remonline.com
Francis MacDonald (left) and Andrew
Cimerman
http://www.remonline.com/home/?p=11931
MacDonald brings HomeLife back to Atlantic Canada
By Jim Adair
HomeLife Realty Services has partnered with real
estate veteran Francis MacDonald to expand the
brand in Atlantic Canada and beyond. MacDonald,
60, is president and CEO of the new HomeLife
Atlantic, and was named vice-president at the
corporate level for HomeLife.
His Halifax brokerage, which has 28 agents, will be
the base for expansion plans that would see up to
36 new HomeLife offices across Atlantic Canada
during the next three to five years.
%u201CI was one general short in this company,%u201D says
Andrew Cimerman, HomeLife%u2019s founder and CEO.
%u201CAnd I found my lost brother, Francis MacDonald.
He has the knowledge, energy to spare and the
commitment to win and win big. And he doesn%u2019t
know it yet, but he%u2019ll be taking on a lot more than
Atlantic Canada.%u201D
MacDonald has been in the business for 34 years. He was the first to bring the Prudential banner to
Canada in 1992, when he acquired 34 real estate offices from Central Guaranty Trust. Although the
Prudential experiment didn%u2019t work out, %u201Call of those real estate offices still exist,%u201D he says.
MacDonald then ran a Coldwell Banker franchise for several years before signing on with GMAC in
2004.
%u201CI was thinking of going independent and building an Atlantic Canada connection again, because at
one time I had 36 offices,%u201D says MacDonald. %u201CI met with Andrew, looking to draw a bunch of
information so I could do my own mission. To my surprise, I realized the values and focus and
direction HomeLife has is comparable to what I was trying to develop. Rather than try and invent the
wheel myself, I decided to jump on board.%u201D
%u201CFrancis is going to go out and broadcast the HomeLife story,%u201D says Cimerman. %u201CWe have a higher
standards product that%u2019s upscale and community and people-oriented. That%u2019s not what I see with our
competitors. They enjoy the big fees and the big ride but I think the gravy train is over. We are the
most aggressively priced and the most affordable product, bar none, among the top competitors.
We bring more value for the money than any other brand without question, but people have to know
that.
%u201CThe competition for the business is tough and a lot of agents are not making money and are paying
exorbitant fees. At some point it%u2019s got to hurt too much.%u201D
HomeLife is a well-known brand in Atlantic Canada. At one point the former HomeLife Pat King
franchise had 26 offices. This year, before the launch of MacDonald%u2019s new franchise, HomeLife had
seven brokerages, spread throughout all the Atlantic Provinces.
%u201CMy plan is to get between 400 and 500 agents,%u201D with about 100 in the flagship Halifax office,
MacDonald says. Brokers will have the option of starting their own HomeLife franchises or
partnering with MacDonald to open a branch of HomeLife Atlantic.
He says many smaller companies have a hard time developing training systems for agents because
the brokers are busy selling real estate themselves. %u201CAs a regional organization, we can bring in
trainers, bring in support systems, look after accounting, and do a lot of the stuff that small
brokerages may not be able to do because it%u2019s too time-consuming. A lot of brokers are really
excited when you bring them the opportunity to give up the hassles so they can do what they do
best.%u201D
HomeLife has been upgrading its systems and services, including the development of new training
courses for brokers and agents. It has adopted the motto %u201Cno agents left behind%u201D. It also has a new
community outreach program called %u201CNo family left hungry%u201D. Collection boxes are being distributed to
brokerages so agents and the community can fill them with items to be donated to local food banks.
On the promotional front, HomeLife is using billboards across the country to promote its %u201CGreen &
Gold, Got it Sold%u201D slogan.
MacDonald says that in his experience, major franchises have difficulty serving the needs of brokers
in Atlantic Canada, %u201Cnot only because of geography but because of dollars and cents. This company
recognizes that if you can find the right people in that area, they can be an extension of the brand.
The biggest value of a brand is the people who work with that brand.
%u201CNow that I have a 25-year-old son (Brendon, his director of business development) who is getting
into the business with me, it%u2019s going to afford me the opportunity to share what I have with the
brokers in Atlantic Canada,%u201D he says.
%u201CI want to share my successes. I have a system that works %u2013 it is driven from the top down, like
HomeLife. I believe everybody has the ability to be a successful agent or broker. Real estate is all
about relationships and systems that are going to help you develop and maintain those
relationships.%u201D

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