Chappaqua Relocation Specialists Speaks New Arrivals' Language
Chappaqua, NY • July 15, 2001
European Finance Background Gives Siderow's David Barnes
To long-time northern Westchester residents, the daily routine is secure and relaxed. But to new arrivals, especially from overseas, life here can seem strange and anxiety-provoking - until they meet David Barnes.
"When you come from a foreign country, everything's different, says Barnes, global relocation specialist at Siderow Kennedy real estate in Chappaqua. There are so many little things to think about. I wish I had someone who really knew the ropes to help me when I arrived."
It's the former Deutschebank executive's own personal experience - leaving European high finance behind for a new life and new career here - that makes him a unique resource for families moving to the Westchester area. "I understand the bind that the relocated employee faces. He - or increasingly these days, she - must hit the ground running and see that business targets are met, but must also be concerned with the family's comfort and emotional state in a strange new environment."
According to Sheila Siderow, agency founder: "David understands just what it takes to make a family's move simple, positive and meaningful. He listens, he counsels, and he helps find just the right place to fit each family's needs, here in Chappaqua or elsewhere in the metro area."
Most major relocation firms serving the corporate world "are very large, are Midwest-based and just don't know all the options here," Ms. Siderow adds. "Families undergoing a corporate relocation may be provided with service, but all too often it's cookie-cutter service. Little effort is made to learn their personal needs. That's why many decide to go outside the system that's been provided."
Easing the Transition
Up to 40 percent of Barnes' clients come from abroad, but he knows that uprooting your family from Frankfort, Kentucky can be just as wrenching as a move from Frankfurt, Germany.
"Wherever they are from, the biggest personal concerns involve education and other child-related issues. Westchester is blessed with very, very good schools of course," notes the father of three. "But parents are always worried about uprooting a child. The younger they are, the more adaptable they seem to be, but the transition can be especially difficult for teens."
Recreation - access to golf, hiking and other outdoor facilities - is a major quality-of-life issue. Yet another is commuting: travel time, obtaining a local driver's license and availability of good public transit.
"Look at what happened when I went to White Plains to get my New York license," Barnes recalls. "The tester handed me my new card, and I walked out without getting back my German license - which I still needed very much. It was quite a bit of trouble to get it returned. If only I had someone to help keep an eye on little things like that!"
That's why Barnes is so dedicated to detail. "We provide all the advisory information on documents, advice on interim housing, banking, taxes. We do all we can to cut the red tape and get wheels turning. I know from my own experience that new arrivals may not realize how important it is to get that Social Security number."
Perhaps the greatest change in the relocation business has been the growing number of two-career households. "Couples often both have professional lives now," Barnes says, "and spouses need information on how they can carry forward with their careers and other interests." It is often the wife who has the greatest uncertainty about the move and the new environment - and often the wife, Ms. Siderow has found, who researches the move and makes the final decision on where to go.
Not Just a Number
Fluent in German, Barnes once traveled world financial capitals developing and marketing commodities investments for Deutschebank. Now he travels across country and even overseas to build personal relationships with clients facing the biggest move of their lives. "I do not wait for the phone to ring. I pack up my laptop and call on them."
"It's an information society now, and as buyers have changed, brokers need to deliver more information than ever," Ms. Siderow says. "Many in real estate are often too busy showing property to attend to the details of their customers' lives. But David is very sophisticated in incorporating technology with personal service; he even has his own Web site, globalrelo.com, to introduce clients to their new hometowns."
Information on our increasingly costly local housing market is particularly crucial to potential newcomers. "Even locals suffer some sticker shock," Barnes laughs, "and so will you, especially if you are from the Midwest or from South America. We must be careful to hold clients within their budgets."
But apart from information and advice, Barnes also dispenses some old-fashioned emotional hand-holding. "There's a lot of uncertainty, especially when the move is long-term and the family must sell its former residence. But just the little things are all so strange - insuring your car, getting the kids to school - only in America do schools have their own bus systems. There are so many little things to think over. I can't put families in a nest like little birds, but I can use every resource at my disposal to see they are happy."
"Suppose the husband is an avid golfer or a boater, Ms. Siderow explains. "Suppose the wife is a nurse and wants a hospital nearby so she can work. Listening to little details can make all the difference in a client's long-term satisfaction.
"But as the real estate industry consolidates, the concept of personal service is being lost. We're trying to bring back that concept, treating people as individuals, not as part of the herd."
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Media Contact: Jeannie Mandelker
Harrison Edwards PR 914/242-0010