Tom Ward, left, and Brian Livesey, are co-owners of Waterside Realty. They say they learned about the Siesta Key condo market, and made valuable contacts, by attending hundreds of open houses over the years. In 2003 and 2004, five of their agents were ranked in the top 10 for condo sales on Siesta.

WATERSIDE REALTY, LLC.

Brian W. Livesey
Owner / Agent

5221 Ocean Blvd. Suite 2 - Sarasota, FL 34242
Toll Free: 1-888-562-4461
Office 941-346-7454
Cellular: 941-320-9703
Fax: 941-346-7354

Big time

In less than four years, Waterside Realty has become a top condo seller in Siesta Key. The founders say open houses were key.

                                             By Rich Shopes

                                             rich.shopes@heraldtribune.com

When a group of Re/Max agents resigned to start Waterside Realty on Siesta Key, they figured they had an edge to carry them through the lean early years: market knowledge. The plan worked, but instead of lean years the fledgling company faced lean months, if that.

Two years after Waterside started, the company was Siesta Key's top-selling condominium broker, outshining Michael Saunders & Co., Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate and Re/Max Properties, the region's big three for real estate. Last year, of the top 10 condo salespeople on Siesta, five were Waterside agents -- the same as in 2003.

Waterside broker/co-owner Tom Ward can't put his finger on any one thing, at least not recently. But going back 10 years, recalling his early days at Coldwell and then later at Re/Max, Ward recollects one lesson that stuck and still makes a difference today. What helped, he says, were open houses.

Sounds simple, but it translates into sacrificing just about every weekend for five years to amble in and out of living rooms and bathrooms and kitchens. And most of the open houses had nothing to do with closing a sale. Not for Ward anyway. Not in the early years. Hundreds of open houses organized by other Realtors, sometimes from opposing companies. Hundreds of elevators, stairwells and encounters with doormen, buyers and sellers, condo associations and folks just visiting but who might one day decide to buy or sell. Hundreds of business cards -- although agents usually don't get that far at open houses.

"I would try meet at least one potential client each weekend. That was my goal," says Ward, who describes most open houses as low-key, meet-and-greet affairs with a sprinkling of questions tossed in to stay current: When's the last time they renovated? How's the water pressure? Did the association ever repair that drain in the parking lot? What does the contract say? Ward's objective through it all? To learn about Siesta Key. To know not just pricing, but which condos have reserves set aside so that buyers won't get socked with "special assessments" when the time comes to replace the roof.

He knows not only which condos allow pets but how many and how big. Whether recreational vehicles, boats and trailers are allowed. Where guests can park, for how long and how many vehicles.

The restrictions on renting. Wonder what "ocean view" really means? Ward . . . Ward does. In one unit, it's simply the view from the living room balcony. In another, it might mean the view from the balcony when dangling by your fingernails and craning your neck.

"I lived in open houses," says Ward about those early years. "Everything that I've built in my career, I've built on open houses.

"It's a lot of work. Buying properties like this is a big emotional decision for people, and you better know what you're talking about."

He isn't alone in his near obsessive belief in the benefits of open houses. Co-owner Brian Livesey, who jumped from Re/Max with Ward, swears by them, too.

"I don't care who you are. If you don't know the product and the inventory and what properties are good to invest in -- most of our clients are investors -- you won't get anywhere," Livesey says. "You're not there to pick up clients. You're there to just to see the property. On a Sunday, you can probably go to 10 or 15 of them."

Staying focused

Ward and Livesey started Waterside in early 2002. Six others from Re/Max joined them within the first couple of weeks, and now the company boasts 31 agents, from rookies to veterans from other firms.

"If you drive on Midnight Pass Road, on any weekend you'll see five or six open house signs just for Waterside," Livesey says.

Their knowledge of Siesta Key was nurtured years ago at Coldwell Banker, their first stop after getting their real estate licenses.

Darla Furst, now at Michael Saunders & Co., was their mentor. She planted the open-house seed.

She hesitates to discuss their success for competitive reasons, but remains proud of Ward and Livesey, whom she regards as among her top pupils.

"When I hired Brian and Tom they were brand new to the business," Furst says. "They didn't even know the area."

Her advice was simple. Go to open houses. Get to know the area. It's more important, especially in the early going, than advertising.

"For a new agent asking how can I make the most of this, the answer is to pick a property you like, or a community you like, and go to it over and over again," Furst says. "What's worked for Brian and Tom is that they kept their focus not on all of Sarasota but on Siesta Key."

After five or six years of going to open houses every weekend, the two have scaled back the last couple of years but still occasionally make the rounds to stay current.

They also emphasize to new agents the open house . . . mandate. Ward says he can tell within a few weeks whether an agent has the drive to succeed at Waterside simply by his dedication to open houses.

"If he starts coming up with excuses for why he didn't go to open houses over the weekend, then you know," he said.

Carolyn Hamblin, another top condo agent at Waterside, agrees. When agents come to Siesta for the first time "they're mystified because they don't know the area," she says. "Because there are so many different groups of condos and rentals, and differences between what's allowed and not allowed, it takes awhile. You have to get out there."

"I must check the hot sheet (MLS condo listings) 20 times a day. It's the first thing I do every morning, even before I have breakfast," Hamblin says. "When a condo comes on the market, the first thing I do is go out and see it, ask questions of the management, rental people, look at the history of the complex and how it's doing in sales and rentals."

She remembers one occasion when Livesey took that lesson to heart.

She was checking the hot sheet a few years ago when she noticed a new listing not far from her home on South Siesta.

"I raced out of the house to see it. It was 8 o'clock in the morning and I remember thinking I'd be the first one there, but when I got there the lockbox was empty. Someone was inside. Then I saw Brian coming out with a customer.

"I thought 'Oh my God. He beat me.' He wrote the offer that night. I guess you can't win them all."

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