February 14, 2007

Stonelake Ranch Announces Broker Program

THONOTOSASSA, FL – With some 37 homes under construction or completed in Stonelake Ranch, re-sales have begun to slowly enter the market.  The community’s sales team has announced a broker program which will support re-sales with additional internal marketing and sales efforts.

Marketing a home is an expensive process for individual realtors including print and web advertising, direct mail and open house events, all of which must be paid for up front.    The Stonelake Ranch broker program offers agents the opportunity to have the listing marketed at no cost to the agent in exchange for a one percent referral fee at closing.  The program includes placement on the Stonelake Ranch website, a marketing brochure for the property, inclusion in the onsite topography display and re-sales book and a yard sign.  Traditional “"For Sale" yard signs are not permitted in the community unless the seller has listed the property through Stonelake Ranch Realty or the listing broker has contracted for the "Referral Marketing Program."

Agents who enter the program will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the Stonelake Ranch sales team, which has exclusively marketed and sold the community.  According to David Cooper, Stonelake Ranch’s Sales and Marketing Director, efforts to sell these re-sales will fit nicely into the ongoing marketing plan for the community as a whole.  To date, more than 60 percent of homesites at Stonelake Ranch have been sold.

The major benefits to agents are no up-front cost of marketing the property, constant exposure of the property to guests of the Stonelake Ranch sales center and website and the wide-reaching overall advertising campaign.  “This is a tremendous offer to agents,” said Cooper.  “It’s like having a sales staff at your service with no fee until the final sale.  We expect it to be well-received among our real estate colleagues.”

Stonelake Ranch is being developed by Charles Funk and Jeff Meehan, who also developed the successful Arbor Greene community in New Tampa.  Stonelake Ranch is located off the McIntosh Road exit of Interstate 4, just 25 minutes from downtown Tampa.  For more information, call (813) 986-0062 or visit us online at www.stonelakeranch.com.  The sales center is open from 10:00 – 5:00  Monday through Saturday and from 12:00 – 5:00 on Sunday.