THE SOUTHERN SIERRA DIFFERENCE !

At Southern Sierra Properties, we like to think we’re a bit different than the average company. We’d like to share a bit with you about who we are, what we stand for and what makes us different.

OUR MISSION
Southern Sierra Properties is dedicated to empowering our customers with crucial information necessary to make informed, intelligent Real Estate decisions. Exceeding our customer’s expectations is our highest goal!
We pledge to provide each customer with an experienced, knowledgeable, skilled agent who is fanatically dedicated to offering the finest representation and quality service delivered in the timeliest manner.
Working with Southern Sierra Properties makes our customers feel good about investing their hard earned money, instills confidence in their decision, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our customers.

A STAFF THAT CARES
We like to think that OUR STAFF is the secret to our SUCCESS. Each team member is 100% FANATICALLY DEDICATED to helping each customer with their specific and unique requirements.

KEEPING TO HIGHER STANDARDS
You’ll get the whole truth and nothing but the truth from everyone on our team. We take great pride in our integrity, expertise and commitment to our customers and maintain the highest standard of care possible in the industry.
 

  THE HIGHEST RANKED REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN THE KERN RIVER VALLEY!

When selecting a real estate company, it’s crucial to determine where a company ranks in the five most important sales performance categories prior to listing your home for sale: 

Number Of Sales Per Agent

Sales Volume Per Agent

Days On Market 

Listing/Selling Price Spread

Percent Of Listings Sold

Southern Sierra Properties is proud to have earned the NUMBER ONE ranking in the Kern Valley by consistently scoring near the top in each of the five most significant sales categories. 

Selecting a company with a strong showing across all these categories greatly improves your odds of achieving a successful sale. If you’re looking for performance, Southern Sierra Properties is your obvious choice! 

PRICING AND APPRAISAL SPECIALISTS

Why are we so strong? One of the major factors contributing to our success is that we have worked very hard to become EXPERTS in the APPRAISAL and PRICING of property. 

We have been tracking sales statistics for years. Some of the numbers tracked monthly are: median and average prices for all categories of property, median and average prices paid per square foot, days on market and the spread between listing and selling price. 

We are the only company that publishes a comprehensive sales report used by local banks, appraisers and other local Realtors. We post all these numbers on our web page to ensure that it is available to all. 

Having our FINGER ON THE PULSE of the market gives us the edge in pricing property correctly (which is absolutely vital in today’s sales climate). Accurate and realistic pricing is an “art form” and one of the most crucial services we perform for our clients. We are the Valley’s CLOSING SPECIALISTS and have the results to prove it! 

A WEALTH OF TALENT

We are very selective! Only the very best and brightest Realtors are found at Southern Sierra Properties. What this means to you is fewer problems, smooth transactions and extremely competent professional service, 

Our ELITE TEAM of Realtors has gone far beyond the basic minimum requirements required to obtain a license. Our staff has a strong commitment to the profession as demonstrated by their ongoing pursuit of continuing education. Our entire staff has earned or is in the process of earning National Designations awarded for educational achievement. No other company can boast such a wealth of talent.

We have two Realtors holding the SRES designation (Senior Real Estate Specialist). Three of our Realtors passed a rigorous twelve course sequence and earned the GRI designation (Graduate Realtor Institute.

The Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) is the highest Designation awarded to sales associates. The CRS is awarded to those very few who have mastered a series of advanced marketing classes and who demonstrate a high level sales production. There is only ONE Realtor in the Kern Valley who has earned the CRS and this Realtor is on our staff.

The Real Estate Masters program (REM) is for GRI designees that have the desire to elevate their real estate knowledge base to the next level. There is only ONE Realtor in the entire Valley that holds the prestigious designation of Real Estate Master and that Realtor is a valuable member of our team. 
 

POWERFUL ON-LINE REAL ESTATE HUB!

80% of today’s buyers begin their search for a home on the internet. Having a strong presence in this medium is vital to sales success. We have invested thousands of hours building our site and continually improve and update the contents to ensure that it provides the most current, accurate and up-to-date information available. 

Google and other top search engines greatly favor our site and give us FIRST PAGE ORGANIC positioning for just about all Valley real estate searches. Visitors can view all the Active MLS listings plus all the property Sold during the past 6 months. Sales Reports showing price trends over two and the past six years are posted along with all the new MLS listings submitted during the last 14 days. 

To ensure your property gains the greatest marketing exposure possible, all our listings are “SHOWCASED” on the internet’s #1 National Real Estate site – REALTOR.COM. “SHOWCASED HOMES” receive top billing in a prime spot resulting in 500% more viewings. 

Southern Sierra also has a very strong presence on ZILLOW where our listings receive high impact placement, allow for detailed property descriptions and multiple pictures. 

This tremendous exposure to the largest audience of buyers helps give your home the visibility it deserves! 

www.southern-sierra.com is one of the finest, easy to navigate, real estate sites you’ll ever encounter. We’re so proud of our web page that we dare you to compare! After visiting our local competitors, you’ll understand why our visitor count remains so consistently high month after month and year after year. 

WE’RE MARKETING EXPERTS!

A Real Estate Brokerage is first and foremost a MARKETING and ADVERTISING company. When people hire Southern Sierra Properties to sell their home, they expect and deserve a professional grade effort. Our creative team takes great pride in developing individual marketing packages that produce phenomenal results. 

Our staff continually enrolls in Advanced Learning Courses that center around the topic of marketing. We have learned from the best and brightest marketers in the business and apply our ever increasing knowledge base on a daily basis. 

We have learned to be great copywriters producing powerful property descriptions that capture the essence and character of your home. Our goal is for buyer’s to put your home on their “must see” list after reading our intriguing description. 

We have learned from “Staging Experts” on how to prepare a property for the market. Professional photographers have taught us how to take flattering pictures that shows off your home’s “best face” to the internet world. 

These learned marketing skills are what separate us from the competition! The application of these advanced skills is what helps us achieve such a high level of sales performance! 
 

LEGAL AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE 

Buying or selling real estate leads you immediately into the world of contracts, disclosure statements, title reports, escrow instructions, legal issues, inspection reports and the many other miscellaneous documents that accompany all transactions. Southern Sierra Properties is well known throughout the Valley for its legal and technical expertise in the field. 

Our entire staff is thoroughly grounded in the fundamentals of this complex business. We have a complete and thorough understanding of all the legal documents that are used to list and sell property. We keep current on all the new developments in the field. You can rely upon us to help you successfully navigate your sale through the maze and blizzard of paperwork.

Since we have been down this road hundreds and hundreds of times, we are able to explain everything in simple terms that everyone can understand. We take all the confusion and mystery out of the buying and selling process.

Most importantly, we are extremely proficient at writing contracts that protect the interests of our clients. We have a thorough working knowledge and complete understanding of all the forms and agreements that comprise a real property transaction. We are known for our attention to detail. You can rest assured that, when you hire us, everything will be done correctly and according to every letter of the law.

The net result of this expertise and experience is that our escrows sail through and, most importantly, close on time. 

FULL TIME AGENTS = FULL TIME ATTENTION!

No part-timers or recreational Realtors are employed by Southern Sierra Properties. Every member of our team is a full time professional. Our Realtors depend entirely upon their income from Real Estate for their livelihood. They have no other means of support! No-one in our office collects a pension, disability payments or Social Security.
What this means to you is an agent who is available on a 24/7 basis! Our Realtors are focused entirely on Real Estate, not on their hobbies or golf. Rest assured that when you become a client of Southern Sierra, you will have the full attention of your agent and the Broker.


WE COOPERATE WITH ALL BROKERS

What “cooperation” means in the Real Estate world is the willingness to share or split the commission earned on a sale. 
Due to the exposure of all listings on the internet and the Multiple Listing System, all Realtors and Brokers throughout the State have access to your property profile. If a non-Valley Realtor wants to show and sell your home, they can expect to be rewarded with 50% of the commission earned.
Southern Sierra Properties cooperates 100% with all local and out of the Valley Realtors! We do this to maximize the exposure and create more opportunities to successfully sell your home. 
Please be aware that not all companies are willing to cooperate in this manner. 

A “HANDS –ON…IN THE TRENCHES”…BROKER

Tom Poplawski, is a hands-on broker, actively involved in listing and selling property on a daily basis. As such, he definitely has his “finger on the pulse” of the local market. In addition, Tom is involved in each and every transaction that comes through the office. Every listing contract, sales contract, title report, escrow instruction, etc is personally reviewed by this broker.
In his 19 years of continuous experience (having well over 1,000 sales), there is little that Tom hasn’t seen. Prior to opening SSP in 2001, he was the Valley’s #1 Realtor for many consecutive years. He knows what it takes to sell and market property. He authors a weekly Real Estate column published in the Kern Valley Sun and has done so since 1995. He has vast experience in all aspects of the trade: from land development, parcel maps, lot line adjustments, zone changes, variances, precise development plans, parcel mergers, easements, summary vacations, new home construction, etc.
This broker has been involved in just about every type of negotiation possible and is available to each and every one of the company’s clients. He also consults with the agents on a daily basis regarding the progress of their listings, sales and escrows.
What this means to you is that a seasoned troubleshooter is overseeing each and every transaction, a manager who is vitally interested in the successful closing of every escrow. You can feel confident that at Southern Sierra Properties you will have a quick sale, few problems and a smooth transaction.

  THE FINAL WORD!

Today’s real estate market presents unexpected obstacles along with unusual opportunities.

Some agents and companies that led in less challenging times often find themselves at a loss when confronting present day conditions. That’s because today’s business climate requires tremendous experience and seasoned trouble-shooting.

The Realtors at Southern Sierra properties are among the local markets most skilled, resourceful and successful players. Our commitment to continuing education and our advanced specialized training in sales, marketing and negotiating has positioned us to excel in these challenging times.

Our Realtors are very well versed in the fundamentals of the business. We truly understand the current market and know what it takes to get the job done! 
Rest assured we will always attempt to show our appreciation for the business given to us by customers, such as you, by rendering a service that is just a bit more than expected!