info
THE LATEST HAPPENINGS
ALL THE BERKSHIRE REAL STATE NEWS THAT IS FIT TO TYPE
TIM AND JEN COVERED IN THE BERKSHIRE RECORD
Friday, January 06, 2012, 12:43 PM - buying
Spotlight Realtors
FEATURE
Tim Lovett
& Jen Harvey-Montano
COMPANY: BERKSHIRE PROPERTY AGENTS By Allison Sheardy
allison@berkshirerecord.net
Although real estate is not his first career, Berkshire Property Agents co- founder and real estate agent Tim Lovett calls it his true passion. For his business partner and co-founder Jen Harvey- Montano (who is also a real estate broker), real estate is her one and only calling. “We have a mutual house obsession,” she said. “We’d both go to open houses as children.”
Lovett chimed in, “My favorite magazines as a child were real estate guides.” Lovett began his professional career as an advertising producer, a profession that took him from New York to Tokyo to Europe. After 25 years as a producer, he found himself being persuaded by friends to get his real estate license. “I had a weekend house here, and friends that had a real estate agency,” he explained. The friends noted his enthusiasm for the business and urged him to get his license. What originally began as more of a hobby than anything quickly took off into a full-fledged real estate career.
Both Lovett and Harvey-Montano grew up in the Berkshires. They met while Lovett was getting his real estate license; Harvey- Montano received hers a few years later. They began their careers at separate agen- cies. “We were competitive, for fun,” Lovett said.Harvey-Montano added, “We always knew we’d work together some day. ”That day came four years ago, when the timing was right for both parties. They purchased and gutted a building, intending to turn it into offices, when another opportunity came up. Their current location (12 Railroad St.) became available, and Harvey-Montano knew they had to buy it. “I just knew we had to do it,” she explained. “Once it was in my head, I couldn’t let it go.”
Lovett was originally against it, considering that they were already working on renovating a property, until a coffee meeting with his good friend, Karen Allen. She, too, wanted to purchase the space on Railroad St., and split it into two spaces – one for her fiber-arts shop and the other, inevitably, for the Berkshire Property Agents offices.
Lovett and Harvey-Montano joked that the office was originally furnished with furniture from home and a couple laptops. “It just happened so quickly,” Harvey- Montano said. “We opened our doors with 17 listings.” They ended up renovating the first space they purchased into a three family home and selling it.
The duo originally intended to open a small real estate boutique, but within a few months they already had six associates and over 70 listings. “We just never realized there would be such a need,” Lovett said. He added, “Some of our very close friends who we love and respect came to work with us right away.”
Berkshire Property Agents is now com- prised of 11 associates. “We all work very closely together...it’s like a family.” Lovett and Harvey-Montano added that each of their associates come from a different background and specialty, each contributing different skills to the company.
Of the way they run their business, Lovett said, “We wanted to do it differently than we’d seen it done before – more modern.” Harvey-Montano added, “We wanted it to be more approachable, especially to the generation that’s buying and selling now.”
Lovett added, “We both lived in New York, were both top producers in South County. With our combined contacts, experiences, friends, and family, we really have a wide range.”
Harvey –Montano explained that in their second year, the company outsold the other agencies in the area. Furthermore, last year they were the top sellers dollar for dollar. “We just see ourselves getting better and better,” she said.
“We wanted to do the best job we could do for our buyers and sellers, and create a comfortable environment,” Lovett said. He added that the office is a place where kids and dogs are welcome, and that the public can often be found at the office 8 pm eating ice cream from SoCo or waiting on a pizza from Baba Louie’s. He continued, “People just come in, drink their coffee, and talk about real es- tate, or sit on the couch and read through the real estate guides we’ve set out.”
The agents made a thoughtful effort to make their offices stand out from others. “We didn’t want it to look like an insurance agency,” Lovett said. The office itself has a fun artsy vibe. That vibe continues on the agency’s Website. “It’s a unique Web site. We spent a long time developing it,” Lovett continued.
Lovett noted that while right now it takes longer to sell a house, and that negotiations can be brutal, “Our goal is to make it a positive experience for every-body – in the end, buying and selling a house is a happy thing.
Harvey-Montano added that a chal-lenging market also pushes them to be more creative. The agents put the current real estate market in a positive light. “We work 24/7, especially in this kind of market, “Lovett said. “It challenges us to try and always do better.”“We’re really lucky to work in real es-tate where we do,” Lovett concluded. “Our competition is strong, and it pushes us. It is tough competition – they’re all smart. We’re very spoiled in South County – all the agencies get along.”
