What's in Your Window to The Bay?
121 Liberty Street by Laura Ann Studio for Payton + Binnings, Compass.
June 2020
Window to The Bay #3
How are you doing this week? June is here and the third monthly Window to The Bay newsletter lines up with the third month of shelter in place and a heartbreaking week for our country and world. Broken and boarded windows are a new reality which speak to the pain of our times. Yet hope emerges with the colorful murals popping up over boarded windows, and neighborhood unity in the form of Black Lives Matter signs in windows along with the ongoing bears, hearts, and rainbows. As our hearts collectively ache for a world that is equal for all, I ask myself what to do, what to read, how to take part in building a better world?
Specific to real estate, I plan to tune into the Race in Real Estate Roundtable organized by @ThoughtfulRealtor hosts Connie Chung and Kenny Gong. You can sign up here to receive alerts about upcoming conversations. The next roundtable takes place Friday, June 5th at 10:30am PST in conversation with Felicia Mares and Harrison Beacher.
In conversation with neighbors this week I was reminded that it comes down to taking the time to build relationships. I continue painting Window to The Bay watercolor house portraits to help build relationships in a historically transactional industry. A painting from last fall did just that, commissioned by San Francisco Compass real estate agency Payton + Binnings. The image of a cat in the picture window of a pretty in pink painted lady Victorian has the sweetness of today’s most hopeful windows. Read on for the full story behind this portrait, an interview with Arrian Binnings, and a printable coloring page.
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*Custom buyer housewarming closing gift painted for San Francisco Compass real estate agency Payton + Binnings (*family name omitted for privacy).
Capturing Memories, Building Relationships
I was delighted to help Payton + Binnings create an extra special housewarming closing gift for a buyer client in Dolores Heights. The beautiful pink Victorian was perched high up on a hilltop, and what made a custom watercolor house portrait an extra special keepsake gift was that not a single photo could capture the home in its entirety. Thus as a painting commission it was extra challenging and fun to fit together the inspiration images like a puzzle - piecing a staircase here, a stained glass window there, and the doorway and Bay windows from another view. Like icing on a cake, Payton + Binnings knew their client especially loved their cat, so we pictured the cat in the prime location of the upstairs picture window to welcome the new owners home!
Meet Arrian Binnings
1. What’s the “why” of your business?
AB: Time is our most precious resource. Where you live and what type of home you live in matters a great deal because home is where you're going to spend the majority of your most precious resource! I love meeting and helping people realize their dreams of how they want to spend their lives and what type of lifestyle they want to create for themselves. Being a real estate agent is so much more than a transaction-- it's helping people crystallize what they envision for themselves and then actually making that happen. Our market is very competitive so unfortunately you can't just plop in and start your dream life on a whim. An entire strategy must be laid out with many obstacles to navigate along the way. That's where my team and I come in. We help people through the entire process and continue to help even after they've moved in. What we do is hugely important for our clients, and we maintain those relationships for life.
2. What is the key to developing a relationship with a client?
AB: Trust and expertise. Trust is earned through being a great listener, being responsive, giving great advice, and always following through. Trust is the foundation of any great relationship, personal or professional, so it's of utmost importance. Clients place a large chunk of their personal and financial well-being in your hands so you always have to show up and do your very best. There is no other way.
Expertise is something that only comes with the passage of time and having worked through a multitude of different problems and scenarios. From knowing who to call to get things done to knowing how to analyze a market using regression analysis in Excel, there is always room to go deeper in real estate. By nurturing your own expertise, you're able to deliver increasingly comprehensive and refined information to your clients as the years move on. As I approach 20 years in real estate, I've learned that expertise (in addition to trust) are the most important elements of my business.
3. What do you love most about where you live?
AB: San Francisco and the surrounding areas (Marin, Wine Country, Big Sur, Carmel) provide some of the most visually stunning natural and urban landscapes on planet earth. Even after all these years, I catch myself cresting a familiar hill to reveal a view on the other side, and still saying in my head "Wowwwww, unbelievable!" The friendly people, the innovation and ingenuity, the cultural melting pot, the art, the food and wine, the vibe, the weather... it's just the perfect place. I can't imagine living anywhere else!
paytonbinnings.com
Arrian@PaytonBinnings.com
What’s Your #WindowtoTheBay?
Take a moment to restore your spirits with therapeutic coloring. I’ve transformed the Payton + Binnings team’s house portrait commission into a “Color-On” Coloring Page (DOWNLOAD HERE). Print, color, post, and tag @PaytonBinnings and @LauraAnnStudio with the hashtag #WindowtoTheBay so that we can see and repost your work.
With love for the every day and special days,
Laura Elbogen
PS Do you know a friend or realtor who could benefit from these relationship building tips or closing gifts? Share this page!