"Older people are
not driven by the market," he said. "They're driven by circumstances, by
their needs. A physical impairment, the death of a spouse, the need to be
closer to a child -- those are the kinds of things that make them want to
sell. They really don't care about 'moving up' or making a killing in a
hot market. Most of them have lived in their homes a long time and are not
selling because they want to but because circumstances make it desirable
or necessary."
Along
with 33 colleagues who also had many senior clients, Corliss created the
Senior Advantage Real Estate Council in 1997 and established a new
designation -- senior real estate specialist -- for real estate agents. It
is an important niche, he notes, because 25 percent of the the real estate
market now involves people over age 55, "and with the boomers coming into
that demographic, it is going to become a larger share still."
To get the senior specialist designation, an agent must complete a
two-day, 14-hour training course that includes generational marketing
skills, tax reforms benefiting seniors and financing plans aimed at older
homeowners.
Cathie Eason of Professional Edge Realty in Carmichael, one of 21
agents in the Sacramento area and 5,000 nationally who have received the
designation, finds working with seniors emotionally as well as financially
rewarding. More than 50 percent of her clients are seniors.
"I love older people," she said. "They treat me like a member of the
family, something I really appreciate since I was a foster child and never
had parents or grandparents. I feel I really am doing good for them, help
them in many ways, and they do a lot of good for me."
What a senior specialist does involves a lot of listening. Notes Eason:
"You try to find out their situation, learn what their needs are and give
them advice accordingly. You don't pressure them. To a considerable
extent, you become a counselor."
Recent clients agree and give her high marks for her counseling skills.
"She has an amazing ability to empathize," said Dick Waters, 62, whose
Carmichael home Eason helped sell four years ago. Dick and his wife, Judy,
61, were about to retire at the time.
"She asked us a lot of questions about our plans. When we told her we
were moving to a mobile park that didn't allow pets and were concerned
about what to do with our dog, she offered to adopt it. She still sends us
pictures of the dog.
"Cathie is an incredibly pleasant person, but at the same time, she's
all business, a real professional."
Senior specialists provide clients with many services. If the clients
have questions about a point of law, they'll arrange for them to meet with
lawyers who specialize in their area of concern. If the clients are too
old to drive and need to get somewhere important, the specialist will
drive them.
Often, specialists find, seniors are "just thinking" about selling.
That means, according to Corliss, "that they're anticipating something."
It may involve an ailing spouse. If the spouse is put in a nursing home or
dies, then the survivor would sell. But when that event may happen is
uncertain.
"Then you just wait," said Corliss. "Maybe years. You'll make the sale
but not right away."
During the senior specialist course, Corliss says, the most important
thing agents are taught "is to shift their thinking -- from quick sales to
sales that develop slowly but surely."
"So often, I find, seniors are just not aware of what they possibly can
do," said Corliss.
"So we help them draw up a plan. A list of 'what ifs,' really. Seniors
have a lot of options nowadays, but unless they consider them ahead of
time, they can get frozen with fear when the time comes to make a
decision."
