By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Future Wind Crest residents with homes on the market have an advantage over other sellers. In addition to their Realtor, they get another personalized expert in their corner. And it doesn’t cost them a dime.

As Wind Crest’s Personal Moving Consultant, Kate Dukes works as a liaison between future residents and their Realtors, ensuring that their homes sell quickly—and at the best possible price. It’s all part of a new program called Erickson Realty & Moving Services.

Dukes spends her days visiting homes of priority list members, or people who have put down a fully refundable $1,000 deposit to reserve their place in line for the apartment home of their choice. She provides them with customized advice, tips, and resources to help get their houses sold. Beyond that, she works in tandem with Realtors to facilitate the process.

“My job is to get people to closing faster so they can start living a worry-free life at Wind Crest sooner,” says Dukes, who worked as a Realtor before coming to Wind Crest. A textbook example of her role in action happened a few months ago when Bill and Flo Pope set out to sell their home.

Smooth sailing
At first, the Popes wondered if today’s market would force them to take less than they deserved for the home they’d lived in for 50 years. But once Dukes visited and led them to a reputable Realtor named Roger “Doc” Arthur, they say everything just took off.

“When we met Doc, we knew we were in good hands,” says Mrs. Pope.

And the cooperation between Dukes and Arthur netted the Popes $50,000 more than they anticipated.

“Our initial number was around $400,000, but Kate and I did some additional research and felt we could probably get more,” says Arthur.

After one day on the market, the Popes’ house sold for $450,000.