Making dollars and sense: unique real estate group comes to the aid of homebuyers and owners.

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They don't collect any monthly membership club dues. They don't select an employee of the month, and they don't have any health insurance benefits.

No, it's not a group of union cabinetmakers. Nor is it a local women's sewing circle. But it is a small, closely knit group who is out to help make a difference in the real estate market for homebuyers and owners.

What you may not know is this group of nine has been organized and meeting in the Anchorage area for the past 11 years.

Marketing Masters of Anchorage is a group of five women and four men who have more than 200 years of real estate experience to back them up and collectively sell nearly 600 properties a year throughout the state.

"What we do is monitor real estate legislation for the consumers," said Bob Baer, the unofficial spokesperson for Marketing Masters. "We are kind of a watchdog group, more like a co-op. We do not have any official officers.

"We endeavor to protect buyers through affiliation with title companies, lenders and other organizations."

SOME PUNCH

The nine-member Realtor group also has some clout. Shortly after it first organized in 1996, the group raised enough money to hire a lobbyist who aided in the passage of legislation ensuring that individuals without a license would not be able to sell real estate in Alaska. Through the group's efforts, it was successful in getting House Bill 33 signed into law, which Baer said safeguards both sellers and buyers.

All of the group's members are licensed real estate agents.

Oddly enough, the group's makeup is by no means conventional by most any standards. Generally speaking, in today's world, in real estate, as it is in other industries, the competitive spirit can boil over and it then becomes a fierce battle between agents or representatives. Marketing Masters members do not all come from the same real estate firm. Four different companies are represented within the group.

Lisa Herington, Mary Tutterow and Baer work for Dynamic Properties. Jerry Dewhurst is an agent with Re/Max Properties. Beth Simpson and Dan Wolf are with the Keller Williams Alaska Group, while the trio of Kevin Taylor, Barbara Bowden and Sallie Nickerson represent Prudential Jack White/Vista.

"The camaraderie that we have been able to develop over the years is great," Baer said. "It's a win-win situation for both our clients and us. The chemistry is just right."

NO MEMBERSHIP CARDS

The group has been meeting faithfully for more than a decade nearly every Wednesday morning at Stewart Title of Alaska. Baer says Marketing Masters has no organization guidelines or set rules.

Although the group's gatherings are informal and there have been other agents within this team of realtors, it is fairly constant. While there are also no limits put on the real estate group, Baer admits that very little has changed over the past few years and the group is not actively soliciting for any new agents. Since 2004, eight of the current nine Marketing Masters agents are still active participants.

The initial idea for such a group originated in California. Baer, a former co-owner of Totem Realty, says he is not aware of any other group like it in the country.

"We just saw a need for some good, old-fashioned cooperation between companies in marketing ventures," Baer said. "It was our hope to strengthen the marketability of our clients' properties by joining together several agents from around the city.

"We meet, have coffee, maybe tell a few jokes and get down to business and trade information on listings. What we cannot do is discuss individual or company commissions. It's prohibitive."

Business "agendas" usually consist of members milling through several listings that may have, for one reason or another, been too difficult to sell. They will constantly discuss market conditions, interest rates, loan programs, economic indicators, etc., which enable the group to provide outstanding service to their clients.

The group will tour homes that are on the market of the other members, which help to discover opportunities for buyers and clients. They also preview each others listings and critique the properties with suggestions for sellers and listing licensee to enhance marketability.

The roundtable discussion often gravitates to such subjects as discussing special buyers needs or requirements, i.e., senior and/or handicapped buyers. Buyers who need special shops, hobby areas, yard requirements, etc. This produces "matching" a seller's property with a buyer's needs. The group simply develops transactions through creative networking.

"We feel very comfortable with between eight and 10 in the group," said Baer. "That way, its so much more manageable."

BY BEN GRENN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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