An eye for perfection. Detail oriented. An excellent negotiator who’s also observant and inquisitive. How’s that for starters?
Vienna-born realtor Viola Schritter, who founded VS Homes GmbH one of the top emerging real estate companies in Austria, is one dynamo of an entrepreneur, who sold the first company she founded as a teenager. Now, apart from setting VS Homes apart from the competition through innovative strategies, and constant collaborations, Schritter also trains in the boxing ring, enthusing, “Staying fit helps me to outwork the competition. And, it helps me keep everyone around me super motivated.”
With an eye to opening up international offices, including in the US, Schritter explains her big belief in collaborative relationships: “Collaborations are super important—they’re the backbone of doing business anywhere. Trust that is built between the business and its associated creditors and banks, the business and its customers, the business and its suppliers, and its employees plays the most important and critical part in the success of the business.”
Also key is VS Homes’ innovative, 4-step strategy to buying, preparing and selling, which includes: acquisition that involves finding the right opportunity at the right time (to purchase flats/apartments); renovation by VS Homes in-house team based on designer approval and ideas, and which helps save time and money; specialized home staging to make the apartment look and feel ready for move-in; selling the property—VS Homes extensively uses social media to promote and sell their apartments during the renovation process and then right after, they are completely finished and home-staged.
By using the proceeds from the sale of her online swimwear company, Schritter was able realize her long-time dream to start up a real estate company in a male-dominated industry. As the European Forbes cover story reported: “At the age of 21, Viola Schritter renovated her first apartment, and four years later she had built herself a small real estate empire."
Now, backed by a loyal and collaborative team, including employees, banks/investors, and customers, highly resourceful Schritter has her eyes on expanding her unique strategies to wider markets. This young ball of fire, who describes herself as both resilient and a hustler, also has a personal motto to “never ever give up…ever.” She talks to us in detail about those strategies and how they benefit all parties involved.
Can you first explain some of the inherent challenges of the real estate business, which seem applicable from Europe to America?
It's the harsh reality of the real estate business, all over, that the risk of rising interest rates can be reduced but not mitigated. If you buy real estate via borrowed money and suddenly interest rates go higher, the way they have in the last three years, it can make the whole business unprofitable very quickly if the purchased real estate doesn't yield higher in proportion to added costs due to a rise in interest rates. To better explain my strategy let me explain the individual components—acquisition, renovation, home staging and selling.
How do you find good deals when it comes to acquiring property to renovate, home stage and then sell?
For sure, acquisition is all about timing and cash flow, plus banking relations. To buy real estate in Austria, generally we need to invest 30% of one’s own capital, and then 70% can be taken from the bank against collateral for the flat/apartment. Now, let’s look at good deals—they present themselves by having close contacts with bankers, where many financially stressed deals come to market at very good prices only if they can be executed very quickly—being able to execute and act fast is very important. Sometimes, good real estate sourcing can be done via friends/family/acquaintances where such deals never come to market and again are based on quick execution. Additionally, good deals also come from court proceedings and auctions where sometimes not too many people are looking at every deal carefully, and not too many are aware of the whole process. So, it’s an added advantage to be on top of such opportunities. As a result, if you have finances lined up (i.e. liquid capital), plus pre-approved bank credits, it then becomes easier to strike quickly to acquire those good deals—with the caveat that the longer a “good deal” is on the market, the more people will know about it. Hence, it’s better to be able to have a set process of title study, inspection and market research, so that a quick decision, with financing in place, can be made to complete the execution, right away.
What factors go into an excellent renovation to enhance a property’s value?
Good renovation involves having an economic budget but is very much possible if you are careful, as time is money in renovation. Whenever one is renovating a property and before getting the contractors in, every small detail of renovation needs to be planned and laid out. All decisions of purchase need to be decided already. Any delays can make the renovation extremely expensive and out of budget very quickly. Most important is to find/define superior vendors and suppliers, as good quality, good design and good prices are very important. Once you define the vendor relationships, you can select good products upfront and plan out the whole renovation. For us, having our own in-house team is both efficient and crucial, as they are 100% focused on company work. This gives us flexibility in terms of prioritizing and effectively planning out the work, while simultaneously keeping all the teams engaged. Additionally, having cash flow is also crucial, as the ability to buy the materials and negotiate an upfront good price is only possible by this method. One more thing, keeping everyone on the team accountable is also very important. If delays or unforeseen situations happen, the team needs to be aware and responsible.
How does your home staging process contribute to the end product?
Home staging is an invaluable part of our process. While we offer our customers the option to buy the apartment with or without furniture, when we do home stage with unique furniture and art, we have to be very careful in our selections and again not be afraid of asking for discounts from suppliers. We aim to get the best deals and remain on budget, while ensuring things are of good quality and also value for money. Over the years, we’ve found many furniture suppliers in the EU market that offer value for money, suppliers who we’ve tested ourselves, and have used their product and never faced issues. Plus, we have always promoted home-grown local brands rather than getting everything imported. For design and sourcing services, we have also hired ambitious interns, as well as often using the cutting-edge creativity of upcoming university students to help us with projects. This way we have always succeeded in getting talented and unique home staging ideas at economical prices.
Social media can be a double-edged sword, how do you use it constructively?
Yes, “social media” is key to many businesses these days. It can help create a brand and be the most powerful tool to market yourself, and your own company. But, we have to be careful with it, because sometimes negative feedback or criticism can also cause unnecessary distress. So, we use social media cautiously. Having said that, VS Homes does sell and promote our apartments through social media channels, plus the use of key social influencers, with name recognition, in real estate in Europe that helps sell our properties faster. The faster we can renovate and sell and get our capital out, the more frequently we can invest in another deal again, acquire a valuable property, and then keep executing.
How do first-time buyers figure into the VS Homes success formula?
A big reason new first-time customers like to work with us is our ability to offer further renovations, along with design/home staging help, based on their personal individual requirements. For example, we never compromise on the quality of appliances we use in our apartments. Moreover, we offer support to help get them their first loan/credit by working through the banks that have funded us—banks that are always excited to get new customers. In addition, first-time buyers of investment property also want to buy from us as we help them to not just buy the property from us but also help them to find renters and support them through the entire process to start making income from their investment property. We go that extra mile for them and make their life easier. By the way, we rely heavily on our banking partners to offer us referrals, that lead to new customers. So, there’s a cycle of support and be supported.
Check out what unique tools VS Homes offers, and watch Viola Schritter’s Forbes interview on YouTube.
Leave your comments
Post comment as a guest