The spring real estate market is heating up but in the meantime, numerous changes and exciting things have been happening at The Long & Foster Companies. Read on to learn about our new partnerships, awards and more.
Long & Foster Sponsors Cornerstones’ 34th Capitol Steps Fundraiser
Long & Foster served as the presenting sponsor for the 34th annual Capitol Steps performance benefiting Cornerstones, a nonprofit organization in Reston, Virginia. Cornerstones provides support and advocacy for those in need of affordable housing, quality childcare, food and shelter, with a goal of helping its clients become self-sufficient. The yearly Capitol Steps tradition is known as a night of fun, politically-driven satire, and the evening also includes a raffle, desserts and drinks. Long & Foster has been a longtime supporter of Cornerstones and a previous sponsor of the Capitol Steps event. Also, the Reston offices of Long & Foster have worked with the organization for many years.
Long & Foster Ranked Among Top Brokerages in the Country
The Long & Foster Companies was ranked by REAL Trends as the third largest brokerage in the nation based on total closed sales volume and the fourth largest brokerage based on total closed transaction sides in 2016. Long & Foster’s third place ranking is based on its total 2016 closed sales volume of $28.9 billion and its fourth place ranking is based on its more than 81,000 closed transaction sides. Learn more about the REAL Trends ranking on the Newsroom.
Long & Foster Partners with Chinese Real Estate Company Homelink
Long & Foster’s Corporate Real Estate Services division has partnered with Homelink, the largest real estate company in China. Homelink has 8,000 offices in 28 cities in China with 150,000 sales associates. As part of the partnership between Long & Foster and Homelink, the two companies will provide international referral services to each other. Additionally, Long & Foster will provide a direct feed of its for-sale properties to Homelink’s website, making listings more visible to potential buyers in China. Read the press release on the Long & Foster Newsroom to learn more.
Cindy Ariosa Named as Treasurer of Bright MLS Board of Directors
Long & Foster’s Cindy Ariosa, senior vice president and regional manager for the Baltimore area, has been named as the treasurer of the Bright MLS board of directors. The Bright MLS was created when MRIS and TREND merged in 2016, and its board includes representatives from each of the multiple listing services and regions it serves. Board members were considered based on their history of visionary ideas, strong decision-making skills and proven success in business. The board’s membership represents a mix of small and large firms, as well as brokerages that are franchises and independently owned. Ariosa served on the MRIS board of directors since 2006, and was elected as the chair of the MRIS board of directors in 2016.
Rental Beast Partnership Expands to Philly, Delaware and New Jersey
After the successful launch of Long & Foster’s partnership with Rental Beast in the Washington, D.C., region, the company expanded the partnership to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Founded in 2009 by CEO Ishay Grinberg, Rental Beast is an easy-to-use leasing platform with access to more than 4.5 million rental listings across the United States. It connects property owners and property managers with highly qualified tenants through a network of hyper-localized real estate experts. Rental Beast provides a unique and holistic experience from the first click to a signed lease, offering its broker partners the largest rental inventory and most cutting-edge industry tools available. Learn more about the partnership on the Long & Foster Newsroom.
Operational Changes at Long & Foster Property Management
In mid-April, Long & Foster Property Management restructured its teams to provide better service and support for property owners, tenants and real estate agents. The new structure helps ensure more comprehensive and prompt support so all clients receive the highest level of service possible.
Going forward, the customer service center will be the first point-of-contact for all property owner and tenant inquiries. Their staff is trained to assist with everything from online account access and rental payments to maintenance inquiries, helping to ensure reported issues are resolved quickly and effectively.
Property maintenance will be handled by a dedicated team using state-of-the-art technology, ensuring projects are handled in a timely manner and property owners and tenants are informed throughout the process. A certified team of property inspectors will lead and report on inspections at all Long & Foster-managed properties, including move-in, move-out and interim inspections. Office managers will oversee property marketing and leasing, providing direct support to tenants from the moment they apply to rent a property until they vacate it.
31 Prosperity Home Mortgage Consultants Earn Mortgage Executive Magazine Awards
Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC, has been recognized for its exceptional mortgage originators by Mortgage Executive Magazine. The industry publication honored both The Nation’s Top 200 Mortgage Originators, as well as The Nation’s Top 1% of Mortgage Originators, in its winter 2017 edition, and 31 members of the Prosperity team were named to these exclusive lists. Three of Prosperity’s mortgage consultants ranked among the top 200 mortgage originators nationwide by annual mortgage volume, including Jody Eichenblatt, Tom O’Keefe and Jonathan Okun, while an additional 28 earned a place among the Top 1% list. You can see the full list of PHM mortgage consultants honored on the Long & Foster Newsroom.
Corporate Real Estate Services Honored with Partner in Quality Award by WHR Group
Long & Foster’s Corporate Real Estate Services division has received the 2016 Partner in Quality award from WHR Group, Inc. WHR Group works with companies to help them relocate their employees to new opportunities all over the world. The company credits its success to creating long-term partnerships with knowledgeable, worldwide experts and recognizes these partners annually. WHR Group selects its Partner in Quality award winners by evaluating its Global Partner Network for members that have exceeded in their commitments to customer satisfaction, supply chain management, service excellence and overall cost management in the employee relocation sector. Read more about the award on the Newsroom.
Each edition of Long & Foster Close to Home magazine will feature company updates like these, so stay tuned for future developments.