ABOUT SEAN BROWN
REAL ESTATE RELATED AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Diamond Award (Very High Volume Agent), 2006, Realty Executives Diamond Award, 2005, Realty Executives Realtor of the Month, December 2004
(GLVAR, 13,000 members)
REAL ESTATE ORIENTED ACTIVITY Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors
(GLVAR) Forms Committee, 2003-2006
SEAN'S APPROACH TO REAL ESTATE
It was easy getting into real estate.
I frequently think about that sentence. When I was looking to get into real estate, I was happy to find that it was relatively easy to become a real estate agent. Take a two week course, take a test, pay a lot of money, and get hired at any agency, because that's how things work. Sounded good to me… then.
I have always been interested in real estate, but I never really did much with it. Sure, my wife and I bought several houses to live in. We rehabbed a few ourselves, but we had other things to spend our time and make our money on.
Then 9/11 came along, right about the time the airline industry started falling apart. I had been a Captain and international pilot with Frontier and United, and I was fortunate enough to be involved DURING one of the most exciting and lucrative times in aviation. 9/11 changed all that, and United entered bankruptcy protection. I saw the writing on the wall and decided I had better find an alternative to the career I had been involved in since I was a 17 year old Airman in the Ohio Air National Guard.
By one of the many, many miracles of timing that I've been incredibly fortunate enough to experience, I decided to get my real estate license just months before the most amazing market launched in Las Vegas. With the ink still wet on my license, I started buying and selling real estate for several of my pilot friends. These transactions led to more transactions, and my real estate career took off. I focused on the investment angle of real estate, and that went so well, I went on to found and head NARREIA, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Advisors. (Click here to read more about how and why I started NARREIA. Click here to visit NARREIA.)
Beth and I had utilized the services of about a dozen real estate agents, and only one (Randy Brown of Metro Brokers in Denver, Colorado) was worthy of the designation of Realtor. He was professional, he was good at his job, he enjoyed it, and it showed. As my career progressed, I realized that the vast majority of real estate agents did not do business like Randy, but I was determined to be like him. So much so, in fact, I've flown out several times to meet with him to discuss how I can improve my business.
Which leads me back to my original statement: It was easy getting into real estate. I should modify that with one word: too. It was TOO easy getting into real estate. Why? Because it seems like everyone has gotten into real estate. Like I once did, you might think that is a good thing, but let me tell you why it isn't.
I have used part time agents. I have used inexperienced agents. I have used agents who are too tired to drive me to the next house. I have used agents who just gave me their "real estate book" (before the days on online MLS all the houses were listed in large volumes like telephone books) because they weren't ambitious enough to determine exactly what we were looking for. I have had a great education in how not to do business.
Pretty much anyone who wants to can become a real estate agent. Either you pick it up easily and pass right away, or you spend hours of studying and take the test an unlimited amount of times, but with a bit of persistence, anyone can do it.
Just because you're licensed, however, does not mean you know how to do the job. Believe it or not, you're not required to learn how to do the job. The Nevada Division of Real Estate is incredibly underfunded, and they are only effective enough to keep the most egregious scheisters from operating. The Association of Realtors does a decent job of keeping their ranks in line ethically, but this still does not ensure that a real estate agent learns the many facets of the job.
I took it upon myself to learn the job inside and out. The first step was banding together a group of agents who I felt had the right stuff. We would get together regularly, hold each other accountable, and we collectively learned how to do this business.
In my first year as a Realtor, I joined the association's Forms Committee. I did this in part because of my technical writing background, but I really did this to learn the forms to a level that few other Realtors ever achieve. If I were able to participate in the creation of the forms, I would then know how to maximally utilize them for my client's advantage. I later joined the Technology Committee and most recently participated in the very first Nevada State Forms Committee meeting. It's this kind of activity and participation that keeps me a level or two above the typical full time Realtor and light years ahead of the part timers.
The beauty of the ease of becoming a real estate agent is that the competition, while numerous, is not very challenging. There is definitely a group of very good Realtors in Las Vegas, some with vast relevant experience. But they are few and far between in the group of 13,000 Realtors in the greater Las Vegas area, and the pie is big enough to satisfy all the good agents. It's frustrating at times to be in an industry where someone that does their job to an acceptable level is considered a good find, but that means that those that go the extra mile will end up getting the follow-on referrals.
This is why we do business the way we do. Coming from the failing airline industry, I saw how "bottom line" mentality has destroyed a global company. Their philosophy was "If we reduce in-flight meals, we'll save $150,000 a day." They failed, time and time again, to see that by "saving" $150,000 a day, they were losing $500,000 a day in future sales because their clients (the passengers) were unhappy with their basic service. Certainly, we could save money by not doing a virtual tour on every home, by not creating a custom website with www.PropertyAddressHere.com as the url, and by not having a Listing Manager read the lock box and fill the flyer boxes every week. If we did, we could save that money today, but we would lose our clients in the future, and the future is what we are working for.
There is one other philosophy you should understand before you call us to work with you. We operate from a level of mutual respect. I do enjoy having a large clientele, and while I would like to see it grow, I can be selective and I have learned that life is much better when you work with people you like and respect. Early in my real estate career, I would work with anyone just to get the experience and the cash flow. While those objectives were achieved, it certainly made the job a lot less fun. I have always had fun at my job (I'm the quintessential workaholic), so I soon realized that I wanted to work with people, not for people. We are a team, my clients, my staff, and I, a team with an objective of buying or selling a property at a price advantageous for our client in an appropriate amount of time. If you are looking for this kind of team, we encourage you to give us a call.
SEAN BROWN'S ONLINE RESUME
REALTOR Realty Executives, Coldwell Banker; MAR 03 - Present
Rookie of the Year, 2003, Top Producing Agent in 2003 and 2004, Realtor of the Month (Dec 04). Member of several committees on the local and state Association of Realtors. Leads a team of approximately 12 Realtors and several full-time support staff.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT ADVISOR National Association of Real Estate Investment Advisors (NARREIA); 2004-Present
Educate new and experienced real estate investors on the various investment vehicles. Coordinate other advisors on a national level to provide a network of investor savvy agents to our clients. Encourage clients to diversify their portfolios geographically.
AIRLINE PILOT / INSTRUCTOR PILOT United Airlines, Frontier Airlines; JUL 94 - JUL 03; JUL 07 - Present
Captain, First Officer, and Second Officer on Boeing 727, 737, 747-400, and 777. Senior Instructor on Airbus A320. Manage a 5-18 person crew in both Domestic and International operations. Facilitate in resolving issues between crewmembers and the customer, management, and other crewmembers. Suggest, research, create, and implement company policy. Develop Training Programs. During the startup of Frontier Airlines, act as liaison between the company, maintenance, and the FAA. Represent pilots in scheduling meetings with management. Train students. Train others to become instructors.
SMALL BUSINESS OWNER and CONSULTANT Paper Airplane Productions and Orion Athletics; APR 95 - Present
Owner of an aviation oriented desktop publishing and website design firm. Wholesale and retail airline training aids. Owner of an online retail Hockey Jersey company. Webmaster for 20+ websites. Author of "The A320 Personalized Instructor", a 450 page book on the Airbus A320.
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS / DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Arnautical, Inc. (Aviation training and interview preparation company); OCT 92 - OCT 98 Hangar 9, Box B-5, 7375 Peoria St, Englewood, CO, 80112
Left position when I sold my interest in the company.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS / NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR Frontier Airlines, Inc., 12015 E 46th Ave., Denver, CO, 80139; NOV 93 - JUL 94
Supervised the team that produced all publications for the Airlines' startup and FAA Certification. Involved in developing policy and procedures for all divisions of the company, from Flight Operations and Maintenance to Marketing and Reservations. Built, trained, lead, and managed the Publications and MIS departments. Designed, built, and administrated a mixed platform network of over 100 nodes. Left position to become pilot at the same company.
USAF PILOT (Captain) / LOADMASTER (Staff Sergeant) Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, CO / Mansfield Lahm ANGB, Mansfield, OH; OCT 84 - MAY 96
Flew C-130 aircraft on many different types of missions including domestic and international transport, tactical low level airdrop, and assault landings into austere airfields. Developed and produced many training documents for the USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training. Supervised cargo and passenger loading and unloading. Performed airdrop of cargo and personnel.
RELATED SKILLS: Trim Carpenter and Roofer I grew up working with my Stepfather and Uncle, building and remodeling houses and roofing (slate, asphalt, and tin). I have rehabbed several houses (to live in) and have FSBO'd (both sides). I am capable in all aspects of home repair, from electrical and plumbing to structural and trim.
EDUCATION: The Ohio State University Bachelor of Science, Aviation-CIS (Computer
Information Systems) June, 1990
SPECIAL EVENTS: Operation Desert Shield/Storm (1990-91) Hurricane Andrew Support (1993) Operation Provide Promise (Bosnia 1994)
INTERESTS: Creating/Producing Music, Ice Hockey, Writing, Website Design, Golf, Astronomy, Movies, Playing Video Games
Click here to go to AnHonestRealtor.com
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