We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gretchen Territo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gretchen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
Our approach at Team Territo is all about redefining the real estate experience. Here’s how we set ourselves apart from the industry standard:
Exceptional Concierge-Level Services
To put it simply, our mission at Team Territo is to change the way people think of real estate and real estate agents. Here in NE Florida, we start and end with exceptional, custom, concierge-level real estate services. Our goals are to create raving fans out of our customers, grow through referrals, and invest richly in our local community.
Complimentary Home Staging and Project Management
Our concierge-level services include complimentary home staging when listing your home with us and managing all subcontractors for any home repairs needed prior to listing. No job is too big or small for us. This ensures your home is market-ready, taking the stress off your shoulders.
Hallmark of Customer Service
Our vision is to make our level of customer service the hallmark for exceptional service in our local real estate industry. We employ talent that aligns with our values, is trained to deliver concierge-level service, and ensures this service is consistently delivered. Each customer receives a unique approach tailored to their needs, allowing them to achieve their real estate goals with us by their side every step of the way.
Customer-First Approach
First and foremost, we protect our customer. We are their advocate, confidante, and trusted advisor, always serving their interests before our own. As real estate agents, we come from contribution to consult, educate, and guide our customers on the best way to achieve their real estate goals—and we have a successful track record of doing just that.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
At Team Territo, we provide concierge-level real estate services designed to make the home buying and selling process seamless and stress-free for our clients. Here’s how we do it and what sets us apart:
What we Offer:
Complimentary Home Staging: We provide professional home staging services at no extra cost, enhancing the appeal of your property to attract more buyers and achieve a higher selling price.
Subcontractor Management: We handle all necessary home repairs and maintenance by managing subcontractors, taking the burden off our clients.
Distance Management: We manage the entire home preparation and sale process for clients who are unable to be present, ensuring everything is taken care of from renovations to sale negotiations.
Maximizing Home Value: By addressing deferred maintenance, removing obstacles, and staging homes, we present properties in their best light, increasing their market value.
Stress-Free Transactions: We handle all the logistics, so our clients can focus on their lives without the stress of managing home sales and purchases.
What Sets Us Apart:
Customer-First Approach: We prioritize our clients’ interests above all, serving as their advocate, confidante, and trusted advisor in every interaction.
Integrity and Honesty: We operate with the highest standards of integrity and honesty in all our business, family, and community interactions.
Community Involvement: We are deeply invested in our local community, contributing actively and ensuring our business practices benefit the community.
What We Are Most Proud Of:
We are proud of our ability to create raving fans out of our customers, grow through referrals, and invest richly in our local community. Our commitment to concierge-level service and integrity has established us as a trusted name in the real estate industry in NE Florida.
Key Things for Potential Clients to Know:
Unparalleled Customer Service: Our concierge-level approach ensures each client receives a unique, tailored experience.
Expertise and Success: We have a proven track record of successfully helping clients achieve their real estate goals through expert consultation, education, and guidance.
Commitment to Excellence: Our vision is to set the benchmark for exceptional service in the real estate industry, achieved by aligning with our values and consistently delivering top-notch service.
Real Life Example:
Amidst our commitment to redefine the real estate experience, consider this real-life scenario:
The Problem:
The seller, living out of town after her husband’s passing, struggled to manage her home’s sale from a distance. After hiring two agents and spending 108 days on the market with only one lowball offer, she needed an agent who could handle everything—enter Team Territo!
Details:
Time on Market Before Team Territo: 108 days
Number of Agents Before Team Territo: 2 agents
Year Home Sold: 2023
Selling Price: $600,000
Solution:
Team Territo addressed three major issues:
Deferred Maintenance: We hired subcontractors to tackle all necessary repairs and maintenance.
Removing the Eyesore: We removed a wall dividing the family room into two offices, enhancing the home’s appeal.
Staging the Home: We staged the home, allowing buyers to visualize its potential.
Our Concierge Program managed everything, including financing the expenses, so the seller could focus on her new life. We prepped the home for photography, arranged pool services, and coordinated all subcontractors.
Results:
Within days of listing, the home was under contract for $100,000 more than the previous lowball offer with the previous agent. We also secured a backup contract, both above the list price, ensuring the seller’s peace of mind and satisfaction.
This example illustrates our commitment to going above and beyond for our clients, making real estate transactions smooth, successful, and stress-free.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Matt and I met in 1996, and although we fell in love, the timing just wasn’t right for us back then. Despite this, we maintained a close friendship for 15 years. It wasn’t until Matt, a skilled custom home builder, did some work on my new home that our flame reignited, and we’ve been together ever since!
We quickly realized we made a great team when it came to enhancing the value of homes. Matt and I ventured into property investment, acquiring, renovating, and then staging and selling numerous properties for profit. This journey led us to turn our real estate passion into our profession. With Matt’s expertise in construction and my eye for interior design and home staging, it was a natural partnership.
When our children came into our lives, Matt and I knew we wanted to prioritize our family while continuing to pursue our passion for real estate. Transitioning our success into full-time careers allowed us to be more involved in the local community and be present for our children every step of the way.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The Home Without Consensus
The Problem:
Owned by 4 heirs with different ideas about what needed to be done to sell their elderly mother’s home, the sellers were struggling to find consensus about the best way to move forward. There were several challenges: functional issues (the only bathroom downstairs was in the master bedroom), it needed updating (bathrooms, kitchen, flooring, etc.), and the family had liquidated the furniture so it was essentially an outdated empty shell. We met with the heirs and discussed their goals, which boiled down to netting the largest return for the least amount of effort. We provided them with hard data on the ROI for renovating, staging, and landscaping so they could make an informed decision on the best way to proceed. Finally we developed and presented an effective listing presentation, and sales and marketing strategy that ultimately yielded them a return that none of the heirs initially thought was possible (even considering a full renovation) in only 3 weeks from listing to closing.
The Solution:
We needed to decide whether renovating before listing was worth it for the sellers. After analyzing data from Comparative Market Analysis Reports and estimating renovation costs, it became clear that the return wouldn’t justify the investment. Instead, we focused on highlighting the home’s strengths: its spacious lot, proximity to the beach, and curb appeal. By investing a few hundred dollars in cleaning and enhancing curb appeal, we attracted numerous prospective buyers. Inside, minor touch-ups and fresh staging made the home feel modern and inviting.
Given the home’s layout challenges, effective staging was crucial. We strategically arranged furniture to maximize space and minimize the impact of functional issues. Additionally, we explored options for adding a half bath and dividing the Florida Room into functional areas, demonstrating potential value to buyers.
Once show-ready, we implemented a strategic marketing plan, including optimal photography timing for natural light and aerial drone shots highlighting the beach proximity. With a “go-and-show” listing approach and round-the-clock showings, we generated over 40 viewings in the first day alone, leading to multiple offers.
Results:
After a 14-offer bidding war on the property, the Sellers chose a cash offer $65k over asking price with a quick close in only 21 days. Because there was so much competition for the property, the Sellers didn’t have to make any repairs or concessions. And since we handled the staging, they didn’t have to do any packing or moving. All they had to do was decide how they were going to spend their profits!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trustedterritory.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamterrito/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamTerrito
- Youtube: @teamterrito1949
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/team-territo-keller-williams-st-augustine
- Other: Tiktok: @gterrito
Image Credits
Monarch Photography Studio