Metro Brokers TV is metro brokers real estate

MetroBrokersTV: Coming to you live from the Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. I am Scott Shields with metrobrokerstv.com and I am joined here today by a Metro Broker Will Roberts, who is also the President of the Denver Board of Realtors. Will, thank you for joining us tonight.

William Roberts: Thanks for having me Scott.

MetroBrokersTV: Will, tell us how long you have been with Metro Brokers?

William Roberts: It has been about four years now. I bought my franchise back in 2004 I guess.

MetroBrokersTV: All right and how has your experience been with Metro Brokers? What has Metro Brokers done for you as a Realtor?

William Roberts: It has allowed me to spread my wings. I mean the whole independent companies working together, having access to a lot of resources, but at the same time having independence has been wonderful for me.

MetroBrokersTV: Well, thats always great to hear, especially coming from a man like yourself. Now, you are the President of the Denver Board of Realtors. So, you are definitely involved and you are out there and seeing what the real estate industry is going through and coming about and where it is possibly heading. Where do you see Metro Brokers fitting into that and where do you see the real estate industry going too?

William-Will-Roberts: Well, once again, that independent companies working together for a common good as far as transactions and selling homes, it allows us to have a greater marketing power, a greater potential to succeed and so, yeah, I see that happening a lot more because you have to get lean, you really have to get lean in this market and this is the perfect time to model to get lean in.

MetroBrokersTV: Well, thats great. So, get down and get back to the basics, get back to what works, cut off the excess and just go for it.

William-Will-Roberts: Absolutely.

MetroBrokersTV: Well Will, thank you so much for talking with us today. Enjoy your convention while you are here.

William-Will-Roberts: Thanks for having me Scott.

MetroBrokersTV: For more great success stories and information about the real estate industry, just click around on metrobrokerstv.com.

MetroBrokersTV: Live from the convention CAR, the state convention at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. I am Scott Shields with Metro Brokers TV and I am joined by Betty Armbrust. Betty, thank you so much for coming down and talking with us today.

Betty Armbrust: Thank you Scott.

MetroBrokersTV: So, Betty, tell us about your Metro Brokers experience. Why did you become a Metro Broker?

Betty Armbrust: You know Scott, at one time, I had 25 sales people and we owned a building, had a school, had my husband's appraisal business, and my real estate company there. When we downsized my company, sold the building, sold my school basically, and we just didnt want to hold an office open any longer. So, Metro Broker concept works for me. I dont have to make appointments, I dont get those telephone calls, they make my appointments, I can be in the office or in my home office, either way and do business. So, quite frankly, I seldom go into the office. I work primarily from my home office with total contact with Metro Brokers and all the benefits, the technology benefits, all of the benefits that are there, I really appreciate.

MetroBrokersTV: So, Metro Brokers allows you to do business your own way and gives you that personal freedom to run your business however you would like?

Betty Armbrust: Exactly, my way, yes.

MetroBrokersTV: And how long have you been with Metro Brokers?

Betty Armbrust: You know, I cant quite remember, but I think 10-11 years now, yeah.

MetroBrokersTV: So, thank you Betty. So, it is your success story here at the Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention, this is Scott Shields and metrobrokerstv.com.

MetroBrokersTV: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV and we are here today with Jesse Sehlmeyer. Welcome Jesse.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Nice to see you Mark.

MetroBrokersTV: Tell me your company name again Jesse.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Vintage Homes of Denver.

MetroBrokersTV: And that is a Metro Brokers company that you are an independent shareholder and owner.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: It is and we are down here on Pearl Street. <watch video>

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MetroBrokersTV: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV and we are here today with Jesse Sehlmeyer of Vintage Homes of Denver and welcome Jesse.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Thanks Mark.

MetroBrokersTV: Hey, part of the reason we are interviewing you today is you are one of the more successful agents in the southeast Denver area. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your business and where you practice your business?

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Vintage Homes of Denver was really created to specialize in the old Denver markets around Wash Park, Platt Park, Congress Park, really the enclaves of Denver, being a Denver native and growing up learning the history of Denver. I really want to focus my business on one very specific area of town and that has been the focus of our business over the last several years.

MetroBrokersTV: Your office is on Pearl Street, right?

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Yeah, right on 1601 S Pearl Street, right in the heart of the shopping district.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell me do you do mostly work with investors, developers right now.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Doing a lot of investment development including scrape offs and pop tops, major renovation project properties. That is definitely core of our business, but we also do quite a bit of resale in old Denver since that has been an area we have marketed to since day one as well.

MetroBrokersTV: So, tell me, we are in the second half year 2008, how has that business being going? How is your market doing with the economic conditions today?

Jesse Sehlmeyer: At this point, we are actually still about 97% of planned projections for sales and volume this year and most of the properties that we put out are still selling within a very reasonable timeframe for the market, even considering what people are considering a slow down in the market as a whole, we have had great success in areas that we do business in. Markets are very localized and I think you just have to really show the consumer that these local areas of Denver are still doing quite well and you really have to also prove these markets are doing well also.

MetroBrokersTV: So, average agent last year metro Denver doing less than three transactions. What are you doing as far as marketing program? Do you have a sphere of influence? Are you using paper marketing, electronic mediums?

Jesse Sehlmeyer: At this point, we always market heavily to our sphere of influence, our database and really looking for that long term referral business, that has been a big anchor and we are also doing electronic mailings to them at this point and we are also getting into the video segment, like Obeo somewhat or Vid2rl looking at going forward as a part of our overall marketing.

MetroBrokersTV: So, you are working with snail mail and newsletter to clients, electronic newsletters to clients, upgrading things as far as video on your properties and so forth and anything else you are doing out there to stay successful?

Jesse Sehlmeyer: I think really it seems kind of like a funny way doing things by just getting out there and meeting people in public. I try to at least I would say one to three lunches a week meeting a new investor or builder and just really getting out there and trying to see what they are doing in the market and how we might be able to work with them in the market.

MetroBrokersTV: Real estate is a contact sport.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Yeah, just getting out there and meeting people and nuturing those relationships for the long term.

MetroBrokersTV: Well, we appreciate you coming in today Jesse and appreciate your input.

Jesse Sehlmeyer: Thanks.

MetroBrokersTV: We are at Inman Connect San Francisco 2008. I have Mike Bradley and Mike is the chair person for Metro Brokers Technology Committee and Mike, what are you seeing out here at this forward thinking conference?

Mike Bradley: I always find it real interesting to see what new technology is coming on the horizon. Today's topic was heavily on the cell phones, iPhone platform, and Metro Brokers is really pushing that already with our Terabitz interface with the iPhone, something that nobody in Colorado has right now.

MetroBrokersTV: So, Terabitz does have a place here at... down at the vendor floor?

Mike Bradley: Yeah, Terabitz has a booth and Ash Munshi is speaking tomorrow at Leaders in Real Estate. So, that will be exciting to hear what he has to say.

MetroBrokersTV: Yeah, I think... yeah, I want to meet the leaders, I think there is like a dozen of them that are coming in to speak.

Mike Bradley: Yeah and it is great. We are already a partner and have been for several months with one of those leaders.

MetroBrokersTV: Oh, excellent. Well, it is good to see Metro Brokers kind of really starting to step out in the technology world. What about some of the other social media and video and have you been to any other seminars?

Mike Bradley: Well, there is lots of talk on Facebook, Linkedin, and all those other social media sites. Now, that has been going on for years and Metro Brokers, you know, we've been leading the pack. So, it is not news. It is just interesting to see where they are going with all that stuff.

MetroBrokersTV: Yeah, I think we are just maybe seeing a little more integration into everyone's lives including consumers.

Mike Bradley: Yeah, definitely. It is not unusual to get leads through those sites now in the X generation, in the Y generation, and the millennium generation, that's where they will be getting business. It is not who you know in the real world, it is who you know in the online world and that's the future of referrals.

MetroBrokersTV: Yeah, the digital footprint. Well, hey, we appreciate your interview and giving us and sharing your thoughts and time today.

Mike Bradley: Thank you very much.