What
I Believe
As a Martha's Vineyard
real estate sales agent, I am aware that the word "Sales"
may have a negative connotation for some people; it conjures
up images of disingenuous pushy characters we refer to as
"salesmen". I learned a long time ago what it means
to be a good sales person, and it has nothing to do with the
word "sales". I consider myself to be a SERVICE
provider; I counsel and assist buyers.
I do not know about you, but I love to buy! However, I hate
to be sold. Therefore, sales should be considered SERVICE,
and good service is something we all appreciate, but how often
is it that we get good service these days? To me it is very
simple --- see what is wanted and needed and produce it. I
believe that my function as a real estate professional is
to provide good service. I strive to connect the right person
with the right property, and I know I am good at it. If you
treat people fairly, do the best you can to fulfill their
needs and make them happy, and you have no hidden agenda,
you cannot go wrong. I love what I do. I listen and I am very
patient. I believe my mission is to find the best property,
with the best terms, that best suits my client's needs no
matter how long it takes. My main concern is that when they
make a decision it is the right decision for them and a decision
they will hopefully never regret.
I have always felt that the Buyer does not receive the kind
of service they deserve. Before the change in the Law of Agency
made the distinction between seller's agent and buyer's agent
more clearly defined, the Buyer suffered. In the past, everyone
worked under a specified listing contract for the Seller and
the operative implication to the consumer was "Buyer
Beware". Any information a Buyer would divulge to the
sales agent they were working with that could benefit the
Seller could (and would) be used against the Buyer to garner
the maximum advantage for the Seller. Let me ask you a question.
How do you begin your search for that perfect property you’re
dreaming of?
• Do you thumb through the newspaper and look at the
nice display ads?
• Do you scour all the tiny classified ads in the real
estate section of the newspaper?
• Do you surf the Net going from one broker’s
website to another looking to see what properties they’re
marketing?
--- Of course you do.
But did you know, when you call on any of those
ads, the listing broker represents the SELLER, not you.
Sure, they can offer you Disclosed
Dual Agency, but they cannot offer you 100% buyer advocacy
(Definition of Advocacy: active support; especially the act
of pleading or arguing for something) and in my opinion dual
agency introduces the obvious possibility for conflict
of interest. When you work with an Exclusive
Buyer’s Agent, you’re the boss. So, why go through
all that hit-or-miss running around when you can engage a
real estate professional who knows the Martha’s Vineyard
market and the hundreds of properties for sale here, better
than you ever will. An Exclusive Buyer’s Agent can find
that perfect home you’re looking for, and they will
scour the entire market to find it. An Exclusive Buyer’s
Agent will assist you without reservation throughout the entire
negotiating and purchasing process. This Agency relationship
should be solidified by way of an Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement
just as the Seller's agency relationship is based on an Exclusive
Listing Agreement. SplitRock Real Estate does not list property
for sale or represent sellers in any way. We work exclusively
with buyers in order to completely remove the potential for
any conflict of interest. The
reason why I made the commitment to work as an Exclusive
Buyer’s Agent is that I do not believe real estate
agents can do a good and responsible job of representing
the buyer unless committed 100% to that focus --- 100% of
the time. As an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent for real estate
on Martha's Vineyard, I am able to give you the attention
you deserve without reservation or any confusion as to my
loyalty. I am not conflicted in any way. I am paid for my
services out of the proceeds of the transaction and because
I work to obtain the best terms and lowest price for my
clients, my fee is affected proportionately. However, my
reward for doing a good job is that my clients do not hesitate
to recommend me to their friends and others who want the
Martha's Vineyard experience, and that is how I grow my
business.
Who
I Am: A Short Auto-Biography
"I am a 'washashore', a New Yorker..." he says,
with a quick glance over his shoulder. Actually, it is more
accurate to say I am a Vineyarder, because this is where
my true heart is now, although I still have a warm spot
in my heart for the Yanks and Manhattan. However, when it
comes to passion, the Red Sox and the New England Patriots
take the prize -- I love passion.
I was born and raised in northern Westchester County, just
35 miles north of New York City. My mother was a teacher;
she taught music, French and English. My father was an Art
Director for House & Garden magazine. In college I majored
in advertising art and design. I spent four years in the
military with the United States Air Force and I am a Veteran
having served in the Viet Nam war. I was stationed in DaNang,
South Viet Nam from 1969 to 1970. After my discharge from
the military, I worked for a number of years as a textile
print designer and then transitioned into a career in women's
apparel, based in New York City. I was responsible for merchandising,
marketing, sales management and startups for leading manufacturers
in the women's fashion industry.
My first introduction to Martha's Vineyard
Island was in 1967 when my family purchased a home here
and became seasonal residents. I immediately realized what
a very special place this is. During my career in New York
I worked long hours and traveled quite a bit. Martha's Vineyard
had made such an imprint in my mind and soul that I spent
every minute of my limited vacation time on Martha's Vineyard
and always left the Island with an ache in my heart, because
I could not spend more time here. Like many people during
the "me generation" 80's who were my age, I finally
decided there was more to the riches of life than a 60 to
70 hour work week could provide, so I decided to follow
my heart.
Peter and his first Bluefish 2004
Photo by J. Piekos |
My life took a 180-degree turn in 1988
when serendipity showed me the way to make a dream come
true. I became a year round citizen on this magical Island
of Martha's Vineyard, and I have never looked back. I live
in West Tisbury, in a beautiful location close to the water
--- although every location is close to the water on this
Island. My wife and I have four grown boys and one cat.
We love the outdoors --- so does the cat. We enjoy gardening,
beach walks, trips into Boston for the symphony and museums,
as well as staying close to our sons, two who live in Florida,
one who lives in Las Vegas, one who has found a good career
here on the Island and is also a volunteer member of the
West Tisbury Fire Department. When I am not working I try
to spend as much time as I can with my wonderful wife and
my few good friends. If I have any more free time I like
tinkering with cars and motorcycles. I have also tried to
participate in activities at the MV Rod and Gun Club where
I started taking skeet lessons. I have renewed my relationship
with sport fishing, although I have to admit when I am out
on our many wonderful beaches, I get lost in the wonderment
of this incredible Island I live on. I forget I am supposed
to be fishing. My wife works for a prestigious Island law
firm as a paralegal, and is a song writer. It seems like
everyone here does more than one thing. Her passions are
music, photography, hiking, dance, our boys and me."
(No glance back over my shoulder on this one.)
My full time career has been in real estate sales and marketing
on Martha's Vineyard since 1989. I earned my Broker license
in 1991 and I worked as a real estate appraiser for a number
of years.
I believe that Knowledge is
Power. This applies not only to educating my clients,
it applies to me too. I am proud of the eight Designations
and Certifications I hold, earned solely through extensive
educational classroom hours, and years of full-time real
estate experience.
Designations
and Certifications:
CRS®: Certified Real Estate Specialist
GRI: Graduate REALTOR® Institute
ABR®: Accredited Buyer Representative
CBR®: Certified Buyer Representative
SRES®: Seniors Real Estate Specialist
RSPS: Resort and Second Home Property Specialist (Charter
Member)
e-PRO: Internet Technology Professional
LMC: Loss Mitigation Certified Specialist (Short
Sales and REO's)
Memberships:
NAR: National Association of REALTORS®
MAR: Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®
CCIAOR: Cape Cod & Islands Association of REALTORS®
REBAC: Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council of REALTORS®
NAEBA: National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents
MABA: Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents
LINKMV: Listing Information Network MV ~ (Including
Database Design Task Force)
Martha's Vineyard Island is not for everyone. If you have
never been here, you need to visit and see for yourself
the varied life styles that are available here within the
six distinctively different towns on Martha's Vineyard Island.
If you have been here and if every time you leave the Island
you experience an ache in your heart let me show you how
to make that ache go away and your dream come true.
Why
I'm Passionate about what I do
This is a true story. I bought my first home in the 70's.
I was young, newly married with a new family and starting
to build my career. Even back then, buying a home was a
huge decision, and we were very nervous about spending what
to us was a fortune. However, our advisors told us to make
the investment. We were able to put a considerable amount
of money down so that our monthly loan payment would be
manageable. House hunting became somewhat of a full time
job for my wife and our baby --- I had an office job. We
looked at night, we looked on weekends and my wife looked
in between. All tolled I think my wife looked at 60 to 75
homes, "our" real estate agent ran us ragged.
We told her what we were looking for, but she kept showing
us everything. I never thought the day would come, but finally
my wife called me and said she had found our dream home.
I will never forget the day I first went to look at our
"dream home", accompanied by "our" real
estate agent, who was also the listing agent. It was a picture
perfect autumn afternoon, clear and sunny and the tree leaves
were a blaze of color the 2400sf multi-level contemporary
3-bedroom house sat dramatically up on a rock ledge and
looked down through the woods onto a lake. It was a beautiful
3-acre lot of majestic oak trees and huge rock outcroppings.
The sun was streaming in through the plate glass window
wall and the owner was baking brownies in the kitchen, so
the house smelled delicious. The house looked beautiful
and I loved the land (location, location, location).
When we first started our property search, I made it clear
to "our" broker that I could not live in a house
where there had been animals, because I had allergies. The
broker assured me that there had been no pets in this house
--- did I see any? Did I look? Should I have looked? After
a brief discussion for guidance with "our" agent,
we made an offer. To our surprise it was accepted. We listened
to our agent but I always wondered if our offer was too
high.
It was time to do our due diligence. I wanted a structural
home inspection. My wife's uncle was an engineer and graciously
volunteered to inspect the house for free saying he knew
what to look for. He spent 45 minutes looking at it and
said everything was fine.
I am jumping ahead to a few days after the closing. We packed
up all of our belongings into a rented U-haul and drove
to our new dream home. I finally started taking a really
good look at the house and what is my second most favorite
"man area" next to the garage --- the basement.
I went in and closed the basement door, something I had
not done from the inside of the basement. There, on the
back of the door, were huge scratch marks that must have
been made by a large animal. Kujo? I continued to look around
and in a small dark corner under the stairs; I found an
area that had obviously been used for a long time as a kitty
litter box --- without the box. It was disgusting. I found
out subsequently from a neighbor that the former owners
did have pets, a Great Dane and cats. I also found out that
the couple was getting a divorce, so that may explain why
when we were looking at the house there were no pets ---
and no husband. Someone had custody of them --- I mean the
pets. Needless to say, I was plagued by allergies all that
winter, especially when I went into my second most favorite
"man area".
Now let's fast forward to late winter when the snow is on
the ground and the ice is starting to thaw. I was down in
the basement one day and noticed some wet spots. Those wet
spots got wetter as the winter thaw progressed and finally
there was a stream running through my basement. It was a
mess and cost thousands of dollars to mitigate with an elaborate
foundation drainage system and foundation sealing. I realize
that we cannot be protected from every single defect in
a house, but if I had contracted a licensed structural inspector
instead of my wife's uncle, I would surely have been made
aware of pre-existing problems like moisture in the basement,
etc. Remember my other favorite location --- the garage;
well, the pipes froze that winter. My inspector would also
have found the plumbing defects and related structural deficiencies.
If I had hired an exclusive buyer agent, instead of thinking
the listing agent would take care of us (she took care of
us all right), I would have had a better chance at learning
more details. I also think we would have paid less for the
house. This is one reason why I am so passionate about what
I do, and I promise you I will do my utmost to ensure that
you are informed and knowledgeable about the property you
spend your hard earned money on.
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