By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Erickson Retirement Communities, a network of 20 retirement campuses spanning 11 states, where more than 19,000 people call home, has spread its wings even more in the form of a new national realty program.
This May, Erickson developed a program called Erickson Realty and Moving Services (ERMS), which is being implemented in phases throughout all Erickson communities.
New program has it all
“This program will be proactive in simplifying every aspect of the move-in process, including hands-on consultative home visits; a network of resources including professional real estate advice and marketing, staging, downsizing, packing, moving, and any other services that make moving to an Erickson community easier than staying home,” says new Move-In Program Manager Sharon Baksa.
Baksa, based at Fox Run in Novi, Mich., will be managing the program for all Erickson communities through the Corporate Sales Education and Talent Development Department.
Baksa’s role over the past five years at Fox Run has evolved from event coordinator to move-in coordinator to relocation counselor of the Moving Home program.
“The Moving Home Program originated in Michigan at Fox Run and evolved to include Henry Ford Village in Dearborn and Linden Ponds in Hingham, Massachusetts,” Baksa says.
“In the few markets in which it had been implemented, the Moving Home program was proven to help Priority List members and people who have reserved a home at an Erickson community address all aspects regarding a move,” she says.
Sellers need all the help they can get
The assistance Baksa and ERMS will provide couldn’t have come at a better time, especially for those living in Michigan.
Michigan was the only state in the nation to see its home prices decline in 2006, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The national average was a 5.87% increase, compared with Michigan’s decline of -0.44%.