As a property asset seller, you want a realtor with the highest probability to secure a buyer. Herbie gets immediate traction through his extensive contacts and industry knowledge. Herbie currently maintains a listing portfolio of some of the provinces most impressive country estates and never shies away from oddball assets, hard sells or lengthy, strategic processes. He has entered a noctilucent pantheon in Canadian real-estate by establishing record-setting sales in and out of the Laurentian region. He was a key-player in the single largest parcel of land ever sold in Canada (65,000 acres), which created a whir in realtor circles and also in the media. The asset was Kenauk and it represented a unique investment opportunity to acquire one of the largest, privately held parcels of land in Canada and North America.
With a surface core of 65,000 acres, Kenauk umbrellas 70 private lakes and is home to an exclusive gated community with 13 luxury chalets and private marina. A natural river winds through the land and flows for 15 kilometres from pictures que Lac Papineau towards the Ottawa River. Kenauk stands apart in rarity but neighbours the charming village of Montebello, Quebec which is home to the stately Château Montebello The Montebello area has been a destination of choice for world leaders for decades. In the early days it was the hunting and fishing grounds of the Seigniory Club, Montebello and it was the most prestigious private club in Canada. It later hosted the G-7 summit, NATO meetings and a North American Leaders Summit.
Because Herbie had sold hunt camps to the Desmarais family and the Bich family, the seller: Oxford Properties came to him as the realtor who sells those types of property assets. Through his separate consultancy firm Herbie has honed expertise in real estate law, accounting, taxation, navigating land surveys as well as rental management. He has risen in the field because his team handle the project from inception to closing and are well accustomed to selling 65,000 acres \ 70 lakes as well as half an acre.
They took the approach that worked well for the hunt camps and applied it to Kenauk and they were selected with the global commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle(JLL). They put together a sales marketing campaign and it was a vendor funded sales and marketing campaign because it was such a significant asset, they realized that there would be international interest. They took a commercial approach to it, rather than a residential approach, where the owners will fund the marketing campaign. For promotion, they worked with their Vancouver and New York office, and came up with a comprehensive marketing strategy. With the help of Sotheby’s International in New York City, they got an exclusive campaign in the Financial Times Worldwide Edition to entice the right buyers. They did the marketing, photography, videos, brochures in the fall and then the calls started to come in.
The whole process wasn’t traditional for Kenauk. They had a final bid date and ended up with 12 firm bids. To see their potential purchases up-close and personal, Herbie organized boat trips, helicopter rides, ATV treks out to the land parcels for serious buyers, and subtracted a portion of the marketing budget for client entertaining. At the end of the day the client was elated because the original pitch that Herbie made was exactly what they delivered. And the results will tally because-if the property owner wants, at some point to resell-they’re probably going to come to Herbie.He was the directly responsible individual for the sale with a unique value proposition. After all, when you match magic and logic and have access to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s reach into a network of high-net-worth individuals, a deal is most likely to stick.
For more information about this sale contact Herbie.
City Office
240-4115 Sherbrooke O.,
Westmount, QC H3Z 1K9
Country Office
2670 Chem. du Lac Supérieur,
Lac-Supérieur, QC J0T 1P0
C. 1.819.429.9019
O. 1.819.681.7557
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