Andee Hausman is just what you might expect a RE/MAX agent to be: an independent, high producing (more than $50 million in 2006) professional with a wall full of awards who sells more than 100 homes a year. She's been the #1 agent at Re/Max Experts in Buffalo Grove since she joined in 1991! But she certainly didn't have those credentials when she joined the RE/MAX Experts office in northwest suburban Buffalo Grove 14 years ago.
Until then, she had been content to be a part-time REALTORŪ whose yearly production was $2 million, at best. As head of her household Andee says she "had to make a lot more money than I'd ever made before. I made up my mind I was going to do it," she recalls, declaring that "not succeeding was not an option."
That's when RE/MAX entered the picture or, more precisely, when Andee entered the RE/MAX picture. "I had seen the RE/MAX agents," she recalls, "they were the top agents in the area, I knew I wanted to be with the top producers, and I wanted to learn from them. And I didn't want to be restricted." Not wanting to be "restricted" is characteristic of Andee's approach to real estate and to her career.
Although both her parents were in real estate-her father sold new developments and commercial properties and her mother was active in condo conversions-Andee chose to become a teacher after graduation from college. "But I learned that I wasn't cut out to be a teacher," she says. "I enjoyed the kids, but I didn't like telling them what to do and I didn't like staying in one place all day."
Her parents encouraged her to get a real estate license in 1979. "That made sense," she says, "because some of my earliest 'real estate' memories are of going with my dad to open houses."
She joined a firm in Buffalo Grove and pursued her career path as a REALTORŪ . It was there she encountered another of those restrictions that just didn't fit with her goals and her drive for success. "Back in those days," Andee relates, "we didn't put individual names on yard signs, so when a call came into the office, there was no way for the prospective buyer to ask for the listing agent. I didn't like that, so I started attaching a separate sign with my name on it to the yard signs of homes I'd listed."
That kind of individual marketing wasn't acceptable at the firm, and her name signs were removed. "But I'd go right back and put another one up," she points out. Spurred by her need to earn more money, and to get away from such restrictions, Andee left the firm for RE/MAX Experts in Buffalo Grove.
"The Broker/Owner's were, tremendously supportive," she says, adding, "They understood why I came to RE/MAX, and they've been very helpful, especially when I was getting started in this office." She lauds the many productivity-boosting tools RE/MAX provides its agents, from computer software to convention speakers.
She also received a strong motivational push from an expected source, a friend and fellow REALTORŪ whose predictions about Andee's future wee a huge surprise. "I asked her over lunch one day if she thought I would make it in the business," Andee recalls. "She told me, 'No, you won't. You'll never be more than a $2 million a year producer. You just don't have what it takes.'"
The two are still friends, and Andee says she considers the conversation one of the most motivating experiences of her professional life. "I didn't want to prove her wrong," she emphasizes, "nearly as much as I wanted to prove to myself that I had what it takes to do well."
She began her RE/MAX career by "blasting the area" with promotional direct mail, sending from 2,000 to 10,000 cards once or twice a month into her target market during her first year. "I wanted the market to know who I was and to understand that I was a knowledgeable professional in the real estate industry. My message was this: If they're going to sell a home, and they choose to work with me, they will be dealing with a top professional who genuinely cares about their getting the most money in the quickest time with the least problems."
Andee's sense of humor and her aversion to traditional restrictions sparked her direct mail, which she complemented with newspaper advertising. Her postcards have shown her face on the body of a turkey (at Thanksgiving) and as a vampire at Halloween among other humorously creative marketing approaches she's used with her postcard mailings. "I've always tried to have fun with my last name," she says, "so our advertising says we hake 'Haus calls;' we encourage clients to rely on a 'Haus experts;' and we urge prospective sellers to 'make the right move with a Haus expert.'"
She also applies the same attitude to the two automobiles she and her Client Care Manager, Chris Michalek, use. Andee drives what she describes as a "moving billboard," a large SUV with "We make HAUS calls" and her picture, name and phone number prominently displayed; Chris drives an equally festooned Volkswagen Beetle whose signs urge viewers to "Bug Me" about real estate.
Andee says her initial promotional efforts took "about a year to make a real impact in the market." Her sales volume doubled the first year; it doubled again the second year.
Seven years ago, Andee joined a "mastermind" group, formed by 11 top REALTORSŪ in the Chicago area devoted to helping each other be more successful. "We share what we learn in seminars and meetings; we share our 'research' with each other (one broker is testing cable TV advertising right now, and he'll let us know how it works); and we even recommend books to each other," she says.
Andee's steady focus and unwillingness to accept "restrictions" continues to yield results:
- She sells more than 100 homes a year.
- She was the number one ranked individual RE/MAX agent in Northern Illinois in 2003, 2002, 2000 and 1999 and number two in 2001.
- #1 Agent at Re/Max Experts in Buffalo Grove since she joined in 1991.
- She's been a member of the RE/MAX Platinum Club since 1994
- She's a recipient of the RE.MAX Lifetime Achievement award, which recognizes those who have closed 1,000 or more real estate transactions in a RE/MAX career of at least seven years.
- She's a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame.
- She's received special recognition for RE/MAX as the 33rd highest-ranking agent in the United States and the 45th highest-ranking RE/MAX agent in the world in 2001.
- She is now co-broker owner of RE/MAX Experts.
"I continue to do a lot of marketing," she acknowledges, "which still includes direct mail produced for me by Laser Star Productions. They're like having another assistant," she proclaims. Andee also uses a prominent billboard on Milwaukee Avenue, reflective "For Sale" signs, local newspaper advertising and devotes continuing effort at increasing her name recognition, using grocery cart cards and signs in popular area restaurants.
She's also committed to technology and has a strong Internet presence. All Andee's listings are displayed on the site, using vendor proprietary technology that provides a " 360o Virtual Home Tour." It gives site visitors the opportunity to "walk" through the listed home any time of the day or night. "In my opinion," she points out, "the Internet's greatest service is that it enables people to 'see' houses 24/7, (24 hours a day, seven days a week)."
She doesn't view technology as a threat to the agent's role-or future-because "REALTORSŪ have been fulfilling a need for more than a hundred years, to help and counsel people about buying and selling real estate," she explains. In those roles, she considers pricing and negotiating as two of her most valuable strengths and as essential skills for success in the real estate industry.
"Pricing has to be on target," Andee says, because she says she wants to create an "auction atmosphere" for each home she lists and to get top dollar for the seller. On average, a property Andee lists sells within 14 days versus an average of 64 days in her market. In addition to her experience with the market (she's been serving the Buffalo Grove area for more than 20 years), she says her pricing recommendations are based on as much information as she can acquire, plus a knowledge of economic trends gained through industry publications, RE/MAX convention speakers and other RE/MAX resources.
The quickest she's sold a home she's listed is a little less than an hour. She got the listing, went back to her office, called a client she'd been working with, met them at the home and had a signed contract within 60 minutes. "I knew the home was exactly what my buyers were looking for," she says with a smile, "but I didn't promise the sellers I had a buyer to get the listing."
Andee pays special attention to negotiating: "I put the offer together," she declares, adding, "Negotiations between buyer and seller can be the biggest factor in completing the sale- bigger than the price itself, in many cases."
She says her ability to negotiate is founded on good working relationships with other agents, who "are very important to my success. They're the other partners in the transaction, and I want to do whatever I can to help. We're all in this together, and we want to make sure the buyer and the seller are treated properly."
Andee says she's learned she has to do three things to achieve her goals: "First, make the business fun. Real estate is hard work, and having fun helps me get through the rough spots. We try to have fun with all of our advertising and marketing by using my name in as many creative ways as possible," she explains.
Andee's most recent acquisition was the RE/MAX Experts Office in Buffalo Grove. As of January 2003, she and her partner Jay Blessent have become the owners of the office. Together they have over 35 years of experience. The office is home for a staff of 27 and has the possibility of expansion.
According to Blessent, the new ownership plans to retain the existing administrative and management staff at RE/MAX Experts, headed by office manager De Ann Glove.
"It's really a situation where the former owners were doing an outstanding job but were ready to simplify things for themselves. Like Andee and I, they are active, successful REALTORSŪ and now will be able to focus their full energies on that aspect of their business," he said. "They will continue to be affiliated with our office, and it will be extremely helpful to have the benefit of their advice from time to time."
RE/MAX offices in Northern Illinois have led the Chicago metropolitan area residential real estate market since 1989. In 2001, RE/MAX closed sales volume totaled $12.2 billion. Since 1995, one out of four homes sold in Chicagoland has been listed by RE/MAX, an accomplishment unmatched by any other real estate organization.
The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network consists of 3,200 associates providing residential, relocation and commercial real estate services through 141 individually owned and operated offices throughout the northern one-fourth of Illinois. The Northern Illinois region is part of the RE/MAX International network, a global real estate system operating in 43 countries. It consists of more than 4,400 independently owned offices that engage 78,000 member sales associates.
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