'Military on the Move' gets boost from local real estate firms
Two real estate firms headquartered in Maine have signed onto a national program that provides support and rebates to military and veteran families.
Portside Real Estate Group, headquartered in Falmouth, and Realty of Maine, based in Bangor, this year began participating in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s U.S. Military on the Move program.
The program provides active duty, retired military and wounded warriors with special benefits on real estate services, including a bonus credit at closing, a news release said.
According to a recent Blue Star Families report, relocation is the second highest source of stress for active service members and a Top 5 source of stress for military spouses, the release said.
“We have been looking for a way to honor those that serve our country as part of our Portside Gives Back initiative and are thrilled to be able to offer the Military on the Move program as a Leading Real Estate Company of the World member,” said Dava Davin, Portside owner and principal and a 2018 Mainebiz Woman to Watch.
“I have worked with many military families over the years and welcome new and returning service members to Maine.”
Davin told Mainebiz that, having grown up on military bases, she understands the sacrifices made by members of the military and their families who are often on the move.
“If you’re moving somewhere every three years, it’s stressful for members of the military and their families,” she said. “It’s stressful having to start over again in a new place, especially when you have a spouse and children and they have to start over as well.”
Beth Roybal, Realty of Maine’s broker and relocation director, previously participated in the program as a real estate agent in Virginia. She’s also familiar with the stress of military moves; she and her husband both served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“If you look nationwide at how many service members there are and how many are retired or have served and are honorably discharged, roughly 5% of our nation is somehow impacted by the military,” she told Mainebiz. “This program is a good way to give back to service members, whether they’re retired, honorably discharged or active.”
William Raveis Real Estate, which is headquartered in Connecticut but does business in Maine, also participates in the program.
Portside signed onto the program in November. Realty of Maine signed up last spring. Both are affiliates of Leading Real Estate.
Eligible consumers receive 20% of a brokerage agent’s commission as a rebate/credit at closing, Leading Real Estate’s executive vice president of member services, Kate Reisinger, told Mainebiz.
About a quarter of Leading Real Estate’s membership of 480 participate in the program, she added.
While relocation accounts for most military moves, the program is open to service members and veterans purchasing a new home in their current community as well.
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, headquartered in Chicago, is a global, by-invitation network of independent real estate companies. The network launched Military on the Move in 2012.
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