Editorial
Front Page - Monday, November 30, 2009
Customer service always important and that’s doubly true in a small town
Ethan C. Nobles
Special to the Daily Record ecnobles@att.net
Billy Cunningham, principal broker and owner of Community Realty in Ward, said being a Realtor in a small town means everyone knows you and they keep a close eye on how you do business.
“Usually our consumers tend to be friends of our families,” he said. “That definitely holds you to a higher level of accountability.”
Cunningham has been a Realtor in Ward – which has a population of about 2,600 – since 2004. He and his wife, Janna, are the only two Realtors at Community Realty.
“We don’t really look to get real big. We’re probably going to keep it on a small scale,” he said of the office. “Some of the most successful brokers I’ve talked to say don’t get in a hurry – if you want to grow, that will come but make sure to build on a solid foundation.
“I feel like I’m blessed and I’m in my chosen profession. I love it. You pick up the phone and just call some brokers and ask them what they think about this or think about that and most of them will be very forthwith with you.”
Cunningham said the good relationships between agents is to be expected in Lonoke County where Realtors are competitors but they will take time the help out each other and the community. Cunningham said he noticed how Realtors interacted after he returned home from serving in the U.S. Navy and watched how Cabot grew during his 10 years as a policeman there.
“The brokers and professionals I met then were at the top of their game – very impressive, sharp and squared away,” he said. “They are all still in the community and very successful in real estate. I wanted to do what they did.”
While in law enforcement, Cunningham said he was approached by a local broker who asked him to manage some apartments. Cunningham jumped at the chance to do that, lived in an on-site apartment at a complex and started to dabble a bit in real estate.
“That’s where I got my first taste of it,” he said. “That was a very positive experience. I saved some money, I bought my first piece of land and built a house.”
Cunningham said some of the brokers who helped him get started were also instrumental in convincing him of the importance of personal relationships and customer service. He said representing people can be challenging at times and isn’t always easy, but it pays off in the end.
“That’s the way I want to be known – I’ll tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear,” he said. “You definitely want to be up front and truthful – a straight shooter with folks.”
One thing that has been popular with clients, Cunningham said, is his habit of encouraging people to know their options when it comes to mortgages. For example, is someone better served getting a mortgage with a 25-year term rather than going the traditional route and financing for 30 years? What are some other options people can look at to help them build equity quicker?
Building equity in a hurry, Cunningham said, is a way to set someone up for long-term success. An individual who has the goal of owning a home can do it quicker with a shorter mortgage term, whereas someone who does plan to purchase a larger home down the road will get more out of his or her current house when the time comes to sell it.
Cunningham said his approach of being truthful with clients and advising them to look at their mortgage options has helped boost his reputation in the area. The fact that he and Janna have “deep roots” in Lonoke County doesn’t hurt, either. Both of them know the details of the area about which people inquire – schools, amenities, proximity to larger cities in the area, local attractions and other items that are of interest to anyone looking to move to a new town.
A lot of that information can be found at Community-Realty.net – an Internet site through which the Cunninghams keep plenty of local information on hand. Cunningham said he views the site as more of an informational one than a source of leads.
“I’ve got it mainly so people can inquire about our community without having to call and talk to someone and feeling like they have an obligation to me,” he said.
He added that working with Janna has helped build a business that will last, too. They think along the same lines and a lot of people do enjoy working with a small company of Realtors.
Cunningham stressed, again, that personal relationships are both enjoyable and an integral part of the way he does business.
“Life will try to rush you through things when you really just need to sit down and visit people,” he said. “This is a great career that allows you to do that.”
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