The Tribune

With relocating ranked as one of life’s three most stressful events, a Bahamian real estate firm is taking the pain out of being uprooted by guiding clients from first encounter to final detail.

Mario Carey Realty (MCR) has created a relocation division, naming a husband and wife team to work with individuals and families who are moving anywhere from five blocks to 5,000 miles away.

“There is probably no segment of the real estate industry that is more personal or emotional than relocation,” said Mr Carey. “Experts say that moving is the third most stressful event in a person’s life, right behind death and divorce. It may be hard to understand how moving can be almost as traumatic as the death of a loved one, but when you consider that for some, it means leaving everything they know behind and going somewhere where they know no one, may not even speak the language, will miss family, friends and routine, may fear not finding the right school for their child or even getting lost.

“The fact is that re-settling can be very unsettling,” Mr Carey continued. “So we are very fortunate to have identified the team of Lamond and Robyn Davis, who understand what it takes to make relocation a rewarding experience, so clients look at relocation not as the end of an old chapter but the beginning of a new, exciting time in their lives.”

The Davis duo added that they have moved and understand the emotional toll.

“We went through it and that’s a good thing, because it has made us more sensitive to what others experience,” said Lamond Davis.”We are a family helping families find a new home; not just a house but a place where they feel like they belong, the true meaning of home.”

According to Washington, DC-based Employee Relocation Council, more than $9 billion was spent last year on corporate relocation by its members, with more than 180,000 domestic transfers (down considerably from a decade earlier. Renters were still outnumbering owners.

The speed of the move can also impact relocation, said Lamond Davis. “It’s particularly hard when someone has lived in the same area for a very long time and is suddenly offered a transfer or a job elsewhere, given two weeks to decide and be ready for the new post in one month,” he added.

But Robyn and Lamond have helped couples and families overcome the stress and relish the relocation by hand-holding through a checklist that changes daily.

“We had this one family,” said Robyn, “who were relocating from Switzerland. The wife did not speak any English. She was completely unprepared for the move.” The two children, 10 and 8, spoke very little English.

At the beginning of the summer, Lamond Davis “shopped” for homes for the family, part of the time with husband in tow, sending photos and video back to Switzerland when he was not on the island. When the wife and children came to the Bahamas, the Davises picked them up from the airport, checked them into the hotel, acted as translators, got basic groceries, and made sure the children got the pizza they wanted. And then they viewed the narrowed down list of homes.

“It’s such a personal kind of real estate,” says Robyn.

Once the single family Sandyport canal front residence with pool and large yard was settled on, the family felt better. That was just the beginning of the journey with the Davises.

“We took care of turning on utilities, found them a jeep that was affordable, helped them get insurance, took the parents to school appointments,” said Lamond Davis. “We got them an English tutor, so by the time school started the girls’ English was vastly improved and they were able to keep up with their class work.” The Davises arranged shipping of the family’s furniture, saw personal belongings through Customs and even today, are available whenever a question arises about anything from a dental appointment to where to dine.

“There’s a special relationship that you develop with a client in relocation,” says Lamond. “It doesn’t end when you hand them the key.” Robyn agrees: “In a new place, you are their comfort zone and your familiarity with everything from consular appointments to doctors, from schools to church schedules, makes their settling in so much easier. It’s my favourite part about real estate because I feel like I am making a difference in the lives of families, not just finding them a house, but helping them find a place in a city they now call home.”

The relocation division is the latest in a series of expanded services by Mario Carey Realty. In the last year, the firm has launched a multilingual vacation division, property management division, increased its appraisal staff, and expanded to Abaco and Bimini.