Published July 2001

Baseball players not the only ones to hit home runs

We use a lot of sports metaphors in real estate to describe our business dealings. Since the Mariners are all the talk of late, why not, it occurred to me, shamelessly play off their success and have some fun with readers. Here’s a sampling of a few common real estate sports metaphors:

Double-pop: Agent earns listing and selling side of commission. Tough to do consistently. But it’s sweet when it works.

Home run: Buy low, sell high. A no-brainer.

Strong defense: An investment strategy that says “I don’t always push it on the rent-increase end of my investments, but I never let a dime slip through my fingers on the operating-expense end.”

Carrying this a step further, I came up with a few of my own:

The Jay Buhner: This is the real estate investor who has hit quite a few big home runs, but his best years are behind him. Everybody likes this investor — colorful type — and success seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Tip to real estate brokers: Time to start consolidating his investments to prepare for retirement.

The Edgar Martinez: Steady Eddie investor who seems to have become successful by avoiding failure and staying in the game a long time. Makes sound, reliable investment decisions. Hit in key situations when he needed it during his kids’ college years and can still dial one in today in crunch time. Tip to real estate brokers: Best client you can get here. Look for the next ‘Gar when this one retires.

The Ichiro: New to the investment real estate game here but has been successful in other markets. Very decisive. Nimble. Scrappy type who will buy any property that makes money. Tip to real estate brokers: This guy’s no flash in the pan. Position him into properties for the long haul.

The Dan Wilson: This investor will work his day job at Boeing, run to his duplex at lunch to paint a vacant unit, kiss his wife when he gets home, tuck the kids in at 8 p.m. and read that day’s Wall Street Journal before going to bed. Lunch-pail type. Tip to real estate brokers: This is the client you simply love to do business with whether he’s active in the market at the moment or not. Keep him on the tickler file for regular lunches.

The Jamie Moyer: Savvy, successful, confident, always has a few secrets he’s not willing to tell anyone. Never overpowering with a splashy deal, but always seems to come out with “W’s” at the end of the day. Tip to real estate brokers: Put him on the same tickler schedule as Dan Wilson. You’ll learn more from one lunch with these guys than 10 lunches with your real estate pals.

Small ball: This is the investment strategy that says “I don’t care what I look like doing it, I’m going to find a way to win.” It takes a little Dan Wilson attitude, a bit of Ichiro splash, some Jay Buhner fun, an Edgar clutch hit, and a Jamie Moyer will to win. A real winning strategy.

Good luck out there. Now let’s play ball!

Tom Hoban is CEO of Everett-based Coast Real Estate Services, a property management and real estate advisory company specializing in multi-family and commercial investment properties. He can be contacted by phone at 425-339-3638 or send e-mail to tomhoban@coastmgt.com.

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