We Thank You For This Opportunity

Thank you.

Two simple words, but for us they always have been, and always will be, the very foundation of our business.

You’re generously affording us the opportunity to make our case that no one will work harder than we to secure your interests in the transaction you’re undertaking. Thank you.

You’re allowing us the opportunity to compete openly and fairly for your business. Thank you.

You’re giving us the privilege of your undivided attention and time as we make this presentation to you. Thank you.

You’re permitting us access to areas of your life that normally you wouldn’t share with people you don’t know. Thank you.

You’re doing all of the above with the highest expectations of us, and we thank you, in word and in deed.

Our considered actions and vigorous representation in your behalf will prove how grateful we are that you’ve honored us with this moment to have a discussion about how we might help you with a very important business decision.

On behalf of all the “Balistreri Family,” we sincerely thank you.

Jim and Joe Balistreri
Broker-Owners

Our Credentials

It takes commitment—first, to understand the individual needs of our clients and provide them the best in knowledge, skill and comprehensive worldwide marketing, and then provide the highest form of representation allowed by Florida law.

Agency Representation, Florida Law and You
Very few of the major real estate companies and huge national franchises in South Florida provide buyers and sellers a choice in the kind of agency representation they truly desire. Instead, these firms offer what they want, not what clients really prefer.

Unlike Balistreri Realty, most firms today provide the public only a limited form of representation, called Transaction Brokerage. If a real estate firm provides only transaction brokerage, it means that you, the seller, are giving up your rights to the undivided loyalty, obedience and full confidentiality of your agent.

Every real estate firm in Florida, if it chooses, can provide sellers Single Agency representation. It is the only form of representation that legally entitles you to your agent’s undivided loyalty, obedience and full confidentiality.

Florida Statute 475.255 cautions: “…[T]he mere payment or promise to pay compensation to a licensee does not determine whether an agency or transactional brokerage relationship exists between the licensee and a seller, landlord, buyer, or tenant.” In other words, just because you pay someone, you shouldn’t assume that he or she represents you.

Of the two forms of representation, which would you choose: Single Agency or Transaction Brokerage?

Balistreri Realty assures you that you’ll always be provided the highest form of representation allowed by Florida Law: Single Agency. However, when representing both buyer and seller, the law requires us to transition to Transaction Brokerage.

Balistreri Realty’s High Standards—Since 1964
In this active real estate market, some agents, regretfully, are cutting corners; they’re not holding to our standard. Be sure your listing agent will make your property available to all 30,000 local sales agents. And, be sure your listing agent won’t restrict access—by making it necessary to accompany all showings and using other tactics to “double-end” the deal, often at the seller’s expense.

Balistreri Realty’s reputation in the real estate industry was built on a simple premise that has guided us since 1964: The client’s best interests are our only concern, and it is to the client, not the transaction, we owe total loyalty.

The Value of the REALTOR^®Network
REALTORS^® are a valuable network of professionals, more than a million members strong, working to match buyers and sellers all over the world.

When you entrust the sale of your property to Balistreri Realty, we engage 30,000 local REALTORS^®in South Florida, 125,000 REALTORS^®in the state, and the million-plus REALTORS^® worldwide to come to work for you. Hiring Balistreri Realty is like hiring a million-member REALTOR^® sales team. That’s our job!

National and International Exposure and Relocation
With 1,200 new people moving into Florida every day and with buyers from all over the world looking for second or vacation homes in this market, hiring a real estate firm with a substantial relocation and vacation-home network is important to sellers.

When you hire Balistreri Realty, you also engage our global network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World,^™ which is unmatched in the relocation sector—more than $3.8 billion in sales in 2004, with 1.4 million transactions; 20 percent more home sales above the $1 million price point than any other network; 650 firms with 4,700 offices and 120,000 sales associates; and servicing all 50 states and in 24 countries. Most importantly, you receive the high standard of quality service synonymous with the Balistreri name and the brand of our network.

We Invest Heavily In Our Agents’ Professional Development
Balistreri Realty long has committed itself to the professional development of its Sales Associates. We regard it as an indispensable part of the high quality of service we our clients deserve.

A formalized course of study and special lectures and seminars by leaders in real estate and related fields keep our Associates ahead of the curve with the specialized knowledge and skills they need to be of maximum value to clients and to respond appropriately to their unique situations and needs.

At Balistreri Realty, we reject the one-size-fits-all business model. Instead, we equip develop our Associates to be true assets—to themselves, to the firm, and to the clients they serve.

A Firm Behind the Sales Force
Many real estate brokerages either have stripped away their managerial infrastructure or were designed with little or no infrastructure at all. Not so at Balistreri Realty. Our sales force has the finest managerial leadership team available.

Our senior managers, who comprise our Leadership Team, bring more than 200 years of combined experience to their assigned tasks of advising, directing and supervising the business practices of our Sales Associates. Additionally, our management team is backed up by a full-time real estate attorney.

We believe that, if you’ve decided to entrust the sale of your property to a professional, you deserve the comprehensive attention, services and full resources of the real estate firm with which your real estate professional is affiliated.

Full-Service Brokerage and What It Means to You
Sellers have been employing real estate professionals like us for nearly 100 years. This means that the only true constant in the real estate business has been full-service brokerage; it never has been limited-service, or flashy-fee brokerage, or direct sellers. The standard continues to be full-service brokerage.

What does full-service brokerage mean to you? For us at Balistreri Realty, it means:

• The Foundation: We believe the foundation of full-service brokerage is finding out what is most important to the client, and doing everything possible to meet that obligation—in a way that truly represents the client’s interests, and with skill, care and diligence.

• We Are Obsessive Marketers: Marketing creates exposure. Exposure creates interest and demand. Demand creates greater worth. At Balistreri Realty, we not only understand this formula, we are experts at applying it.

How do buyers find properties? According to the National Association of REALTORS^®, the top four ways are: Real estate agent, 38 percent; yard sign, 16 percent; Internet, 15 percent; referral, 7 percent. These top four ways buyers find their properties account for 76 percent of the methods they use to search or shop.

Most sellers—and, very often, agents—think that the newspaper is the way buyers find properties. But according to NAR statistics, the newspaper is only 5-percent effective as a marketing tool to draw buyers to purchase your property.

• We Maximize the MLS: The key to getting the highest sales price for your property is creating exposure and demand. And the most effective way to create both is to engage the entire REALTOR^®sales force.

Most agents use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as a data depository. Balistreri Realty uses it as a marketing tool. In the MLS, listings often are not displayed with sale-enhancing photographs or complete, detailed property data. Balistreri Realty features each property with multiple color photographs; a complete property profile; all room sizes; and custom remarks. These are the kinds of details that engage real estate agents and buyers alike—creating exposure and demand.

• You Hire A Marketing Department: When you hire Balistreri Realty, you also hire a marketing company. Broker-Owners Jim and Joe Balistreri created a full-fledged marketing department to help market clients' properties. Most real estate firms don’t have marketing departments.

Our in-house Marketing Department produces marketing materials quickly and efficiently, providing your property the best exposure possible.

No two properties are alike; your property is unique. Therefore, Balistreri Realty customizes the materials that will be used to market your property. This way, your property stands out in the minds of buyers and real estate agents. This increases demand and money in your pocket.

• We Are Always Searching for Buyers: Balistreri Realty constantly looks for buyers. We use automated marketing systems to find them and to energize the sale of your property. The more buyers we drive to your property, the greater the chances it will be sold at the highest price possible.

Balistreri Realty has an exclusive Sphere of Influence Marketing System^™. It's a dynamic referral network that exposes your property, and others like it, to tens of thousands of potential buyers over a sustained period.

NAR says that nearly 60 percent of all buyers find their real estate agents through their own social and professional circles or spheres. It’s the No. 1 way real estate professionals connect with qualified buyers.

• With Local Exposure, We Capture In-Town Buyers: NAR studies show that buyers, whatever their reason for moving, tend to stay within 12 miles of their old residences—right in town. Every three weeks, more than 120 different neighborhoods and condominiums receive mailings from Balistreri Realty. We capture these local, in-town buyers for you.
Balistreri Realty has a Buyer Delivery System,™ that is all about one thing: connecting buyers and sellers. We outdo most real estate companies in bringing buyers and sellers together; we think it’s good business sense.

Our Buyer Delivery System^™ is a comprehensive, integrated marketing strategy that drives more buyers to your front door. Through this system, more than 1 million magazines, Sphere of Influence^™ mailings and Residence Cards are direct-mailed to targeted markets and potential buyers each year.

• Balistreri Magazine: An integral part of Balistreri Realty’s marketing system; our elegant, highly produced magazine has a circulation of 65,000. It reaches: tens of thousands of potential buyers across South Florida; thousands of top-producing real estate professionals working with buyers locally; more than 1,000 of the most productive relocation and human-resources directors across North America and in 40 other countries; Fortune 500 companies; and strategic businesses.

Most real estate firms do not have a publication; instead, they rely on generic real estate guides. Even if they produce a publication, they almost always rely on the uncontrolled distribution of grocery- and convenience-store racks. We do not. Balistreri Magazine is delivered by mail to people who can help influence the sale of your property.

Balistreri Realty has been publishing its own magazine, marketing our clients’ properties, for more than 20 years. We believe that creating exposure for your property and getting it sold for the most money possible are to be accomplished by design. We never leave that to news racks or to chance.

• Your Property Receives the Best Internet Exposure Money Can Buy: Through Balistreri Realty’s partnership with REALTOR.com, your property will receive extraordinary worldwide exposure. Six million visitors start their property search each month at REALTOR.com.

We don’t stop there. We provide additional exposure on the 650 Web sites of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^™, plus regional exposure through Balistreri.com.

We give our clients exactly what they want. Using the latest technology, we present your property on the Internet in a comprehensive treatment of six color photographs; custom remarks; visual tours; hot links to maps, area schools and community information; and a direct link to the Balistreri Associate handling the listing. Enhanced properties receive 558 percent more traffic.

Additionally, we give you monthly traffic reports, via mail or e-mail, detailing the number of visitors reviewing your property. Imagine, buyers anywhere in the world “touring” your property day or night without ever having to inconvenience you. Visual Tours—that’s the high-tech marketing treatment your property will receive when you entrust the sale to Balistreri Realty.

• We Won’t Sell Your Property Short: Consumers expect a warranty—a protection against malfunction or defects—to come with any important purchase they make. Home buyers are no different. Studies show home buyers believe a warranty is so important, they’re willing to pay 2.2 percent more for a home with a warranty. Homes with warranties have a 15-percent-faster sale rate. National buyer research shows that properties with warranties sell for more money, and sell faster, than those without warranties.

What happens after a sale is as important as what happens before it. After a sale, lawsuits happen. Things go wrong with the property, and buyers sue to recoup the cost of repairs they have to make. When you entrust your sale to us, we do all we can to protect you and your dollars. That’s why we encourage all our sellers to invest in an HMS Home Warranty.

Here’s how the HMS Home Warranty works.

Suppose your A/C compressor breaks down during the listing or sale period. The warranty company will repair or replace it for a $100 deductible. That’s peace of mind against costly repairs for you while your property is for sale. The same protection extends to the new buyer for 12 months after the closing.

But if that same compressor that you bought for $1,800 should break down just five weeks after the sale and there’s no warranty, what happens? The buyer calls an A/C repairman, and he says the unit was shot for years and the seller had to have known. The buyer gets an attorney, and you get a letter demanding payment for the repair. Now you have to decide whether you pay the bill or pay an attorney. Either way, you pay.

Which is better—the hassle and expense of breakdowns, or the peace of mind you get with a warranty?

• We Have More Buyers: A big claim, but true.
Balistreri Realty is a partner-member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^™, a worldwide relocation network that sells more properties in the United States than any national franchise. These are buyers who have to buy, and typically, they are willing to pay a little more.
When you entrust the sale of your property to Balistreri Realty, you get the benefits of the world’s most successful relocation network. And, you get the expertise of Christine Van Buskirk, our full-time director of relocation.

• One-Stop Shopping: Balistreri Realty is a full-service firm. Its core companies—InTouch Mortgage, Integrity Title and Next Day Survey—allow us to offer you one-stop shopping for every imaginable real estate transaction.

Eighty-two percent of buyers and sellers prefer to deal with a firm that has one-stop shopping. Our in-house companies coordinate the closing with all parties to prevent costly and aggravating delays.

• Negotiating In Your Best Interest: A skilled negotiator is an asset in any business transaction. Balistreri Realty thoroughly trains its Sales Associates in the science and art of negotiating. And we can call in as much additional help as we need, if the situation warrants it, to secure a client’s interests.

We’re not emotionally involved in the sale; we keep a clear head so as not to lose the buyer. We know about market values, so if the buyer is on the fence, we know how to motivate him or her to make a decision and pay you the price you want. We understand the needs of both parties, but our loyalty is to you.

• Moving Trucks for Our Clients and Friends: To assist our clients and friends, moving trucks are made available to help with in-town moves. Our trucks are fully equipped with moving pads, hand truck, dolly and ramp—all for just a nominal $20 insurance fee.

• We’re Community-Minded:  Giving back is so important. We’ve been so blessed as a company doing business in South Florida, we believe it’s important to give back. And we do in many ways, partnering with organizations and local institutions working to strengthen our local communities. We support and maintain these relationships as an integral part of our way of doing business.

• Local Ownership—Jim and Joe Balistreri, Broker-Owners: Local ownership means our firm is led by people who have their fingers on the pulse of the real estate market of South Florida.

Unlike many real estate firms, our owners are personally available to you. Jim and Joe can be reached at 954-545-1600. Their numbers are in the local phone book.

• Two Generations of Excellence and Integrity: Joseph S. Balistreri founded the firm in Pompano Beach, Fla., in 1964. At that time, the corporation was held as Joseph S. Balistreri, Inc. In October 1991, he sold the business to his sons, Joe and Jim Balistreri; subsequently, the company operated as Balistreri Realty, Inc.

Although Balistreri Realty began as a residential real estate brokerage, it has expanded over the years to include commercial and business-opportunity brokerage, and multi-unit and new-development sales. In the residential arena, the primary focus continues to be mid-range to high-end residential properties, luxury-builder residences and estate properties.

Balistreri Realty's $1-million-plus properties receive added exposure through Luxury Portfolio^®, the luxury division of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^™. Luxury Portfolio^®sells 20 percent more luxury properties than our closest competitor.