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| Helene & Joachim, our interns from Denmark |
What's Behind
The Blue Door of Real Estate?
Lately we have been asking,
“What makes a house a home?” and
for these two ‘home’ hasn’t been confined to one country. In less than 2 weeks,
Joachim Selnaes and Helene Hohle will head back to their permanent home
Copenhagen, Denmark. During their time as interns with us in
Winston-Salem they
have made it a home too. Or rather, has Winston-Salem made it ‘home’ to them.
Joachim and Helene wanted to leave Denmark to experience the
differences in
American culture and in real estate. Of their ‘favorite American
things,’ our social exchange is something they enjoyed so much they want to
integrate it into their lifestyles at home.
“People are so different here in the
Triad- they are more curious and
react positively to strangers. We knew we needed to make an effort to make an
impression but people here are so easy going it has been simple for us to make
friends. We aren’t sure if it is because of where we are in the
United States, but
everyone has been so polite and good to introduce us to their friends.
Networking is so much easier here than in Denmark,” they both said.
As one would begin the business brand new, they went through
the life of an American real estate agent.
Joachim and Helene completed our new agent training, which included Fast
Start, many weekly skills classes and BOO$T. They also observed phone duty and
open houses, helped measure homes, input listings, got experience with our
document management system, and other technology.
“iPads, apps and technology in general are used more in the
US– there is an appearance of high use of technology in Denmark but it seems
people are further ahead here because they are actually using it,” said
Joachim.
There couldn’t be more truth to this- ‘Real Estate is
Location, Location, Location.’ One of
the homes they helped measure was
435 Torrington Lane, a Tuscan-style home just
under $690,000 built by Keith Rogers and listed by Wendy Taylor.
“Copenhagen’s prices are four times the price they are here
and can get up to approximately $500 per square foot - this home would sell for
over $3 million there,” said Helene.
Most of the homes there are built of stone, brick and some wood
with high quality materials such as marble. Also, there’s much more real estate
here -opportunities to purchase are fewer in Copenhagen than they are in the
Triad.
“When it comes to
marketing to different generations, we have some of the same struggles as you
do in the US. People in Denmark are more
traditional, though, in how they want to see listings. They would rather see homes
in the newspaper versus video tours,” said Helene.
They’ve been so busy they haven’t yet experienced as much of
the Triad as they want. However, they hope to fit in as many fun things they
can before they leave. Their plans when they head back?
Of course they both look forward to reuniting with family
and friends. Helene also looks forward to returning to her ‘puppy dog’ and will
finish her degree at University of Copenhagen…possibly pursue further
education. Joachim plans to get into the Copenhagen real estate industry,
preferably selling higher end homes he says.
Some of their other ‘favorite American things’- lower prices
in real estate, autos, technology and out-to-eat food costs; care of animals through animal shelters and
food drives; Ford Mustangs and domestic beer (Joachim’s favorites); all the
good FOOD! (Helene’s favorite, steak);
Wendy Taylor Chatter Tour; Boone, NC;
and our patriotism and pride for our country.
When asked, they both said they would love to come back to
the United States. Maybe they will come back for good. A big thank you and good
luck goes out to you two – we’ve really enjoyed having you at CB Triad!
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