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    North of NYC North of NYC By Houlihan Lawrence By Houlihan Lawrence by
    North of NYC North of NYC

    Houlihan Lawrence has guided people North of NYC for over 130 years. As a family of companies providing real estate, mortgage and title services, we are here to lead you through every step of the way.

    I just returned from attending the Spring RDC (Relocation Directors Council) meeting where 110 relocation directors from around the Country met at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort for two days. RDC is an exclusive organization whose members are selected for experience, industry involvement, and a commitment to client satisfaction with the highest degree of professionalism.

    The theme of the meeting was the three NEW R's: Re-bound, Re-build, Re-position. How apropos! The relocation industry endured the same crushing blows as the real estate industry over the last 2 years. Now it's time to re-bound, re-build and re-position. As an aside, we at Houlihan Lawrence have seen a definite increase in our relocation business. Companies are feeling more confident in the economy and are once again investing in employee mobility.

    The meeting consisted of two great panel discussions. The first was titled "New Relocation Business Models" and included highly regarded speakers from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, SIRVA Relocation, and Home Depot. It was a lively discussion that covered everything from testing new appraisal policies to the very controversial move of some companies to refer directly to a sales associate rather than go through a relocation division. That last point caused quite a stir in the room.

    [caption id="attachment_2408" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="L to R: John D'Ambrogio - Baird & Warner, Pam O'Connor - Leading RE, Tracey Gatlin - SIRVA, Jan Ferguson LeQuier - Home Depot"][/caption]

    The second panel was titled "REO's and Their Effect on the Market". There was a lot of great information shared about the effects of REO’s on relocation sales as well as in-depth talk about short sales in the relocation process. Sounds like a yawner, but we're seeing this in many markets around the Country.

    Our group was also treated to a quick hello from Peggy Smith, formerly of Microsoft and now CEO of Worldwide ERC®, as well as a presentation by Chris Collie, former CEO of Worldwide ERC®. It is a real treat to know how highly regarded RDC is by the team at WERC. They've supported our organization for years and promised to continue.

    Even with all the great speakers and information shared, I still find the networking to be most beneficial. An RDC meeting allows me to be face to face with my counterparts from around the Country that share information, and most importantly referrals, throughout the year. I love the opportunity to meet in person and say thank you to all the relocation directors that entrust us with their valuable client referrals, and thank them for handling our client referrals with such care and attention to detail. Members of RDC are simply the best of the best and I’m honored to be a member for over 10 years.