Danan Powell Sets his Clients up for Success

“I treated the person across the table as if they were my mother.” 

For Danan Powell, real estate is about not only helping people reach their real estate goals but also treating them with the respect they deserve. Having been in the industry since 2002, Danan has acquired some specialized skills to assist his clients which directly helps his business.

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens 

Before entering real estate, Danan worked in the IT industry but explained, “IT wasn’t my passion. It was something I did so I could invest in real estate.” After the dot-com bubble burst, Danan found himself out of a job and trying to determine what to do now. Fortunately for him, when that virtual door closed, another more literal one opened.  

“I was driving down the street and I saw a sign — literally, I saw a sign. It was a real estate company sign, and when I looked up, it said, ‘Will train real estate agents.’ And it hit me, ‘I have always been interested in real estate and here’s my chance to learn the business from the inside out!’ So I went inside, met with the managing broker, and we immediately hit it off.” At that moment, Danan knew he wanted to enter the industry.

Within a few months, Danan passed the real estate license exam and became an agent. Fast forward, now with several years of experience under his belt, he is a managing broker for Compass in Seattle.

Expanding His Reach  

Danan works primarily in north King County and south Snohomish County areas, but he doesn’t limit himself to just these locations. He notes, “I’ve sold all over… If my clients have a desire in a specific area, then I’ll go to the location they need to make sure they get the home that best suits their needs.”  

Not only does his flexibility make his clients happy, but it also has helped Danan become very familiar with home values in multiple locations. When the market cycle changes, winning new business can be challenging, but Danan has set himself up for success. “I’ve been through several different market cycles — some of them up and others down… By not limiting myself to one specific location, it really gave me a broad knowledge of all the different areas. Each neighborhood has its own pros and cons with a little something different to offer. Because of this willingness to meet my clients’ needs no matter the area, I can evaluate a home in any part of the Greater Seattle area. This evaluation comes quickly and is easy for me because oftentimes, I’ve sold in that area so I’m familiar with it. I immediately know where the value should be.” 

Not only does Danan make sure he has an expansive reach in regard to location, but he also has worked with clients that other agents might have ignored. Danan explains that when he first started in the business, “I saw a lot of people who didn’t have the strongest credit or didn’t have a big down payment but wanted to own, and most times they’d get pushed to the side or not be seriously considered. The majority of lenders as well as Realtors focused solely on the ‘A’ papers clients with 25, 30% down and perfect credit; however, the reality was and sometimes still is, that wasn’t the case. So, I prided myself on helping those people who didn’t believe they could become owners realize the American Dream of ownership.”  

While other agents may have cast some of these people aside or put them on the back burner, Danan treated each client with respect as well as provided them with top-notch customer service. He explains, “I treated the person across the table as if they were my mother.” Not only did this approach help him do more business, but also he won some clients for life. “They became amazing clients! A lot of times, they bought two to three times through me.”   

Helping Sellers Make Top Dollar  

In general, Seattle has a strong real estate market, but that doesn’t mean Danan can sell any home without putting in the work. An overwhelming majority of buyers want move-in ready homes, but 69% of sellers don’t want to front the money for repairs.¹ For some homeowners, it isn’t just about not wanting to pay the money for repairs when they are about to leave. Some may not have the cash available to do so.  

For many agents, getting sellers to make these updates can be problematic. Without them, the homes may sit on the market for too long, and the homeowners can get restless. But Danan has found a solution. “I have some clients who had nice homes but also years of deferred maintenance… So I suggested Curbio to a couple of my clients who needed it and they got right on board. My experience was A+ with Curbio.” 

With one recent listing, Danan used the Curbio Seattle team to help the home reach its full potential and hit the million-dollar sales mark. Danan explains, “That was a pretty big project and was a beautiful home, but my client had years of deferred maintenance — there was an old cedar roof, brown wood trim, outdated kitchen, outdated baths, and more. It was an amazing floorplan but just dated.”  

Danan knew that many buyers would overlook the home in its current state, so he called in Curbio to help prepare the home to sell. “We installed new countertops. We painted the cabinets. We added new hardware, backsplash, appliances, and new carpet. We changed faucets and we painted everything inside including all the trim… Actually, with everybody’s help, we finished ahead of schedule.” When the house sold, the owner made over $60,000 in additional profit.  

He goes on to say that without Curbio, “I don’t know what the market’s response would have been without those necessary updates. I think we would have gotten an offer, but it would have been for a lot less and it would have taken longer.” 

For Danan, this is only the beginning. “I have completed two transactions with Curbio, and trust me, I’m going to refer Curbio to a lot more of my clients.” 

Making the Job a Bit Easier   

For many agents like Danan, doing pre-sale updates is nothing new, but it can be a pain. A lot of the work will often fall on the agent. This extra time commitment can also take away from the agent’s ability to get other work done. Fortunately, Danan was able to lean on Curbio for support. “I loved having the PM [project manager] there to oversee because typically, I have always been the point of contact coordinating all the subcontractors like painters, carpenters, demo guys, landscapers, all of that.”  

Danan continues, “To have the PM there as the point person allowed me to focus on other clients as well. I wasn’t all tied up in this one transaction. So, it allowed me to step back.” With Curbio’s help, Danan can now spend more time winning lists or promoting his business instead of managing these home improvement projects.  

For agents like Danan, Curbio can be a big timesaver, and the rewards may not end there. In a competitive field with a limited number of homes coming to market, actually winning the listing can be a challenge as well. With Curbio added to the mix, Danan can secure these listings a bit more easily. “One of our clients is an investor and we’ve bought multiple properties together. So when I presented Curbio to her, it was a no-brainer.”  

As the real estate market continues to shift and becomes more competitive, it is important for agents to find solutions to problems. At Curbio, we want to help. As the Realtor’s choice of closing general contractors, we take the headache out of pre-sale updates for agents as well as their clients. Get started today with a free, no-obligation estimate.  

Sources: 

 1. Curbio (2022). Preparing to Sell: 2022 Home Improvement Report