Realty goes commercial
Pat Toepel treats residential and commercial water, and that's all he does.
"I don't sell stoves or spas or awnings," he said. "This is all I do, and I do it well."
 |
Coldwell Banker's Mother Lode Real Estate and Twain Harte Realty is now the only franchised commercial broker in Tuolumne County.
In addition to serving home buyers and sellers, the company now has the ability to reach potential commercial clients all over the world and show them what Tuolumne County has to offer.
Mark Kraft said the local company was recently picked as the leasing agent for Timberhills shopping center.
"Previously," he said, "all of the shopping centers went out of the county for leasing agents. This will help the whole county by keeping those dollars in the county."
Kraft is one of the owners of Coldwell Banker Mother Lode Real Estate and Coldwell Banker Twain Harte Realty. The other owners are Kraft's wife, Kris Kraft, and Harvey and Betty Martignoni.
One service the company offers potential commercial clients is an extensive data base with details about every piece of commercial property in Tuolumne County, for sale or not.
"If someone is looking for a 40,000-square-foot-office, for instance, we can approach the owners about selling it," said Martignoni.
They have associate Stan Nelson focused totally on commercial properties. He is certified with the Commercial Members Investment Group and the Association of Commercial Realtors.
Construction consulting
The company has embarked on another new venture. The Krafts and Martignonis have started a one-stop design, construction and financing service to help people make their dream homes a reality.
The company helps a client find the right piece of property, design a home to sit on the property, arrange financing for the entire project as one package and select a contractor to finish the job.
"It eliminates a lot of time and effort for the prospective client," said Martignoni, "and it takes the risk out of it. We have a list of preferred contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Before they get on our list, we check their track records, backgrounds, reputations and performance."
Other services
Coldwell Banker remains high in terms of sales volume.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1, 1997, for instance, Coldwell Banker' Mother Lode Real Estate and Twain Harte Realty sold $57,155,368 worth of property, for 32.5 percent of the market.
It has a Home Buyer's Guide with 45,000 copies published every 60 days that is distributed all over the county. It is also distributed in The Union Democrat monthly.
Coldwell Banker provides a number of other services. For instance, you can get the demographics and characteristics of the community where you want to buy, including specific information about population, crime rates, school statistics, family characteristics, shopping areas and average home prices.
Coldwell Banker has a comprehensive web site online, where people may do a lot of their research before leaving home, and Mother Lode Real Estate and Twain Harte Realty will soon have its own web page serving Tuolumne County specifically.
At the show
The company will have copies of its Home Buyer's Guide at the Home and Garden Show, along with pictures and information about all of its services.
It will have a promotion for Ethan Allen at the show, with a drawing for a free gift that will be awarded in May.
It will also have a free drawing for a gift valued at about $300, said Kraft and Martignoni, to be given away shortly after the show.
Coldwell Banker Mother Lode Real Estate
13854 Mono Way, Sonora
532-6993
Coldwell Banker Twain Harte Realty
23003 Joaquin Gully Road, Twain Harte
586-5200