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KSR - The personal touch
By Alison Conlon (Edition 42 - February 2007) |
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Many
things have changed in Gran Canaria in the last 16 years - but
Karin-Sybille Rosenfeld of KSR Real Estate believes that her continuing
success is due to the very personal way in which she works. For her,
offering good customer service is the most vital part of the business.
"I give each client personal treatment, it is most important that they
feel at home here, be comfortable with me. I want them to come to me
with the smallest of questions," explained Karin. "And people have a
certain confidence in me, because they know that what they tell me goes
no further. Buying or selling a property is very personal and it needs
to be dealt with discretion.
"Usually when a customer buys a property he or she stays with me for
years, because I offer a good full service package - lawyers, taxes,
utilities and more," she continued. "Sometimes I might see a client
only once a year, for others it might be many times a year, for things
like installing a telephone or opening a bank account. I have clients
who have bought a few times over the years, as their circumstances have
changed, and many of these are now good friends.
The fact that Karin speaks three languages - German, English and
Spanish - means that she can easily communicate with all her customers
and makes the buying process much easier for them.
Her policy certainly seems to be working as not only do many of her
clients come to her through recommendation, but 2006 also saw Karin
winning the title of Best Property Agent 2006 through the Bellevue
Property Guide.
Karin has been in the Gran Canarian estate agency business for 23
years, after training at universities in Barcelona and Malaga. She
launched KSR Real Estate 16 years ago, in the Yumbo Centre, before
moving to a spacious new office in the Danubio Apartments, opposite the
Hotel Continental. How have things changed for Karin during these
years? "Well, there is a big difference. The laws have changed, for
instance, and the buyer is protected now more than ever before. The new
laws make a lot of sense, as they protect the whole business and give
people more faith in buying and selling."
Karin continued: "One of the main changes is, of course, technology. It
has given me many more possibilities. For instance, my website can be
seen by the whole world and is in three languages to make it more
accessible. Having the website makes it easier to find contacts outside
of Gran Canaria. I have many corporation partners that I work with,
like lawyers on mainland Spain and estate agencies in Europe, and I can
be found on my partners´ websites too, not just my own, which
means that my properties can be viewed in many places on the web."
She has enjoyed working with clients all over the world. "Most of my
customers are from Europe, like Germany, the UK, Ireland and
Scandinavia.
Occasionally I have clients from further afield, like China and Japan
and that is always a good experience. It means I have to learn about
special laws and different cultures, contacting the embassies and
lawyers of that country. Quite a few of my clients have had properties
in Florida before deciding to move here, because we really do have the
best climate in the world."
Karin mainly sells property in the south of Gran Canaria, from San
Augustin to Puerto Mogan, although occasionally has very special
properties in the north of the island. "I deal with all kinds of
properties, from small apartments upwards. Occasionally I might have
some land available, but obviously you don’t have the
possibilities so much on this island. Also, occasionally I might rent a
property for a client depending on the service required."
As mentioned above, Karin offers a range of services as part of the
house buying process, which can obviously be difficult for foreigners
to understand when they are used to a certain legal system in their own
country. Every aspect of the process can be organised by KSR, right
from the very beginning, as she explained: "Finding out what customers
want and then if it is available is the most important part of my job.
After we have found a property, I then help them with all aspects of
the proceedings, like checking the property registry, preparing the
notarised purchase contract, sorting mortgages, translations, helping
with tax payments... it is a long list and there is a lot to do, but
that is what I am here for!"
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KSR
Real Estate can be found at Calle Escorial 3, Edif Danubio, Playa del
Ingles,
or can be contacted on 928 766 684,
email
info@ksrgrancanaria.com
or visit the website at www.ksr.grancanaria.com. |
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hotline ksr real estate
(+34) 928 76 66 84
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