Exit Realty Inter Lake is a small fish in the big real estate pond – a 25-member team based in the quaint Nova Scotia towns of Bridgewater and Liverpool, about an hour south of Halifax.
Yet in a prestigious government ceremony in Ottawa for Canada’s Volunteer Awards (the highest volunteer recognition awards in the country), this unassuming brokerage was recently honoured as the 2016 Business Leader winner for Atlantic Canada, highlighting its best practices in community leadership.
On the Government of Canada’s website, Exit Realty Inter Lake is described as “a true role model to other companies.”
Exit Realty Corporation could not be more proud of its over-achieving and community minded franchisee. It emphasizes in particular the contributions of Exit Realty Inter Lake co-owner Jon Walker.
Walker has been with Exit Realty almost from the beginning, and “is a very special individual,” says Joyce Paron, Exit’s divisional president for Canada.
“He is an original, a true entrepreneur who leads by fine example,” Paron says. “He made an incredible comeback years ago from a debilitating stroke. Even during his time of rehab he would be on the phone with me, still doing business. He loves what he does. The brokerage is really part of who he is; it drove him to get better.”
Paron is particularly impressed by how Walker “exercises his leadership through participation” and community engagement. Under his leadership, Exit Realty Inter Lake has received multiple achievement and performance awards, culminating with the recent government volunteer award, which recognized the brokerage for its involvement with Habitat for Humanity (the Exit Realty Corporation’s charity of choice).
Walker, his business partner/co-owner Mark Seamone, and their staff, besides supporting many other charitable organizations, for years have partnered with Habitat for Humanity and have been instrumental to its success in the area, leading to significant social impact. Walker and the team helped initiate a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. They started out by selling hot dogs to raise money and now have upped the fund-raising ante to include golf tournaments and gala dinners.
“It makes sense that Habitat is the company’s charity of choice, because you’re helping people get a home. It’s just a perfect fit,” says Walker.
The most recent dinner, with guest speaker CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge, sold out in two hours and raised $42,000.
In total, the small Nova Scotia brokerage has raised more than $240,000 for Habitat for Humanity, supporting underprivileged families in their dream of becoming homeowners, Walker says. (The parent franchise’s pledges now total several million dollars.)
“I handed the keys over to one family. It was a very rewarding experience,” says Walker.
On a recent home build, Exit Realty Inter Lake was named a Habitat for Humanity title corporate sponsor, an honour that was given to the company at no cost, although it usually carries a hefty price tag, Walker notes.
As per Exit Realty protocol, a portion of every transaction is donated to the charity. Sales reps participate willingly in home building, performing tasks that don’t require skilled trades such as installing insulation.
“People ask how we convinced our agents to volunteer,” says Walker. “We didn’t! Everyone jumped on board unasked.”
Historically, farming, fishing and lumber sustained the brokerage’s market area. Nowadays the primary industry is a Michelin tire plant, Walker says. The region is not a big target for international buyers, but the market is reasonably stable. Walker puts the average price of a single family home at around $200,000 and says that being a small, close-knit community, clients can last a lifetime.
“We sell to parents and then to their children.”
As traditional as this may sound, being up to speed on technology is crucial for sales reps.
“You can’t limit yourself or put up road blocks. Embrace technology,” Walker advises. He says he lives by the Disney motto, “if you can dream it, you can do it.”
After first joining Exit Realty, “We went to conventions and trainings, and they were all for bigger operations than ours,” says Walker. “We thought, ‘Oh, so we can’t do such and such.’ But with the Exit formula we could. And now we just do.”
An inordinate number of the people in his office “have done 250 deals in a lifetime already,” he says. “That’s remarkable for a small-time office.”
An only child (“my agents are my family”), born and educated in Halifax, Walker attended St. Mary’s University, took geology and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
“It seemed relevant,” he says, “I was always fascinated with land and there was so much talk in Nova Scotia about drilling for oil.”
After graduating he created some developments on land he owned outside Bridgewater, became attached to the area, got his real estate license and eventually joined forces with Doug White (now Exit Realty Inter Lake’s broker of record) to create Inter Lake Realty in 1983.
There were five people working there 14 years later when they decided to join the Exit Realty franchise, attracted by the residual-focused business model and the concept of sponsorship/mentorship of incoming agents.
Today the staff has multiplied and Walker and Seamone have garnered various awards from the franchise for dedication and excellence. Years ago they purchased an 1890 landmark Victorian home to use both as their head office and as a residence for Walker and his golden retriever.
The dog acts as the office greeter and can often be found lying on the office floor amidst a gang of clients’ children.
“No one complains. It’s calming,” says Walker.
Having had a stroke, Walter’s outlook has changed. “You never know what could happen in future. I appreciate things more now. I make sure I look after myself. I don’t put things off,” he says.
But his love for the real estate business, which he views as his life’s work, remains intact.
“It’s a rewarding career,” he says. “You are always helping someone with their challenges.”
Susan Doran is a Toronto-based freelance writer who has been contributing to REM since its very first issue.
