’t like, or they’re fake. Looking at this agent’s stream, it’s boring. I mean REAAAAAALLLLLLLY boring. Nobody likes that uninspiring one photo “just listed” crap. LOL. I only have 1,433 followers (none of which I’ve purchased) and received 180 likes on my Father’s Day post of all silly things. If you are getting pitched that somehow Instagram will bring your Naples buyer to your property, I hope you have a backup plan. Looking at the demographics, the lack of results is unsurprising! 62% of Instagram users are under 34 years old. 2.9% are 65+! India has the highest number of users, more than twice the number of users in the U.S. Do you know how many people from India own Naples real estate? Are you ready? Zero. Zero owners with a primary address in India own property in Naples. Even more bonkers is that during one “negotiation,” an agent propositioned (maybe a developer) a lower price but offered to promote their product as an enticement. The voice on the other line asked how many followers they had and seemed impressed to hear that this person had 300,000 followers. He suggested writing the offer at a considerably lower price than the full list price. What a joke! This person has over 500,000 followers but barely over two months ago, had as few as one comment on a post. Ok, sure…feels real. The bottom line is it’s our job to know how to find your buyer. I’ll post your amazing home on Instagram, but I will probably find your buyer elsewhere. It’s rewarding to stand elbow to elbow with real estate professionals who are not about the latest con.

I do commend the agents in Manhattan for thinking outside of the box when it comes to marketing. Naples agents tend to be unimaginative or really off with their marketing quality. I saw a video just this week where I was like, OMG! That’s really bad…even tasteless and embarrassing. While I won’t be doing any bootie-shaking music videos, I will research new ways to garner meaningful attention for your amazing properties. After all, I sell more than I list, so I’m doing a better job bringing interested eyeballs to properties than their listing agents. Why don’t you cut out the middleman and call me directly?!

Tell Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want!

That Jess Taylor lady shows her extreme patience in S1 E5 when she shows a Buyer’s attorney properties around town. The first few showings don’t go well because she doesn’t have enough information to help him identify a suitable property. Initially, I thought maybe she hadn’t adequately qualified her client’s needs. Actually, the attorney wasn’t willing to share essential attributes his client would require. If you call me to ask for my assistance purchasing a property, we will first discuss what you are trying to accomplish. I will have a firm idea of your objective, so I can usually place a buyer within five showings.

Jess finally shows the attorney something he thinks his clients will appreciate, but it costs more than double the original budget. I can see how this scene can anger many consumers because it looks like a tremendous upsell. Often, wealthy clients prefer to spend more to get what they want rather than tie themselves to a self-imposed budget and miss out on all of the amenities and attributes that truly satisfy their objectives. Wealthy people often move the target. I’ve been involved in countless transactions where we didn’t accomplish their purchase within budget, but they made a WAY smarter purchasing decision. For example, several years ago, I sold a condo in Contessa at Bay Colony for $1,325,000. The buyers didn’t want to spend over $1,300,000 but also never imagined they could purchase directly on the beach. They sold it four years later for 211% more than they paid. Sometimes, it pays to listen to experience and purchase outside of your self-imposed parameters.

A Sale Is Just A Transfer of Enthusiasm!

I’m not sure where Ryan said this, but when I heard it, I stopped the show and pondered whether it was true. I can’t tell you how many properties I’ve sold because I was the most excited person in the room, but I can tell you the last time it happened was two days ago. So many agents are not showing up to accompany their listings today. Properties are dark, dirty, and uncared for. There is no enthusiasm. I showed three properties yesterday. The favorite on the list also happened to be where it looked like the owners were still enjoying the property. If you’re looking for an agent who can create fabulous energy to help you sell your property, you should contact me directly!

I hope you enjoyed my post. If you haven’t had a chance to catch “Owning Manhattan,” you should while I’m here, “Owning Naples.”

Best Regards,

Shannon Lefevre, PA
Your Naples Smart Girl
239-595-6223