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Scottsdale Real Estate Agents: Scottsdale Real Estate Agent Celebrates 800th Sale
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Added: 01/18/2005
Type: Summary
Viewed: 716 time(s)
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Scottsdale Real Estate Agents: Scottsdale Real Estate Agent Celebrates 800th Sale
Scottsdale, AZ January 18, 2005 -- “When it comes to the selection of a Scottsdale real estate agent, a consumer would be hard pressed to find one with more impressive credentials than those of Scott Gaertner, an associate broker at ReMax Excalibur,” says Ron Scott, a retired California real estate broker. “Why, you may ask? Well, for starters, he just closed his 800th transaction.”
A product of the Chicago area who migrated to Arizona to play football for the University of Arizona, Scott Gaertner attributes his long term success in the Scottsdale real estate industry to three major factors - one no less important than the other two. All three relate directly or indirectly to an overriding sense of personal responsibility and fair play.
It was Scott Gaertner who first bucked the Scottsdale real estate sales industry when he opened a brokerage firm dedicated to exclusive buyer agency in 1990. "We were the media darlings back then because we challenged the rule of subagency - a form of real estate agency that required all agents in a transaction to represent the interests of the seller," he says.
When Scott entered the real estate sales industry in Scottsdale in the mid 80's, the rule of subagency so offended his Midwestern sensibilities that he eventually put his professional reputation on the line, leading a revolt to challenge that mind set. "Every real estate transaction involves competing interests and the prevailing attitude back then - that buyers should necessarily subordinate their interests to the interests of the seller - was ridiculous," he says.
The prevalence of exclusive agency in Scottsdale (and for that matter Arizona as a whole) today is in no small part due to his tireless and thankless efforts. "There are still a few listing agents who believe all agents should be working for the seller, but they are a dying breed not a great deal unlike those who still think that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote," he says.
While Scott continues to offer and promote exclusive buyer agency, he has for the past 14 years applied the same logic when he lists a property for sale. "I firmly believe that a listing agent does a disservice to his seller and the buyer when he offers dual agency," he says, "It’s impossible to fairly represent competing interests in the same transaction," he says.
This is why Scott insists that buyers making offers on his listings bring an agent with them. "If they don’t have an agent, I will recommend one I know will take care of them. This ensures that my client’s (the seller’s) interests are not diluted, the buyer’s interests will be fairly represented, and eliminates potential conflicts of interest, real or perceived," he says.
Scott also attributes his success to an understanding of finance, especially when it comes to the subtleties of the lending industry. "It’s a rare home buyer who understands the regulatory differences between mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers here in Arizona and a knowledge of those differences can make a profound difference when it comes to closing costs and interest rates.
"My clients don’t pay overage because they know not only who to secure their financing through, they know how to identify and eliminate unearned fees - thousands of dollars in undisclosed and under disclosed profits lenders in the Valley collect on individual loans a daily basis," he says putting considerable emphasis on "who". "I have yet to find a home buyer who doesn’t appreciate knowing how to save money," he concluded.
According to Scott, the final factor contributing to his success has been specialization. The vast majority of his clients purchase high end properties. "I realized early on that I can’t be all things to all people so I decided to focus my efforts on the luxury home market," he says. "Three quarters of the homes I’ve sold are located in and around north Scottsdale. The remainder are in lower Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, and a few of the more exclusive neighborhoods in the surrounding, Phoenix metropolitan area."
Asked how he was going to celebrate his 800th closing, Scott smiled. "I’m taking the kids to Disneyland, of course."
This is the second in a series of articles being written by Ron Scott, a retired California real estate broker who lives in Southern, California. He is trying to decide whether he and his wife should retire in Scottsdale, AZ or Bethesda, MD and in the process has spent a considerable amount of time talking with real estate agents in both communities.
The search for a knowledgeable real estate agent in Bethesda led him to put together a press release that provides home buyers a novel way to identify a good real estate agent and he used the same process in locating Scott Gaertner. (www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb168750.htm).
Ron was so impressed with Scott Gaertner that he drove to Scottsdale to get a first hand look. Scott spend four hours showing him around town knowing full well that the retiree had not yet committed to buying a home in the Scottsdale area. This interview was penned in part to thank Scott for taking a few hours showing him around town and for the dinner he was treated to at Garcia's.
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