ERA Raffaelli Realtors has a long history of helping people find homes and sell them.
"We've been in business since 1969 and we've primarily worked with residential and housing. We do some commercial property but mainly residential," said Steve Raffaelli, owner and real estate agent.
A lot has changed since 1969, primarily the impact technology has on getting the information out about real estate.
"The biggest thing that has changed is how the Internet and computer impact the industry," Raffaelli said. "Everybody has the ability to get the information on their cell phones, so it's distributed better today and is more available."
Raffaelli said he'd recently listed a home and within the day there were three different companies calling him because they had clients interested in the neighborhood.
"Listings are getting more coverage, which means more people have the opportunity to look at the house and see if it could potentially meet their needs," he said.
One thing that hasn't changed is the importance of personal service and experience.
"We do trades that some companies don't do. The other advantage to going with our company is we've been working with banks for years and we have the experience on how to get the deal done. That makes it easier for people to change houses," Raffaelli said.
Establishing personal relationships with clients, a focus for the agents at Raffaelli Realtors, results in those people coming back the next time they're thinking of buying or selling a house.
"Most of our business comes from repeat clients and the relationship we've built over many years," he said.
Right now is a prime time to buy or sell a home.
"The biggest thing is the interest rates are lower than they've been since I've been in the business. It's the best time in the world to buy a house either to live in or as an investment property because buyers can get a fixed-rate loan on properties."
ERA Rafaelli Realtors has four agents in addition to Raffaelli including Virginia Ann Prazak, Lauren Callaway, Ashly King and Joe Sterle.
"Each agent has their own niche. Not every client is for every agent," said Callaway. "Everybody has their strong points. I was recently certified for distinctive properties and I can market them across the nation."
"Creating those personal relationships are important. Buying real estate is one of the biggest investments, if not the most important investment, you make in life," Callaway said. "At the end of the day the personal relationship you have with clients is the most important thing. It's important to be there holding their hand through the process with their best interest at heart. For the agents here, that's something we all focus on."
Prazak also brings a specialty to the table that helps the entire team.
"Virginia Ann is also a lawyer with a law license in Texas and Arkansas. That's really helpful for all of us as agents. That's something that's one of her strong points. When it comes to contracts and making sure clients are taken care of, we go directly to her and ask how to make a situation work to make sure our clients are covered," Callaway said.
Sterle's specialty is working with buyers.
"My comfort level and experience is working with buyers. I do have listings and I'll take them but when I first became a Realtor in Austin, Texas, my training and experience was on the buyer side," he said.
King excels at helping those new to buying a home.
"I enjoy working with first-time home buyers. It's exciting to see someone make the decision to go from renter to home owner and my goal is to make that process go as smooth as possible," she said.
ERA Raffaelli Realtors is located at 1901 Mall Drive, Texarkana, Texas. For more information about the services they offer, call the office at 903-794-1800.