Mike Schmidt got his real estate license when he was just 18 years old. Today, he’s president of Traverse City, Michigan-based Schmidt Family of Companies—a fifth-generation brokerage firm initially founded as H.F. Schmidt Real Estate in 1927 by his great-grandfather, Harold F. Schmidt, before joining the Coldwell Banker Corporation as a franchisee in 1983.
The parent company to its full-service real estate brokerage firms, Schmidt Family of Companies has grown into a network of 90-plus offices in Michigan, northeast Ohio, both coasts of Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.
“I’ve been around the business my whole life,” says Schmidt, who explains that no matter the market, buyers always have the same questions. And they’re always looking for recommendations as far as the best landscaper, roofer, pool guy, fence installer, etc., to turn their house into a home. This makes it paramount that real estate professionals foster relationships with vendors they know, like and trust who will go above and beyond to ensure that their clients are well taken care of.
“REALTORS® have always been the best resource when it comes to connecting the consumer to the people associated with the moving process and home maintenance needs for the lifetime of the home itself,” explains Schmidt. In today’s market especially, where homes are moving faster than ever, it’s mission critical that real estate professionals be able to connect the dots.
And thanks to a recent partnership with MoveEasy, a comprehensive post-transaction concierge moving and home-management platform, Schmidt and his team are providing their brokers and agents a personalized custom app—branded as HomeHub Powered By ThisIsOurList.com—and their buyer and seller clients the best moving experience possible.
“We get pitched products all the time,” notes Schmidt, “but MoveEasy was the one that provided the most value, so we chose to utilize their white-labeling capabilities to custom-brand our offering as HomeHub Powered By ThisIsOurList.com. This adds to our value proposition for the REALTOR® and the brokerage, but more importantly, it adds exceptional value to the customer.”
Part of that value is found in the level of automation built into the platform, which, according to Schmidt, is one of the biggest benefits associated with offering clients the complementary moving concierge services together with the home-maintenance service providers for one’s entire lifetime and real estate journey. “Automating the entire process for the consumer, HomeHub Powered By ThisIsOurList.com makes it easy for them to set up the utilities in their new home, initiate a mail transfer and everything in between,” says Schmidt.
But it doesn’t end there. In fact, HomeHub’s powerful concierge tool provided by MoveEasy offers access to a complete list of services including moving, car shipping, home security, TV/internet, home professionals, contractors, utilities, checklists and more.
Easing the stress associated with the moving process, Schmidt goes on to explain that time savings is another benefit that can’t be overlooked. “Everything is happening faster today, and the fact that HomeHub Powered By ThisIsOurList.com takes the hassle out of the process, is a real gift to the consumer.”
Drilling down further, preferred vendors are only a click away, making it easy to engage and retain clients in today’s competitive market. “Our REALTORS® are the ones who have those relationships, so it’s critical that we work together to get those vendor partnerships in place,” explains Schmidt.
“HomeHub Powered By ThisIsOurList.com stays with the client throughout their post-transaction journey and beyond, so its value continues to grow as they settle into the home and make it their own,” concludes Schmidt.
For more information, visit www.moveeasy.com.
Paige Tepping is RISMedia’s managing editor. Email her with your real estate news ideas, ptepping@rismedia.com.
