Roderyck Reiter is the sales director for Krystal Tower working in Miami.

Every week, we ask a Miami real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before. This week, we spoke with Roderyck Reiter, the sales director for Krystal Tower in Miami. 

Miami Agent (MA): Miami’s luxury market is extremely lucrative, especially considering the recent boom in demand, but it can be a difficult game to get into. What advice would you give to young agents trying to transition into the luxury market?

Roderyck Reiter (RR): Well, the trick to getting into the luxury market is really the same as with any market, and it’s networking. You’re oinly as strong as your network, and breaking into the luxury market is especially hard because the people in this world tend to network with the people they already know. So, if you’re a little younger or not familiar with this particular culture, you’ll need to find the places where these affluent buyers and sellers congregate, places like the chamber of commerce, and go there.

Once you have the opportunity to meet potential clients, it then becomes a matter of knowing your stuff and going after it. People don’t break into this market on accident.

MA: A recent report from Zillow found that while underwater mortgages are becoming less and less common, nearly half of all Generation X homeowners, or people born between the early 60s and early 80s, still suffer from negative equity. Have you noticed this trend in Miami, and if so, how has it affected your business?

RR: We’re obviously affected in Miami. In places like Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada we see a lot of people buying in to the growth, as you did during the last boom, and as a result we’re inevitably seeing some of those homeowners’ mortgages fall underwater. However, the market has improved much better than I expected.

One of the direct effects of these sticky financial situations, at least that I’ve noticed, is an uptick in the rental market, especially for people who are still fairly young.

MA: Being a successful agent means providing absolutely stellar customer service. What do you do to make sure your customers enjoy, as much as possible, the homebuying or selling process?

RR: Something that I’ve learned from my brokerage is that we give an A to Z level of service, meaning we’re there for every step of the way. A lot of Realtors out there don’t show up for closings, don’t show up for closures, and that’s something I try to do. Those Realtors don’t understand that even if the homebuying or selling process is going smoothly and everything works out, it can still be stressful at the time, and having a professional to help guide you through it and ease your mind can even turn something that’s stressful into something a little bit enjoyable.

Another thing you can do is being well prepared. You never know when everything that can go wrong will, and being prepared is the only way to effectively surmount those problems. In that same vein, make sure your client is well prepared, as well. Let them know what to expect in the process, and be honest. When they know the costs associated and know and understand what’s coming next, you’ll find that’s it’s difficult to surprise them, which is a good thing.

You never know exactly what is going to happen next, but if you know your stuff and you keep your clients well informed than they’ll be happy.