Realty Corp's Alliance with the Bluestone Community!

Hello and thank you very much for taking the time to read the Realty Corporation of America "blog". We appreciate your time and we strive to offer compelling content that conveys important information and sparks your thinking! As always, we hope you will share your response to our blog and let us know your thoughts about the ideas and topics we select! Of course, suggestions about topics you'd like to hear more about are appreciated! Today, I'd like to take a minute to discuss Realty Corp's partnership with the Bluestone Community. Bluestone (www.liveatbluestone.com) is a terrific development in Cleveland Heights that features beautiful loft units and modern arts and crafts style homes. Bluestone has done well despite the challenging real estate market because we offer compelling advantages and have a superior product. At the end of the day, real estate is a product -and over the long term, the best products attract the most clients and increase market share when compared with less desirable offerings! Keys to our success at Bluestone include our 100% tax abatement, a terrific location, open and modern floor plans, utilization of the latest green building techniques and the ability of our customers to customize each home to their precise requirements. In addition to its attractive features and amenities, there is an interesting "business aspect" of our Bluestone alliance. First off, Realty Corp is very fortunate to have such a greatlisting - one that we took away from a large, rival brokerage. There's an important point right there - smaller and aggressive companies can succeed and thrive in this market. Trust me when I tell you that every broker in town would love this listing. Yet, our combination of compelling marketing services, terrific and innovative sales initiatives and reasonable pricing won the day. Even better, it's a great alliance: our team genuinely believes in the Bluestone Development. It's a lot easier to promote a product you believe in and feel proud to represent. Plus, it's terrific when our team has genuine respect and admiration for the team building the development. It's a rare pleasure to work with such a talented and successful team of professionals like Ken Lurie and Dave Orlean, our co-developers, and Eric Lee, who runs our Sales Center. Bottom Line: everyone is working together towards the same goal and the partnership we have formulated - and the relationship we've built - is delivering results. No doubt, not everything has been perfect and some of our sales initiatives haven't worked as well as we'd like. Nevertheless, we are always brainstorming and working on new concepts, refining our current plans and adjusting to new realities in the market. Overall, however, we have been able to "sell through" the tough times by providing clients reasonable pricing, numerous upgrades that are "standard" and by having a great product. Finally, our ability to collaborate together has been terrific. The best ideas we have formulated have been discussed and revised with input from our different perspectives. Sales and development are two different businesses - but the sharing of ideas and brainstorming has been great. I've learned a great deal by being a part of the Bluestone team. So, for all you entrepreneurs out there, keep in mind that - quite often --the best way to sharpen your skills and grow your business is to find quality clients and make yourself indispensible to them! Learn the client's needs and go far beyond what they expect from you. Build your knowledge so you can be a more valuable asset and align your interests with your client's interests! We've built our business around clients by making sure we meet their needs. At the end of the day, that's the key: providing valuable services to clients that deliver results! In addition to the business aspects of the Bluestone alliance, I wanted to share some of the exciting GREEN characteristics of the development. The"green" features of Bluestone are really threefold: Use of green building techniques during construction, making green features a part of our units and finally, the location of Bluestone in the heart of a vibrant urbancommunity. The Bluestone construction team has done a terrific job during construction to make sure that construction debris is properly disposed and recycled when possible. We are careful about energy consumption and work hard to minimize the impact of our project on the environment. When possible, existing trees have been incorporated into our development. Green features of the completed units include the following: All of our Loft Building terraces are made from composite material called "Trex" - which is both sturdy and maintenance free Windows are designed to retain heat and minimize energy use because we use "E gas windows" which have a layer of gas between panes to provide both sound deadening and energy efficiency. Special low VOC paints are used at Bluestone. These paints do not release chemicals into the environment and are manufactured in an "eco friendly"manner. By utilizing 2 x 6 joists in our construction, additional insulation is included in each home. In addition, we use an insulation called "Nu Wool" which substantially increases efficiency and provides enhanced soundreduction. We employ "Gypcrete" floor leveler which is made from recycled material. Energy efficient appliances are included with all units Granite countertops are natural and not man made Our bamboo flooring is made from sustainable materials Bluestone features energy efficient next generation heat pumps as our heatsource - thereby reducing utility costs and our carbon footprint. Finally, the location of Bluestone is very important. Bluestone embraces many aspects of "new urbanism" and makes exceptional use of the land we have - including ample green space and embracing the location we are in rather than "overpowering" the space. Our ability to offer open and modern floorplans in an inner ring suburb is critically important. Many residents of inner ring suburbs who leave the area do so because they cannot find the right property to "downsize" into or they can't find the features and amenities they want. At Bluestone, we had a promotion where we gave away an energy efficient smart car - which gets nearly 50 miles per gallon - to all new residents of Bluestone. This promotion was designed to make the point that one tank of gas would last a long while for most Bluestone residents -especially those who work at University Circle, Downtown or near the Heights! Just moments from Little Italy, Coventry, University Circle, The Cedar Lee District and Cleveland's cultural treasures means that Life is truly at your doorstep. So Bluestone is helping make Cleveland Heights more vibrant and attracting folks who want to live in the area - but also want the advantages of new construction. Our development is well designed and conceived. The floor plans don't waste space nor do they feel like the typical suburban "sprawl". Our unique design features maximize space utilization - and allow our residents to enjoy the community and neighborhood. Simply stated, Bluestone is a true "green" development that's making a positive impact on the area! The beautiful Bluestone Sales Center is open seven days a week - so if you are a local resident, in the market for a new home or if you want to see Greater Cleveland's most exciting development first hand, we hope you stop by and say hello! Please visit www.liveatbluestone.com frequently to learn more about construction progress and upcoming events! We hope to see you at the Bluestone Sales Center soon! As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome. Please let us know what you think of this article or feel free to suggest topics you'd like to hear more about. On behalf of the hard working Realty Corporation of America Sales Team, thank you very much for your interest in our Company and thanks for reading our blog! - Tony Viola, President