Meet Denis Raczkowski, Broker, REALTOR

Working with the SMARTEST agency on the Crystal Coast

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I have a first name that is always misspelled (a single ‘N,’ not two) and a last name that is always mispronounced (hint: Ratch-KOV-ski.) With a last name like Raczkowski, you know I wasn’t born here but I got here as fast as I could. Indeed, I was accepted to Duke University before I got my driver’s license. Once in NC I really never really left. I am married to my first wife,  I have two daughters who still speak to me and I am a grandparent twice.  Although I pledge allegiance to everything NC, especially the barbeque with vinegar based sauce, the natives insist on calling me a Yankee.

 

I earned my bachelors as well as my doctorate degree from Duke University and I joined the Duke faculty where I did research and taught neurobiology.  I summed up my academic experiences in a memoir entitled “Thursdays with Irving, ” available on Amazon. For my second act, I followed another passion, real estate. I invested privately purchasing and selling residential and commercial properties. Over twenty years ago, my wife and I purchased two direct oceanfront properties situated in the 7000 blocks of Emerald Isle. We retired to Emerald Isle a couple of years ago. I flunked retirement and returned to school to get my real estate license and to help turn your realty dreams into reality.  My passion for the Outer Banks and Emerald Isle prompted me to write the book, “Live Where You Vacation," also available on Amazon.

 

To request an e-copy, send an email to:

Denis@CrystalCoastRealtyGroup.com

 

To succeed in academia, you need to read well, speak well and write well.  Together, these are the building blocks of communication. In the real estate business, COMMUNICATION is one of the key traits of a successful agent.  By communication I don’t mean cold calling or sending out drip campaigns written by some flunky ghost writer.

 

Communication is reading about homes in the MLS to better educate my buyers about the homes we are going to see.

 

Communication is writing a compelling description of home I am putting in the MLS, so it attracts the eyeballs of agents and their buyers.

 

Communication is speaking precisely, positively and passionately for my buyers and sellers when I represent them at the negotiating table.

 

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE is the second key trait of a successful real estate agent. Exceptional service is all about keeping my clients best interests front and center  of every stage of the transaction, from looking at homes, to making offers to negotiating deals. In the process, I give my clients everything they need and more than they expect.

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EDUCATION is the third key trait of a successful real estate agent. I like to educate my clients on the LOCAL real estate market. I do that by recording  videos and writing blogs on how market changes affect buyers and sellers differently. I’ll sit down with my clients and show them step by step how to buy and sell a home in Emerald Isle and anywhere on the Crystal Coast. I will educate them on how they can get the best price for their home. My goal is to build trust through education.

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TRUST is the fourth and foremost key of a successful real estate agent. Part of building trust is demonstrating that I know what I am doing. I build trust by doing what I promise. Another part of building trust is never fudging the rules. As my grandmother used to say, "Make good choices even when no one is looking." Trust is all about leading my clients to their best possible outcome, not mine. 

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In Emerald Isle and everywhere along the Crystal Coast, many properties are second homes. This presents multiple unique challenges for buyers, sellers, and agents, alike. One big challenge is getting the buyer, from a distance, up to speed on our current real estate market. We are a very local market and the trends you might read about in a national outlet such as Zillow simply do not apply here. Second, buying a vacation home is not all like buying a primary home. The priorities are quite different.  In a vacation home location and proximity to the water trumps everything.  Clients will fall in love with a dated, galley kitchen when they have a view of the Atlantic Ocean out the window over the sink. Third, there are lending challenges. When we purchased our homes in Emerald Isle, the loans were  sold to a bank in Ohio.  The banker called and asked how a stick built home could appraise for so much money.  Well, I said, maybe it has something to do with my backyard running into the Atlantic Ocean.  The best way I’ve found to address these unique challenges is to get my clients in front of my videos and blogs to prepare them for the next step and the next step and so on.

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Bottom line,  I always tell would be buyers that the best way to work around these multiple challenges unique to the Emerald Isle real estate market is to work with a LOCAL agent who knows the LOCAL real estate market. Work with an agent who will listen and put your goals and interests front and center throughout the transaction process.

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My advice to sellers in the Emerald Isle real estate market is do not, I repeat, do not attempt to sell real estate in Emerald Isle or anywhere on the Crystal coast all by yourself.  Selling your property is very personal and very emotional undertaking.  It will require honest dialog preferably with a trained professional and not a monologue with yourself. It is best to work with someone who makes you feel confident in the decisions you will be making. Treat it like a marriage. A marriage works best when there is trust and communication between TWO parties, the seller and the agent representing that seller.  Spend energy to find an agent who makes a connection with you, someone like me.

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I associated with the Crystal Coast Realty Group because it is a company that  provides the technology and support to allow me to work smarter and not harder.  I can devote more time improving your chances and my other clients' chances for a successful and stress-less real estate experience. This is also the company whose mission goes hand in glove with mine: to educate and to serve my clients to the best of my abilities.

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Although I enjoy the real estate profession, I also value my leisure time Most days you’ll find me riding my recumbent bicycle on the streets of Emerald Isle, where I live. And if I’m not riding I walk along the beach. I enjoy reading books by authors as diverse as James Joyce and James Patterson. I too am an author of a blog on my website www.EI Homesforsale.com and I’ve written several books including “Live Where You Vacation” a guide to the unique challenges of living on an island.  

 

Just because you can buy or sell almost everything with a couple of clicks on your phone or laptop does not mean that you should buy or sell real estate, all by yourself.  ‘Do It Yourself’ is fine for purchasing commodities. However, a real estate purchase here on the Crystal Coast is decidedly NOT a commodity. You need a team of professionals to make your realty dreams (and not your nightmares) a reality. That team better include a banker, an attorney and your real estate agent and that agent better be me!

 

Call or text me @ 919-308-2292 with your realty dreams or send an email to: Denis@CrystalCoastRealtyGroup.com. This could be the beginning of a great friendship.

 

Denis Raczkowski BROKER | REALTOR at Crystal Coast Realty Group

NC Real Estate Broker License No. 302133

Working With Real Estate Agents Brochure

M   919-308-2292  E  Denis@CrystalCoastRealtyGroup.com

W   www.EIHomesforSale.com

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                  Emerald Isle Vacation Home Specialist