You wouldn鈥檛 think doing business in the Lower Mainland鈥檚 fiercely competitive real estate market is a good way to build lasting relationships. But realtor Jayson P. says 鈥渋t happens.鈥�

Jayson P., who works with , understands that finding a home his clients will love involves getting to know them and their needs. That means going the extra mile to build the client-agent relationship.

That takes time, and a whole lot of trust and respect.

鈥淚 want to get to know you. I want to know all your family members by name, and even your kids鈥� birthdays,鈥� Jayson P. said. 鈥淭hat relationship goes a long way toward finding a home where you can be happy.鈥�

Word is out

When you serve your customers that well, word gets out. Jayson P. says 90 per cent of his business is recommendations and referrals from satisfied clients. He doesn鈥檛 market himself aggressively 鈥� he doesn鈥檛 even have a website 鈥� because he doesn鈥檛 want to take shortcuts with his approach.

But he doesn鈥檛 want to turn people away, either. So rather than overbooking himself, he has brought together a team of like-minded real estate professionals as . 鈥淩ain or shine,鈥� Jayson P. says, 鈥渨e got you covered.鈥�

What does that mean? It means everyone on his team shares Jayson P.鈥檚 approach to building relationships with clients. It means literally helping those clients the way a friend would. 鈥淚 pitch in with cleaning and painting. I鈥檝e even helped clients move,鈥� he said.

Cleaning and staging? No charge

If you鈥檙e selling, The Umbrella Group will clean and 鈥渟tage鈥� your home for you at no cost, to make sure it shows at its best and earns its full value. 鈥淚t may earn a home five or ten thousand dollars more,鈥� Jayson P. said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 make a big difference to my commission, but it puts money in the seller鈥檚 pocket.鈥�

Jayson P. earned his credentials at the University of British Columbia and the BC Institute of Technology. He started in the business in 2006 as a salaried representative for a developer, and in 2014 he decided to test his customer-focused approach on the open real estate market.

His clients, both buyers and sellers, love it.

鈥淲e have a social get-together, I put on a nice buffet with our present and former customers every year just to keep in touch,鈥� Jayson P. said. 鈥淛ust because our deal is done doesn鈥檛 mean the contract stops.鈥�

鈥淒on鈥檛 get me wrong. We don鈥檛 have to become best buddies to do business,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we will work together to make sure you鈥檙e happy with your transaction.鈥�

And yes, he says, 鈥渟ome of my clients have become good friends.鈥�