The design for the “ideal” real estate office would encompass many features that professionals and the public have wanted for a long time as well as some new revisions inspired by the Covid-19 outbreak. Most brokerages were long overdue for an update to their antiquated design and systems and now have the opportunity to be better prepared for the current concerns as well as adaptable to unforeseen changes in the future.
The café centric design of the new brokerage will promote social connection with social distancing while offering adjunct real estate services conveniently located only a few steps away. The focus of this model is the best coffee drinks prepared by a friendly barista that remembers their regular customers’ drink orders. What does coffee have to do with real estate? Everything. People don’t always love the coffee served at their favorite coffee shop but what they do love is the experience they have had individually or shared with others when they go there. When agents and clients walk in this brokerage complex, they can be greeted with great service and that “feeling” all under one roof. They will be back, want to work there and bring others.
The nucleus of this brokerage model is a coffee “home”. It is like a coffee house but warmer. The real estate brokerage/coffee home is an open air but climate controlled environment with social distance seating, covered roof and equipped with hand sanitizing stations, charging stations and soothing music. Most importantly, it is an inviting workspace to catch up on paperwork or negotiate the next big deal.
In this proposed model, there are three necessary businesses that would finish off the semicircle around the coffee home. The first one would be the title/legal office to handle all of the closing and contract needs.
The second business would be a professional printing/mailing company to handle all of the marketing and administrative needs that most agents have in the real estate business. Most brokerages are now paperless (to an extent) but still need marketing materials and items mailed out occasionally. In addition, one of the most expensive costs that many real estate offices historically have had to endure has been owning, leasing and maintaining copier systems. They always seem to be out of paper, low on ink or jammed. This burden now becomes the responsibility of a professional.
As another bonus, this model may only need one or one set of commercial bathrooms for these 4 businesses which will also minimize the expense and time cleaning and maintaining multiple sets of bathrooms.
Finally, the actual real estate brokerage can be streamlined and may only require 1 or 2 conference rooms as well as a manager’s office and small reception area. The reward of moving agents out of cubicles is more “outside the box” and innovative thinking. This new design is a win-win by providing a more fun and functional space for the agent and a more cost effective alternative for the broker.
Rae Ann Johnson is a landlord, investor, corporate acquisition specialist, flipper, wholesaler, author and has held a real estate license since 1988.
