Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 13, 2009
Local Realtor finds niche helping VW employees arriving from Germany
David Laprad
As Chattanooga has rallied to support the German people moving to the city to work at the new Volkswagen plant, Realtors have been at the head of the welcoming committee, primarily because finding a place to live is job one. Since many of the new arrivals are on a temporary assignment, however, they aren’t looking to buy. That has created a dilemma for VW employees wanting to reside in a house, since the Scenic City is one of the few major metropolitan areas without a rental market.
Realtor Gina Mason of Chattanooga Real Estate Consultants has the solution.
Mason belongs to a group of local Realtors working to connect German citizens with rental housing that fits their needs. A VW executive with children might want to live near a German baccalaureate school, for example, while another official might have a specific aesthetic in mind, such as lots of hard wood and natural lighting. Mason employs all of her resources as a Realtor to find her clients the perfect house, townhouse or condominium.
Part of Mason’s work involves getting the word out to homeowners who might be interested in renting their houses on a temporary basis. For people whose houses have been on the market since the beginning of the downturn, renting to a German family for three years, for example, could get them over the hill. Since Chattanooga isn’t a rental market, though, many people have no idea how to price their house.
As a paid consultant, Mason can work out the money issues and then look for a client to fill the space.
“If you have a house on the market that’s not selling, renting on a temporary basis creates a win-win situation,” Mason says. “You’re providing someone with a place to live, and by the time they go home, your house will be worth more and you’ll be up to date on your payments.”
While finding houses for people who will be living in Chattanooga for the short term is a new thing for Realtors in the city, the real estate industry is always changing, and smart agents have learned to adapt.
The Internet has generally replaced the MLS book as the primary source of information on available housing, for example, allowing savvy buyers to do more of the heavy lifting when looking for a home. To settle into the new way of doing things, Chattanooga Real Estate Consultants has started consulting to fill in the gaps and charging a fee for its services. “Whatever you need advice on, we charge for that,” says Mason.
In addition, Mason recently launched a Web site at ginalmason.com that allows buyers to do quick searches for properties according to specific criteria, such as price, square feet and number of baths. While her bright smile can be seen at the top of her home page when a visitor loads the site, there’s no rental button, although Mason says she’ll have one soon.
Even though Mason didn’t launch her site to attract German clients, her online presence dovetails nicely with their arrival, as they typically do a lot of research online before moving to a new area. Mason has a history, though, of unwittingly making choices that would benefit her when VW moved to town. In fact, it seems as though her entire career has been leading up to this moment.
A local girl, Mason attended Notre Dame High School and then chose University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as her institution of higher education. While there, she earned a bachelor’s in human ecology, which she jokingly calls “a glorified home economics degree.”
Mason focused on fashion and textile merchandising, with an eye on becoming a buyer after graduation. However, when the time came for her love of clothes to take her to one of the major cities where buyers must live to work, such as New York City or Chicago, Mason decided to stay home. As the only child of aging parents, the decision
was easy.
Mason’s education didn’t go to waste, however. At the suggestion of a friend, she became a Realtor and then put her all of her acquired skills to work as she set out to build her business.
“When I first got into real estate, you had to have a certain look, so my studies in fashion taught me how to present myself as a professional,” she says, looking sharp in a three-piece blue and black pant suit. (See photo.)
“I even taught a seminar on dressing for success at the first company for which I worked. The way you present yourself is important in real estate; people want to do business with successful professionals.”
Mason knows what she’s talking about. Experts on doing business with Germans say appearance is as important as one’s conduct during a meeting. Little did Mason know her knowledge of fashion would someday complement her skills as a Realtor and give her an edge during tough economic times as she helps Germans look for homes in Chattanooga.
Does Mason ever regret staying home instead of leaving town and becoming a buyer? If she does, she’s not letting on.
“I’m happy with how my life turned out,” she says. “Chattanooga is a wonderful place to live and real estate is an interesting job. You meet all kinds of people, from first time homebuyers who are excited about buying a house to couples that are moving up to their dream home. And every day is unique. You might wake up with nothing to do and end up so busy, you can’t see straight. More than anything else, though, I feel appreciated for what I do. People are always grateful to have my help.”
When Mason, a single woman, isn’t on the job, she works out, spends time with her Pomeranian or hangs out with friends, some of whom are VW employees she met while showing houses. But her thoughts are never far from her next client.
To make sure she continues to be in a position to help, Mason is encouraging homeowners with an empty residence or a house that’s on the market but not selling to consider renting. Houses are going quickly, creating a rare opportunity in the Chattanooga real estate market.
“One client sent me four houses he wanted to see, and by the time he got here, they were all gone,” Mason says.
Although Mason might be short on inventory from time to time, she’ll never lack ingenuity, professionalism and an impeccable sense of fashion. And it’s good knowing Chattanooga’s new German friends are in
capable hands.
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