Why Chestnut Park?
A question I have been posed too many times to count over the years…
From prospective clients at listing presentations to real estate colleagues out in the world, my answer is invariably the same.
Though perhaps I should back up…
When I first landed on Chestnut Park’s doorstep almost 15 years ago, I had absolutely no business being there. I was freshly into my 30’s, undertaking a terrifying yet wholly serendipitous career change from the world of teaching. When an old friend from childhood somehow caught wind of my impending career change and took it upon herself to send a note of introduction to the then-Broker of Record all of two days before I was to sit my last licensing exam, I was horrified. How embarrassing! Chestnut Park was the top of the game as far as I was concerned – why on earth would they want to meet with me?! Besides, I had an exam to study for, surely I could punt this exercise in humiliation to the other side when each waking hour wasn’t so precious?
Well, meet with me they did and by some miracle I left that day with an invitation to join the ranks. I couldn’t believe my luck – in spite of having not met with a single other brokerage, jumped at the chance to hitch my star to the Chestnut Park wagon.
Good fortune indeed.
In the years to follow, I learned from the best. There were the weekly sales meetings where Chestnut Park’s very own in-house guru, CEO Chris Kapches, would unpack the stats and headlines and help to demystify the market, after which we would all pile into cars and head out on a brokerage-wide property caravans of exclusive new listings.
I attended workshops on everything from how to correctly interpret a property survey, to the laws governing trees and fences, to the lengthy list of due-diligence required before a client ever sets pen to paper on an offer. I can tell you all of the ways agents can get themselves sued – it’s haunting!
And when the government has passed new legislation governing the way real estate can be transacted, it has invariably been our in-house management team that sets about to make sure we knew how to implement it, often front-running our professional organizations and leading the way for the industry.
I could go on and on.
“I could describe the myriad ways that my colleagues and I are set up for success on the basis of the foundation Chestnut Park provides but that’s likely not a surprise to anyone familiar with the brand. What might be, however, is the fact that so much of the Chestnut Park je-ne-sais-quoi comes from the relationships among the agents. Collaboration abounds.”
BRYNN LACKIE
Sales Representative
In a business often maligned for bad behaviour and cutthroat territoriality, it is noteworthy that some of my biggest wins to date have been because I had an assist from a Chestnut Park colleague. Need a second set of eyes on a pricing strategy? I pick up the phone. A pre-presentation brainstorm to ensure all my bases are sufficiently covered? I pick up the phone. Someone to help me break into a frozen lockbox, show my client a house when I am stuck at home with a sick child, give me a pep talk after a rough week? Same again.
Having known only this way for the entirety of my career, I must admit it only recently occurred to me that this is not the norm at other brokerages. Sure, one can safely expect varying degrees of polite collegiality but short of those on individual sales teams, it’s certainly not to the level Chestnut Park agents can take for granted.
I quite literally could not do what I do without my colleagues. I mean, I obviously *could, but would I really want to? No, not really – this way affords a much nicer world view. Seeing my colleagues as adversaries? No thanks.
There is a confidence that comes as a result of this particular culture of collaboration that is so central to the Chestnut Park ethos. And if I am being honest, I think that that collaboration is a direct result of the quiet confidence of my colleagues.
It’s the Chestnut Park magic.
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