Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! Something that we pride ourselves on at Mainstreet is our relationships and networking opportunities we organize with other countries. Earlier this year, Mainstreet and the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) had two special opportunities to help each organization understand how business, and life, is conducted in our respective countries.
In January, IPAV representatives came to Mainstreet to lay the groundwork to show the power of global connections to young professionals as part of their career development and to further their success in real estate. The delegation from IPAV received a tour of the National Association of REALTORS® headquarters in Chicago, where they presented NAR with a bound copy of the history of IPAV to be placed in the NAR Archives as part of IPAV’s 50th anniversary.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Tuesday, Jan. 25th, and summarizes how Mainstreet and IPAV will work together to increase engagement among its young professionals with both organizations global programs. This includes participation on trade missions, virtual networking opportunities, mentorship, and education. Those in attendance of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding include:
- Pat Davitt, IPAV CEO
- John Gormley, Mainstreet CEO
- Paul McCourtney, IPAV President
- John LeTourneau, Mainstreet President
- Niamh Giffney, IPAV YPN Chair
- Laura Thon, Mainstreet YPN Chair
- Emily Kaczmarek, Mainstreet YPN Vice-Chair
- Linda Dressler, Mainstreet Global Vice-Chair
A few weeks after IPAV’s visit to the Chicagoland area, Mainstreet members enjoyed the opportunity to travel to and meet with members of IPAV, only this time in their home country. Five Mainstreet REALTORS® and one staff member traveled to Ireland in February for one week. Upon landing in Dublin, the delegation from Mainstreet went straight to the government site where they store all the ancient maps and surveys of Irelands properties and learned the process of how they figure out the value of property for auction. Admittedly, a presentation that requires more sleep to process the information but they did their best.
Following the trip to the government site, Mainstreet REALTORS® attended a meeting with CEO of IPAV, and friend of Mainstreet, Pat Davitt, to participate in a tour of their historic building that holds their office space and staff. The first full day of the journey they experienced an IPAV auctioneer fundraising event that is organized by IPAV’s Young Professionals Network, chaired by Niamh Giffney. Attending this was one of many highlights of the trip, where Mainstreet member Kirsten Keller got to throw her auctioneering skills in the mix, selling a vintage tractor for $25,000 (well over asking).
Continuing the tour of the country, Mainstreet members visited Dublin, Meath, Limerick, Killarney, and Kilkenny, to experience Ireland first-hand and meet with agents to learn how they conduct real estate business in their country, as well as learn about market opportunities for potential U.S. interest.
The week-long trip also included a very windy visit to Cliffs of Moher, and a pass thru to kiss the Blarney Stone, on way to meet with Ella Dunphy, first female IPAV President for a tour of Kilkenny. Along our journey we had lunch with Senator Aiden Davitt (yes, a relation to Pat Davitt), the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Meath, and the President of the Rotary Club in Kilkenny, and current President of IPAV Paul McCourtney.
The final night was spent with Brian Dempsey, past IPAV President and friend of Mainstreet, as he hosted our members for dinner at his home which included many of the new individuals that were met on the trip, such as Tom Crosse and Colm Farrell, who had visited Chicago with IPAV the previous week. It was a night full of laughs, authentic Irish music, and poor American karaoke that no one should ever have to listen to.
Knowing how one another does real estate, understanding each others way of life, and finding our common interest leads to a more trusting and successful global network for your business and for Mainstreet. If you have a client wanting to move to the United States, what would stop them from using Mainstreet? Trust and lack of a relationship are two of the biggest factors. While these were two momentous weeks for Mainstreet and IPAV, we know that the future is bright and that the best is yet to come.
Join Mainstreet's Global Facebook Group and Mainstreet's Young Professionals Network (YPN) Facebook Group to stay up-to-date with important information, upcoming events, and general news pertaining to the industry.