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Not so with IMI’s launch/reservation program. An innovative approach to marketing distinctive real estate offerings, the launch/reservation system is designed to be efficient, enjoyable and, most important, as helpful as possible to buyers throughout the entire acquisition experience. The process begins upwards of 140 days prior to the grand opening of a planned IMI community. Even as developers may be in the most preliminary stages of design and planning, an active and highly targeted marketing campaign is directed toward prospective buyers, offering them as much detail as possible about the various features and amenities of the upcoming project. “We’ll offer broad strokes of what the properties and the amenities are going to look like,” says IMI Principal Partner Dan Collins. “We’ll give buyers an idea of what costs they can expect and an idea of the individual elements of the offering.” Interested clients must first purchase a reservation—a deposit of sorts ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 through which they express their interest in moving toward the next step of the process. The reservation, Collins emphasizes, is fully refundable, offering complete freedom to buyers who might subsequently change their minds. “The reservation simply secures their place in an established order that lets them later select a piece of property,” he says. Steps to OwnershipA little unusual math also comes into play. Case in point is MetroClub, IMI’s condominium project in Philadelphia. With some 130 condos planned, more than 400 reservations were actually sold—a seemingly lopsided ratio that actually makes perfect sense. “We’ve found that we generally sell properties on a one-to-three or one-to-four ratio from reservations,” Collins says. About two to three weeks prior to the grand opening, reservation holders receive a letter of intent (or “LOI”), which requires an additional deposit—also fully refundable. This LOI represents the next step in the process. As is the case with other elements of the launch/reservation system, letters of intent are helpful to buyers, giving them an opportunity to gauge their genuine level of interest before proceeding. In fact, of some 400 LOI’s sent out for MetroClub, 168 were returned with the necessary deposit. “It’s helpful for us as well, because we know that there are 168 clients who are interested enough to take the next step,” says Collins. See It to Believe ItHere, the process moves out of the marketing phase into the actual sales process. Prior to the MetroClub grand opening day, where buyers actually select their properties, prospective customers visited the construction site. Properly outfitted with hard hats, they experienced, firsthand, the floor plan options, unit locations and their respective views, and the building amenities. “The advantage we provide our clients of carefully and systematically evaluating the offering over time is not commonly afforded in a more traditional real estate transaction,” Collins says. At last the day of the grand-opening event arrives, concluding the five-month launch/reservation process. All reservation holders are invited to the site—in the case of MetroClub, they were able to inspect two furnished and decorated condominiums. Clients are called in the order in which they placed their reservations. They make their final selection, the choice is announced to the gathered crowd and a “sold” sticker goes on a large board specifying the purchaser’s condominium. In the end, more than 100 MetroClub residences were sold in a single day. “It’s kind of an emotional roller coaster,” says Collins, noting that later reservation holders keep their fingers crossed that at least one of the condominiums they picked will be available when it is their turn to select. “It’s a pretty intense time.” Once a condo is sold, the buyer moves into a contract area where all necessary papers and documentation are ready and waiting for signature. But there’s no rush. True to IMI’s focus on making the process as convenient as it is enjoyable, all paperwork is provided to buyers well in advance of the closing so they may appropriately review it beforehand. Also, select lenders are on site to discuss any necessary financing—another element of the smooth, systematic feel that characterizes the launch/reservation program. “We want to make sure that there are absolutely no surprises for any of our customers,” says Collins. “This is designed to be as seamless as it possibly can be.” By the Numbers
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Buying property—no matter how exciting or exotic—can seem like a complicated and time-consuming undertaking. Find the property you want, secure financing, wade through reams of cumbersome legal and financial documents, and, months later, it is finally over.