Professional Profile: Richard Berman - 1975

Name: Richard Berman - 1975

Title: president

Company: Berman Real Estate

Location: Nashua, NH

Birthplace: -

Berman devoted himself full time to real estate when he found his part-time apartment investments bringing in more money than his job as an industrial engineer. Actually, Berman credits his wife, Judith, for exposing him to real estate in the first place. She talked him into accompanying her to the introductory class of a Lee Institute course because she didn’t want to go alone. “I went and listened,” Berman says “and found myself so fascinated that we finished the course together.” Berman then found a book on “How to Get Rich in Real Estate” by the founder of the institute, Robert Kent, which explained the ins and outs of apartment investments. Berman, who had been raised in Boston apartments, decided to test Kent’s theories. “I bought a Nashua apartment,” he remembers, “and it worked just fine. The property did exactly what it was supposed to do, so I bought a second one.” Within two years Berman was making more from the rents than he was as an engineer, so he decided to go into sales. The third building he purchased had some office space, which he quickly converted to use for the headquarters of Berman Real Estate. In the 10 years that have elapsed, sales have increased at an average of 65% yearly. Berman has devoted himself so completely to his profession that “this job is a seven-day-a-week thing.” He says. “I start at 8:30 or nine in the morning and usually finish up about midnight on the kitchen table.” In a similar fashion, Berman has thrown himself into the Realtor movement in New Hampshire. He is president of both the Nashua Board of Realtors, the state’s largest board, and the Southern N.H. Multiple Listing Service, a fledgling organization which did more than $17 million in sales in its first year. The presidency of his predecessor, Louise Gale, can be credited for the growth of the Nashua board and the MLS, he says, “This year, I have to solidify the gains she made,” Berman explains. Berman believes his role as president is to guide the two organizations through the transitional months ahead and develop a hard core constituency for both. One of the goals, which he believes will contribute to this hard core, is to make Graduate Realtor Institute courses compulsory. “The current indoctrination course is okay,” he claims, “but it doesn’t carry the weight we want in terms of professionalism for our members.” The downturn in the real estate market during the past months has been a blessing in disguise in some ways, Berman contends. “Most of the offices in the Nashua area suffered a 24-50% decline in sales.” He points out. “This situation forced a lot of people out of the real estate industry and forced those that remained to knuckle down and become even more diligent and professional in their approaches.” Berman Real Estate itself suffered a 10% drop in business from a 68% gain in 1973. He believes he was able to avoid a more serious drop because of two factors. One was moving from his original location to a much more visible one near the Nashua Ma. The other involves his belief in not competing with his own salesmen. “I no longer make sales,” he explains. “I believe strongly in managing my office in terms of knowing what it costs me in overhead to supply each associate with the desk and space he uses. By targeting each person against the costs to the agency, Berman is aware of what that person contributes to the agency. He is thus able to pinpoint which brokers may need assistance and which do not. Berman looks at his agency as a machine. When it is not producing property it is important to know which gear to oil, he insists. Besides managing his office in terms of cost accountability, Berman also concentrates on instilling his associates with his own belief that there are three kinds of people; those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who wonder why things happen. “It took a while, but I now have them making calls instead of waiting for the phone to ring,” he proudly says. The Bermans have two children, Eliot, 7 and David, 5. Berman claims that when he is in town he is always on the phone, even when he is out to dinner. “The only recourse is to get out of town for a break,” he says jokingly and adds, “I’ll say one thing for the real estate business, it is stimulating. I’ll say that for it.”