Promoting Green, Healthy, Energy Efficient Living Over the years when looking for a real estate or Green Building expert, media sources rely on Steve Schappert. Steve is recognized nationally for his expertise as a broker and contractor. As owner and founder of Buyer's Trust Relocation, Connecticut Real Estate and Construction and Panelized Building Systems, Steve has over 20 years experience as one of the country's most respected Brokers and Contractors. Priding himself on the fact that he doesn't just sell homes, but investments, Steve not only knows and understands the real estate side of buying a fixer-upper, but as a contractor, he can thoroughly evaluate the work that needs to be done to make a fixer-upper a successful investment. For almost 15 years, Steve was owner of Steve Schappert Enterprises / DreamHomes Inc. a general contracting business that gives him the skills necessary to evaluate a good investment. Banks, real estate companies and homeowners in New York, Connecticut and Arizona have relied on Schappert's skill in evaluating homes and making cost effective improvements to maximize profits. Homeowners across the country have relied on his negotiating skills to get them the best price and terms. Schappert has focused Panelized Building Systems and Bios Building Technologies on energy efficient and energy independent construction for both remodeling and new construction projects. Utilizing state of the art geothermal and photovoltaic technology, Schappert hopes to take a leading position in the advancement of Energy Independent Building (buildings that produce more power than they use)! To accomplish this Schappert has developed his own trademarked product line, "BIOS BUILDINGS" TM and BIOS HOMES" TM More about Steve Schappert:
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Steve Schappert Gets Screen Call! Steve Schappert of Buyer's Trust Real Estate will be headed to Manhattan on Monday to Meet with producer Mike Wechsler for a new reality TV Show Wechsler is putting together for the BBC called, "Real Estate Road Trip". For the first time in America, you can have the opportunity to try out a house before you buy it. You tell us what you’re looking for in a new house, and we will match you up with three different properties. Then you get to choose to spend the night in one of the properties to see if it is a good fit for you and your family - and if you want to purchase the house.
Kathleen Chiras of Skyforinc., a national referral service, confirms she has been speaking to the casting director for about a month in an email to Schappert. Chiras says, "Good luck, Steve! Yes, I 've been talking with the casting producer there for about a month. Let's hope they pick an EBA! KC ". Tom Early President of The Buyer's Real Estate Brokerage and President of the National association of Exclusive Buyer Agents had this to say, " Fantastic, keep me informed. I too sent them a bio but have not heard from them. Tom "
Schappert said, "I had no idea about the show but on Friday I received a phone call from Mike Wechsler of BBC Production in Manhattan. They are doing a reality TV show about home buying. I was interviewed, over the phone by Mike, he asked for a picture so, I gave him my website, he said he would get back to me. He called back one minute later and asked me to come to Manhattan for a screen call on Monday at 11. "
I really appreciate the opportunity regardless of whether I am chosen or not. This will be a great pr piece for Exclusive Buyer Agents everywhere! Schappert and Wechsler also talked briefly about Schapperts' new zero energy mixed use building in New Milford. http://BiosBuildingTechnologies.com/btc.htm
R.E. Veteran Has Been Starting Businesses Since Childhood
May 14, 2004 Most 12-year-old boys are interested in video games and sports. Most 24-year-old men are trying to figure out how to begin their careers. Most successful business owners choose one pursuit and make it work. Most people are not Steve Schappert, chief executive officer of Brookfield-based Buyer’s Trust Real Estate, whose career began early and shows no signs of slowing down. Born in New Rochelle, N.Y., Schappert moved to Brookfield when he was 2 and by the age of 12 had already started a successful business mowing lawns in the neighborhood. After graduating from high school, an accomplishment he jokes on his Web site happened because administrators “were afraid to have [him] around another year,” Schappert began painting houses. He attended Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, where he studied marketing and psychology, although he didn’t graduate.
“I had been self-employed since I was 12,” said Schappert. “I figured I’d go to get the knowledge, but I didn’t need the degree.” Instead, having accrued some experience in the industry, Schappert moved to Arizona at the age of 24 to begin a house-painting business, and soon had 10 people working for him. In 1992 he returned to Brookfield where he applied his knowledge and expertise and began a painting and contracting business. Within 18 months he had 25 employees and was successful enough to be named “Contractor of the Year” by Sherwin-Williams in 1993.
Schappert shifted his focus in 1994 from contracting to real estate, and after working for someone else for two years, became a broker in 1996. No stranger to starting his own businesses, he began Buyer’s Trust Real Estate that same year. “Buyer’s Trust is sort of a niche business, focusing on the buyer’s side,” said Schappert, who added that at first the idea of such a honed pursuit was not greeted with enthusiasm. “When I opened Buyer’s Trust, brokers laughed at me,” said Schappert. “‘You’re only doing buyers. You’re giving away half your business,’ they said. I said, ‘Yeah, but there are 1,700 agents in the Danbury area and I’m the only one doing something different.’”
A
Novel Concept To Schappert, doing something different seemed like something natural. The conventional practice of Realtors representing multiple parties was something he saw as a contradiction. “Realtors working for traditional offices represent themselves. They’re promising to get the highest prices for the seller, but they also claim to represent the buyer. How do they do that? How does one attorney represent both the husband and the wife in a divorce? They can’t do it, can’t give both sides 100 percent,” said Schappert.
And so Buyer’s Trust was born, a company based around the novel concept of putting the buyer first. In straying from the trodden path, Schappert was able to set himself apart enough to be recognized on a national scale. He was featured in an NBC News special entitled “Connecticut Waterfront Treasures,” in The New York Times as Candlewood Valley’s premier buyer-broker and in a Women’s Day magazine article on how to minimize expenses. The road to such acclaim has been a long and rather slow-going one. Initially the problem was getting the word out.
“I got into the business not being able to afford advertising,” said Schappert, although the problem did not deter him. “I figured out how to develop a Web site and have since gotten the Web site to the point where we do national referrals.” It was not an immediate process. “The public view of the Web site has a six- or seven-year project behind it that I put $500,000 into. It’s the backbone of the system,” said Schappert.
Upon logging into the site, a potential client will see a list of state names. Once they click on a state and fill out their request, the Web site automatically sends the referral to an exclusive buyer agent in the selected area. The system is vast and has taken a long time to complete.
“We’ve spent so many years developing the system and aligning ourselves with companies. We’ve spent seven years building it and now we’re at the point where it’s complete and all we have to do is really turn the power on,” said Schappert.
Apparently, the amps are flowing, since Schappert says that Buyer’s Trust has been growing at a monthly rate of 20 percent to 30 percent for the past seven months.
“It’s growing like wildfire,” said Schappert. “If a partner walked in with $10 million tomorrow, we could spend it easily just to keep up with [growth].” Buyer’s Trust Real Estate is not the only company with which Schappert is involved. On the contrary, he has his hands in a variety of endeavors. “I currently own 11 businesses and run them all simultaneously,” said Schappert. “I have eight partners in various businesses. My days are filled from morning to night.” One of the fastest-growing businesses is Panelized Building Systems, a company that offers 100 percent financing for new construction and allows the homeowner to act as the general contractor. Upon closing the house with a 20 percent to 30 percent equity, people can use the program to their financial advantage.
Schappert is also just starting a company called Listing Only, the sister business to Buyer’s Trust. He opened the business three months ago in an attempt to expand the idea of a focused business, although this time he intends to only represent sellers. And while the company is currently only in place in Connecticut, “because we already built the contact management system, we just have to go clip, paste and it goes nationwide,” said Schappert.
His nationalization
plans are in place in order to further his goal of catering to his
customers and to provide a more personal touch to his profession,
something that he finds rewarding. As stated on Buyer’s Trust’s Web
site, he feels “validated as a purchasing professional,” said Schappert.
“I do not sell homes; I assist my clients in the purchase of real estate
on their terms.”
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