Network News, Summer 2006, A Coldwell Banker Johnston Publication

Have you ever driven down a dead end road wishing it would connect to where you really wanted to go? The reality is that to get where you want to go you have to make the effort to get there; Gary Paret is one such driver. Sitting in a dead end factory job, surrounded by negative, dead end people, Gary wanted more. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy but he also knew he wanted something different. When his ship finally came in he had the good sense to know it; he answered an ad for a career in real estate, that road connected, and he found his true calling.

Gary was born, grew up and now works in the small town of Tillsonburg, Ontario - population 16,000 and holding. While his home town has languished at times it’s going through a major resurgence due it’s proximity to the new Toyota assembly plant. The youngest of three brothers, Gary originally left the family farm and business for the “one of the lamest jobs around” and found himself wanting a career that would reward his hard-work ethics.

Within four years of starting in real estate Gary was managing the office, and two years later he bought the company. When you look at Gary, it’s hard to believe he’s already been in the business 20 years, but then again people say that about me too. Starting in the business at a much younger than average age is something we share in common.

Gary admits his father has had the greatest influence in his life and wanted to share some well-used wisdom his father shared with him over the years. As much as they didn't always see eye to eye, he has great respect for his dad as a very successful entrepreneur and a hell of a sales person. Some great life lessons from his dad are:

1) Don't judge a book by the cover! The one's who have all the money won't tell you about it, and if you’re dealing with someone who says they’ve got it.......they probably don’t!

2) It's not considered work unless you would rather be doing something else! “There are very few days in the last 20 years that I haven't enjoyed what I'm doing. When I don't have fun anymore...... I’ll quit!”

3) Never play your hand first! At a very young age Gary remembers his father negotiating the purchase of a new Oldsmobile. His parents discussed the price they were willing to pay on the way to the dealership, but he never admitted his price to the salesman. “You never play your hand first; always let them make the first offer.” Sure enough his dad paid substantially less then he was willing to pay. Gary uses this tactic almost everyday when there are plenty of agents who’ll give away their clients without knowing it.

I interviewed Gary prior to Moe’s passing. Gary and Moe were great friends and co-workers for over 10 years, not to mention constant companions at many conferences. The day Moe passed Gary called me to express the sad news. We talked for awhile sharing some memories and our concern for his family. It is through these conferences that we’ve become friends and a little like family.

Broker
Coldwell Banker G. R. Paret Realty
Tillsonburg, ON
gary@paretrealty.com

In Memorium:
Moe Noormohamed

We can't all be experts at everything, and at the same time we all can't afford to hire someone to do all the things we aren't experts at, so for those of us who take our own listing photos here are some tips to put your listings in their best light.

Exterior shots: Don't shoot the home straight on, take it from an angle slightly to the left or right. There are very few elevations that look good straight on and often features will be missed such as a garage or sunroom. Ensure the camera is level, especially if the home has columns or obvious vertical lines, or the home will look misproportioned. Lastly, take a number shots of the exterior at different exposure levels - what looks good on the view finder doesn't always look great on a computer screen - depending on the amount of sunlight the home will look better on some settings than others. If you don't know how to change the exposure on your camera, there are usally a number of little icons for settings such as landscape, portrait, night time, and beach - just take one shot on each setting and you're good to go.

Interior shots: The more light, the better... I use three studio lights to light up the rooms I shoot, plus I turn on all the lights and open all the blinds. People like bright rooms, they are warm and inviting and will appear larger on a computer screen. To really make a room look larger, I take a series of 12 photos of each room and stich them together using Panorama Maker software which takes a fair bit of time but is a huge selling feature on our listing appointments. You can also make animated 360 shots with it as well but I rarely bother. Here are some before and after shots of mine so you can see the difference it makes. I also do a fair bit of touching up of photos (bluer skies, greener grass and so on) but that is a whole day long course and not something I can explain in a short article.

Digital Camera Recommendation: If you are considering purchasing a digital camera, my current top pick for agents is the Canon S80. It has a wide angle lens (it's the only camera under $600 with one), and a fantastic feature for stitching photos that can only be witnessed by picking one up and trying it. You won't find them at FutureShop or BestBuy, head to a real camera store and ask.

Last but not least, here are some photos I've collected recently from the MLS, that in my opinion are the epitome of what NOT to do:

This picture is for a $700,000 listing (which is a BIG deal in Edmonton ;) and it was clearly taken on a camera phone. I mean, come on people, you are getting paid a hefty commission and you can't take the time to bring a camera, or better yet, hire a professional?

Pictures of the corners of rooms... is there a better way to say "This room is so small I can only fit into the corner"? A wide angle lens will make a world of difference, or as I do, take a series of photos and stitch them together.

A few comments on this one... First, the date and time stamp is turned on, nothing dates a listing more. Second, the house is in the shade and is quite dark, try a different exposure, or taking the photo at a different time of day. Third, you can't see the front door. Fourth, there is a hint of car door on the bottom right corner suggesting the photographer didn't even get out of the car. Last, it is taken portrait style - on many websites (including coldwellbanker.ca) photos must be taken landscape style or they will get all squished and look really strange.

I don't know what to say about these except, why would someone even take these photo let alone publish it on the web?! If the room is a mess either clean it up or move on. The photo on the right was actually the main photo for the listing I found it on!

Is this guy trying to sell Tide or a home?

For these two it's not entirely clear which house is for sale. Try and keep distractions like yeild signs, light posts, and pick up trucks to a minimum. And don't forget, people like to see the front door.

Last is an example of poor lighting and exposure. A room that has a ton of natural light needs as much artificial light as possible to balance the sunlight, if you are going to try and take a picture of the window. Either bring in studio lights, or come back on a rainy day, and don't forget to turn on all the lights in the room.

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	Making it Big Time in a Small Town				Gary Paret
	Have you ever driven down a dead end road wishing it would connect to where you really wanted to go? The reality is that to get where you want to go you have to make the effort to get there; Gary Paret is one such driver. Sitting in a dead end factory job, surrounded by negative, dead end people, Gary wanted more. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy but he also knew he wanted something different. When his ship finally came in he had the good sense to know it; he answered an ad for a career in real estate, that road connected, and he found his true calling. Gary was born, grew up and now works in the small town of Tillsonburg, Ontario - population 16,000 and holding. While his home town has languished at times it’s going through a major resurgence due it’s proximity to the new Toyota assembly plant. The youngest of three brothers, Gary originally left the family farm and business for the “one of the lamest jobs around” and found himself wanting a career that would reward his hard-work ethics. Within four years of starting in real estate Gary was managing the office, and two years later he bought the company. When you look at Gary, it’s hard to believe he’s already been in the business 20 years, but then again people say that about me too. Starting in the business at a much younger than average age is something we share in common. Gary admits his father has had the greatest influence in his life and wanted to share some well-used wisdom his father shared with him over the years. As much as they didn't always see eye to eye, he has great respect for his dad as a very successful entrepreneur and a hell of a sales person. Some great life lessons from his dad are: 1) Don't judge a book by the cover! The one's who have all the money won't tell you about it, and if you’re dealing with someone who says they’ve got it.......they probably don’t! 2) It's not considered work unless you would rather be doing something else! “There are very few days in the last 20 years that I haven't enjoyed what I'm doing. When I don't have fun anymore...... I’ll quit!” 3) Never play your hand first! At a very young age Gary remembers his father negotiating the purchase of a new Oldsmobile. His parents discussed the price they were willing to pay on the way to the dealership, but he never admitted his price to the salesman. “You never play your hand first; always let them make the first offer.” Sure enough his dad paid substantially less then he was willing to pay. Gary uses this tactic almost everyday when there are plenty of agents who’ll give away their clients without knowing it. I interviewed Gary prior to Moe’s passing. Gary and Moe were great friends and co-workers for over 10 years, not to mention constant companions at many conferences. The day Moe passed Gary called me to express the sad news. We talked for awhile sharing some memories and our concern for his family. It is through these conferences that we’ve become friends and a little like family.				Broker Coldwell Banker G. R. Paret Realty Tillsonburg, ON gary@paretrealty.com