November 12, 2019 (Chapel Hill, NC) – After analyzing and scoring 105 agents, Expertise has awarded Jodi Bakst (left), owner of Chapel Hill-based Real Estate Experts, a place on its 2019 list of the Best Real Estate Agents serving Durham, NC.
“I’m thrilled!” Bakst said, smiling, as she downloaded the award badge for her agency’s website.
Based in Seattle, WA, Expertise uses a proprietary, in-depth research and selection process, including detailed comparisons, to identify the top service professionals in over 200 different industries in significant cities across the United States.
Ultimately, the Expertise team conducts a manual review before notifying those who make the list. But first, Expertise’s in-house software grades them on Reputation, Credibility, Experience, Engagement (approachable and responsive to clients), and Professionalism.
“Jodi Bakst… began her career in the real estate field over two decades ago,” her Expertise listing points out. “Focusing on the local real estate market in Chapel Hill, Durham, and surrounding communities, she specializes in residential properties, green building, digital marketing, and property management.” It also notes her “many advanced certifications, including residential and luxury home marketing specialist, distressed property expert, and international property specialist.”
Expertise reports that the lists on its website, Expertise.com, receives over half a million monthly visitors. To see all of the lists of “Best Local Experts” by state, city, and category, visit expertise.com.
For more information on Jodi Bakst and Real Estate Experts, visit realestateexperts.net.
About Real Estate Experts:
Real Estate Experts is a residential real estate and property management company that has been serving the local market for over 20 years, going above and beyond to provide exceptional service to its clients. The agents are experts in their market and out-of-the-box thinkers when it comes to the real estate transaction, negotiation, and marketing. With their clients in mind, they listen and deliver the results they want. For more information, visit realestateexperts.net, call 919-928-9131, or email [email protected].
LeeAnn Prescott, who works in the Real Estate Expert’s Chapel Hill office, and Cathryn Hartwell, who works in our Burlington location, join me today to help me explain why you should join the Real Estate Experts team.
LeeAnn is a relatively new agent. She interviewed four different companies and did countless hours of research on others, but in the end, she decided that the Real Estate Experts was the best fit for her for a multitude of reasons.
On the Real Estate Experts team, your success drives your revenue. We don’t make our money on the backs of agents in terms of fees—there are no fees at all, and there aren’t any compensation splits, either. Leanne enjoys the diversity that we have on the team and the fact that if she ever has any questions or problems, there’s always someone there to help her.
We also talk quite a bit about technology and how the industry is changing. We’re always searching for the most cutting-edge ways to market and generate leads, which helped LeeAnn get her business off the ground.
Cathryn has been an agent for a long time and has also worked in property management. Before joining our team, she worked with another company but felt that she had gone as far as she was going to go with them. She began to look for another company that offered really good leadership and could help pull her out of the Dark-Age methods of marketing herself and her business.
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We’re here to facilitate people’s growth, and we’re not successful unless you, the agent are successful.
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She had seen us start our business about 20 years ago and had watched us grow from behind the scenes. When she ended up reaching out to us, she was impressed with what she heard. On top of being a general brokerage, we also do property management.
Cathryn came to us from Burlington, which isn’t a spot we’ve traditionally spent a lot of time. Cathryn really opened our eyes to the growth occurring in Burlington, so we’ve been excited and happy to develop that market. We’ve been thrilled to see how much Cathryn has been able to do not only with property management, but also her general brokerage business.
With all this being said, the Real Estate Experts need help in Burlington. Cathryn is only one person, and we’d love to see more agents come on board to help her develop the market there.
If you’re thinking about making a career change, this is the perfect time of year to do it—the quiet before the storm of the spring and summer market. Visit our website at www.RealEstateExperts.net to meet the team and decide if the Real Estate Experts are right for you.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be more than happy to provide you with answers and to explain why joining our team would lead to your personal and professional growth.
Jodi Bakst, Broker Owner of Real Estate Experts located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina has earned the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, placing her among 3,500 elite real estate professionals in over 45 countries. The designation was awarded to her by the National Association of REALTORS® for completing rigorous coursework devoted to learning international real estate practices and demonstrating proficiency in international business.
The CIPS designation is synonymous with advanced expertise, a global perspective, and distinct understanding of a global buyer. As a designee, Ms. Bakst has the knowledge and resources to efficiently work with international buyers, including U.S. residents looking to invest overseas, foreign buyers purchasing in the United States, as well as recent immigrants who might be unfamiliar with real estate transaction practices in the United States.
For more information on the CIPS designation, visit www.nar.realtor/whycips. To contact Ms. Bakst directly you can email her at [email protected] or call her at 919-928-5131 x2.
Today, let’s talk about the things to keep in mind when it comes to replacing your air conditioning unit.
First, what is a SEER rating? Well, SEER stands for Seasonal Energy-Efficiency Ratio, and this basically measures the air intake and outtake of your unit and provides a rating system to weigh how efficiently it runs. Most air conditioners have a SEER rating of around 13 or 14, depending on that state’s requirements, with the maximum being 21.
I’ve personally replaced all the systems in my own home, with the exception of one little unit that is now 27 years old. It still runs, but given its age, I figure that it’s getting to be time to replace it, especially since it’s not all that efficient.
I had my trusted heating and air company come out and look at my systems, but they didn’t even price out a 14 SEER system; they said that a 14 SEER unit would eventually go out, and they instead gave me prices for 15 and 16 SEER units.
That’s when I decided to get a second opinion, but the second company to look at my units didn’t bother pricing out a 14 SEER unit, either. When I asked them why, they told me that a 14 SEER unit was exactly what I needed. The reason they gave me was related to my furnace—it was old, but not so old that it needed to be replaced. It was, however, so old that it didn’t have a variable speed motor.
This second company told me that yes, I could replace my unit with a 15, 16, or even a 21 SEER unit, but if I did, I wouldn’t get any benefit from it. That’s when the bells started going off in my head: The company that I’d been using for 15 years has been withholding information and trying to upsell me!
Since I got two different opinions on what I should do, I decided to get a third and fourth opinion. I posed the same question to companies three and four: “Does a 15 or 16 SEER system match my furnace?” Both companies were completely honest with me and told me no and that I should stick with a 14 SEER system.
Overall, the price for the replacement system went from $5,200 for a 16 SEER system to $3,150 for a 14 SEER—that’s a huge amount of savings!
After that experience, I went online to do some research. I found all kinds of information on the SEER rating, energy efficiency, and calculating cost-benefit ratios, but nothing about matching the SEER rating of a unit to the type of furnace you have.
In the end, if you want the efficiency of a 16 SEER system and you have a slightly older furnace that’s not really ready to be removed, then you’ll actually need to replace your entire furnace, too. Do you want to spend the money to replace two systems when you really only need to replace one?
The moral of today’s story is that you need to ask a lot of questions, even if you’re working with a company that you’ve known and trusted for years.
If you have any questions about this or other real estate topics, please feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear from you.
A good tenant pays rent on time every month, but sometimes even good tenants run into trouble and your payment may be late once or twice during a tenancy. That’s understandable, but a tenant who chronically pays late is a big problem.
Increase the chances of having your rent paid on time with a solid rent collection policy, consistent consequences, and flexibility in how the rental payments are made. (more…)
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a very serious issue. The CDC has said that over 10,000 people each year get treatment for some kind of carbon monoxide poisoning, and well over 430 people die each year as a result.
Because of this, state legislatures across the country have changed the rules about when a carbon monoxide detector is required in a home or a rental property.
If your house or rental property uses gas in the furnace, stove, or any other appliances, or if you have an attached garage, a carbon monoxide detector is required by law. Even if the home doesn’t have gas appliances but it has an attached garage, it needs a carbon monoxide detector on every level of the home.
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Well over 430 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning.
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Why is there such a focus on garages? Well, in the event that a car housed in the garage was left running, the deadly fumes could get into the home.
I can say that once I learned about this rule, I immediately went out and replaced my carbon monoxide detectors on each level of my home. I recommend that you do the same, or at least replace the batteries in the ones you currently have.
If you have any questions for us about buying, selling, or investing in real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jodi Bakst, Broker Owner of 
