By Rick Weinberg, Editor, California Business Journal
Email: Rick@CalBizJournal.com / Mobile: 949-648-3815
IT IS 8:15 A.M. AND THE SUN HAS JUST BURST THROUGH THE GLORIOUS SKY ON THIS PICTURESQUE CALIFORNIA MORNING. Brent Hammond, all 6 foot 5 of him, walks into a home in Belmont Shore in Orange County. He inspects every detail – every little detail … including the brass hinges on a stylish new six-panel closet door.
“This is good,” he says. “Really good.”
He pauses. Then he smiles.
“Now, we’re ready to sell.”
Hammond is selling this spectacular California property – and he wants to get his clients top dollar. They expect nothing less. He expects nothing less.
But several weeks earlier, when Hammond walked into the home, he didn’t like what he saw. Neither did his interior designer, Heather Eaves.
Dirty rugs. Flat old doors. Faded paint. Distasteful art work. Landscape issues.
Most agents simply give a new owner or prospective buyer “a credit” to buy a new rug or doors or a paint job. Not Hammond. He wants it replaced and upgraded – immediately.
“People buy on emotion,” says Hammond, a leading real estate professional in California. “When everything is perfect in a home, or as perfect as it can be, the home showcases well and sellers are able to get top dollar.
“A dirty carpet, for instance, turns people off immediately,” he adds. “Same with old paint or the way furniture is arranged. Or pictures. It may all feel OK to the seller — but not to the buyer. It might make them feel uncomfortable and that ‘wow’ factor that you hope to get is quickly gone.
“My goal is to help clients get the most money for their home and get the widest audience possible excited about their property.”
Hammond, a multi-million dollar producer who covers the entire coastline from south Orange County to Santa Monica, takes 1% of his commission and puts it back into the house – that’s $10,000 for a typical $1 million California home.
The upside is huge.
Recently, Hammond was selling a home in Long Beach, California. When he walked into the house, well, he went right into his routine – inspect every little thing, including the tiny see-through hole in the front door.
The sellers wanted $820,000 for the home. Hammond spent $8,800 – of his own money — on upgrades. Guess what the house sold for — $890,000.
“I’ve never seen anyone who is so meticulous … someone who is so much of a perfectionist,” says Heather Eaves, an interior designer who has worked with Hammond for several years.
“Now that’s not a bad thing at all,” she says with a smile. “That’s a good thing. I wish more people were like Brent. He’s amazing. He’s does a great job for his clients.”
Always has.
That’s Hammond’s promise to himself and his clients.
“No one cares more than Brent,” says Ray Sidney, who has worked with Hammond numerous times – as a buyer and a seller. “I’ve worked with a few real estate people before and no one comes close to the service and care that Brent provides.
“I was amazed at how he kept in touch with me. He’d call me several times a day to let me know what was happening every step of the way. He does what’s best for his client, not himself. He thinks of himself way after he thinks about the client.
“He does things the right way.”
The ‘Wow’ Factor
For Hammond, it all comes naturally and easily. That’s his nature. That’s his makeup. He’s all about honesty, integrity, character and doing the right thing.
Just how did Hammond decide to work within this business model? Easy.
“When I got into this business 10 years ago and saw how homes would sell so much faster if they were nicer and cleaner, it was an easy call for me,” he says. “Nicer, cleaner houses had a ‘wow’ factor when potential buyers walked in. Those houses got more offers and they got above-asking price.
“I knew by using this business philosophy that I would have much more work up front, but it would be the best thing to do in the end for the seller, for the buyer and for my company. It was a win-win for everyone.”
“Frankly, I don’t know of anyone who goes to the extent Brent does,” Eaves says. “His business model is definitely unique in this day and age.”
When some of Hammond’s friends, colleagues and associates heard about what he was doing, some cheered. Some did not. They felt that if he was doing it, they had to do it too – and that he was setting the bar too high.
So be it, Hammond.
Hammond was clear on how he wanted to conduct his business: The Right Way.
“What we do for clients is we take care of them from point A to point B to point C to point Z through the entire selling and buying process,” he says.
Hammond is this kind of professional:
“If you’re looking for someone to put a sign in front of your house, I’m not your guy. If you’re looking for someone who will help you get the most money from your home, someone who will put in the time, that’s me. I’m your guy. It may take three of four extra weeks to get your home prepared to sell but you’ll make 10’s of thousands of more dollars doing that.”
He has the proof.
Hammond is in the business of helping people. It’s what he has done his whole life.
Born in Long Beach, California, Hammond came from a very difficult background. His mother divorced twice and had to move her children more than 10 times during Brent’s childhood.
“We went where we needed to go to get by,” he says.
He was a “latch-key kid” – he’d come and go from school and other activities as he pleased since his mother was hard at work, trying to provide for Brent, his older brother and younger sister. Sure, he got into trouble a few times, but he turned out to be, in the words of his sister Ariana, “a wonderful human being with a heart of gold.”
That heart of gold developed early on. That’s when Hammond realized he had a gift for giving, a gift for helping people. While working at a national hardware chain at the age of 17, Hammond was embraced by many of the regular customers. Some had him come to their homes to help them out with laborious projects.
One customer liked Hammond so much that he asked if he would consider helping him take care of his elderly and ill father. Hammond agreed.
When Hammond arrived at the home the very first day, without any experience whatsoever in this area, he was stunned while observing a nurse working with the elderly gentleman.
Hammond wasn’t sure he was cut out for it.
“But I made a commitment and I wanted to follow through,” he says. “I’m like that.”
He quickly realized how much he liked the work, how he enjoyed helping people and making them feel good about life and themselves. The elderly man gradually got better and moved back to his own home. Guess whom he asked to come along to help him at his home?
Brent Hammond.
“I don’t know what it is but I’m glad I have the mindset of wanting to help people,” he says. “I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who had gone through some medical issues. We were talking about how hard it is to find a good doctor. The whole profession has changed from serving people to just making money.
“And I see a lot of that in the real estate industry too,” Hammond says, “and I don’t ever want to be a part of that. I want to stay connected with people. That’s what it’s about – helping people. It’s not always about making money.”
Read the magazine article here
Brent Hammond, President
Full Service Real Estate Group
4332 Cerritos Ave. Suite 208
Los Alamitos, Calif. 90727
Direct: 562-331-1117
Office: 714-243-0034
E-mail: Brent@FullServiceRE.com
Ross Lincoln / December 11, 2017
Terrific article! This was very helpful in my research.
/
DarylVTelly / June 16, 2015
Very good write-up. I absolutely appreciate this site.
Keep writing!
/
brendan boyer / June 11, 2015
This site iѕ relevant. I’νe finally foսnd somethіng which helped me. Ҭhanks!
/
charla brassard / May 30, 2015
Awesome article.
/
Brent Hammond / May 16, 2015
Thank you for all the kind words and replies. 🙂 Brent@FullServiceRE.com
/
Claudia Pippin / May 11, 2015
I have read so many articles on sites and blogs and this article is actually one of the best
/
Rachel Norwood / May 9, 2015
Magnificent story and wonderful web site.
/
Julie Hargis / March 24, 2015
Hello, just wanted to tell you, I liked this post. It was helpful. Keep on posting!
/
Dan Cress / March 21, 2015
Such clever work and exposure! Keep up the wonderful work
/
linda.mcfadden / January 8, 2015
really excellent, keep up the great writing and information on small businesses
/
Mariana Hickman / January 2, 2015
Definitely believe what you have written. Thanks for the information.
/
doyle helms / December 29, 2014
There are hundreds of great realtors out there. Brent Hammond sounds like a real good one.
/
Jose Fina / December 23, 2014
Wonderful. We’re looking for a house in Long Beach and want to find a honest realtor. We had bad experiences in the past.
/
Inez Prout / December 18, 2014
Exсellent, what a story — and web site — it is! This site presents valuable information to սs, қeep it up.
/
Dawn Woodrow / December 14, 2014
Maybe you can write subsequent articles relating to this article.
I wish to learn even more things about it!
/
Paula Harris / December 10, 2014
Nice article on Mr. Hammond. This was a great help in my research. Thanks.
/
Janet Mulberry / November 16, 2014
Fantastic article and video! Very informative, helpful and entertaining.
/
Chuck Timberland / October 22, 2014
Glad I found your article. This is what I was looking for. Well done article on Mr. Hammond.
/
Larry Cate / October 17, 2014
Really good story. My sister is moving to Orange County and I’m helping her find a realtor. This story was a big help.
/
Mickey Dubront / August 26, 2014
Good story, but I don’t think Mr. Hammond’s business model is so unique.
/
Dan Gargett / August 25, 2014
Hey There. I found your site from msn. That is a really neatly written article. I’ve bookmarked it and will return to read more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post.
/
Stephen Russell / August 13, 2014
wonderful piece of writing on this topic
/
Mike Kraft / August 10, 2014
Awesome article. Really well done. How can you not choose a realtor like Brent after reading this article on him.
/
Carl Whitfield / August 5, 2014
I love this article! The video too. Very professional. I’m sure Brent Hammond is getting a lot of great feedback, and new business, because of this. Good job.
/
Mac Sheldon / July 31, 2014
This is actually a cool and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this helpful information. Please keep your readers informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
/
Howie Backer / July 30, 2014
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled writer.
/
Vin Aporpen / July 29, 2014
Excellent post! We are linking to this great article on our real estate website. Keep up the great writing.
/
michael barham / July 27, 2014
Whoah, this site is wonderful. i love reading your posts. Keep up the great work! Lots of people are searching round
for this info, you help them greatly with this kind of quality content.
/
Antonio Celestine / July 24, 2014
I am extremely impressed with your writing skills. I particularly like this article a lot. I’m a realtor too so I can really appreciate what you’ve done here. Congrats.
/
Ernie Mankowitz / July 17, 2014
I leave a leave a response whenever I appreciate a post on a site or I have something to add to the discussion. And after this post Brent Hammond, Full Service Real Estate Group, I was excited enough to post a comment 🙂 I do have 2 questions for you if you usually do not mind. Could it be only me or do a few of the remarks come across like they are coming from brain dead individuals? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional sites, I would like to follow you. Could you make a list every one of all your public sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?
/
Suzette Aldridge / July 17, 2014
Appreciate this post. Will try Brent out.
/
Brent Hammond / July 15, 2014
Thank you for all of your kind words! Brent Hammond
/
Mike Loish / July 14, 2014
Pretty nice article. I live in NorCal. If I move down there, now I know who to contact.
/
Lance Grant / July 6, 2014
Keep these excellent stories going please, great job!
/
Carson Sceusa / July 5, 2014
I just applied for a job out of town, and if I need someone to sell our house in Torrance, I’m going to contact Brent. Thanks for the story.
/
Gwen Scott / July 4, 2014
I have been surfing online more than 4 hours today, yet I haven’t found any thing as interesting as your article. In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.
/
Frank Hawkinson / July 2, 2014
Outstanding article AND video interview. I really like your writing and interviewing style. You portrayed this gentleman very well.
/
Herb Lancaster / June 30, 2014
Nice. Just what I needed — a good, honest, reliable RE person. I found it, thanks to you and your story.
/
David Oakley / June 28, 2014
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a
coworker who was doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me dinner because I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this topic here on your website. Brent is amazing.
/
Ben Webster / June 25, 2014
Very interesting story. I was doing research on real estate people in Orange County and came across your article. I liked it a lot. I’ve passed it along to a friend of mine who is looking to buy a house in Laguna.
/
Clair Colon / June 21, 2014
Very impressive article on a very impressive person. I not only loved the story but the video too. Yes, it’s people like Brent who are worthy of an article and media coverage like this. He makes a difference.
/
Craig White / June 20, 2014
I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I encounter a site that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. I particularly like this article, and since I live in Southern California, this really hit home. Believe me, if I need a realtor, Brent is THE GUY I’m going to go to. He sounds terrific.
/