Caring about their customer’s needs

Balloons and streamers hung over the large glass windows at 950 Broadway in Woodmere as Pugatch Realty celebrated its 20th anniversary and “National Open House Weekend” on June 4 and 5.

Founded in June of 1991 by husband and wife Barry and Susan Pugatch, the realty company remains one of the most well known in the Five Towns and surrounding areas. They also have an Inwood office.

Though the company has more than 40 agents and eight full-time employees in Long Island and New York City, Barry Pugatch runs his company with an emphasis on establishing relationships with his clients. Rather than focusing primarily on one aspect of real estate, Pugatch Realty is split into residential, commercial, rental, and co-op/condo sections, each with their own trained staff of experts who are available every day of the week.

“The market is completely different today than it has ever been,” Barry Pugatch said, “but we’re honest with our buyers and sellers, and we make ourselves available at all times.”

During the recent winter storms that damaged properties and forced businesses to close until they dug out, Pugatch and his agents traveled to clients’ homes and made sure that they were safe, as well as picked up customers at airports after their flights were cancelled.

The company offers a concierge service to assist clients, who are moving; calling rental companies to help ensure moving vans are available, as well as contacting plumbers, carpenters, and painters to ensure that the houses up for sale are in the best condition possible. If there is a problem, it is fixed instantly. “From making calls for the removal of an oil tank to roof repair, there’s nothing we won’t do to help our homeowners get the job done,” Pugatch said.

While traditional realty companies simply place ads in local newspapers, Pugatch Realty takes a completely interactive approach, creating Facebook and YouTube pages with pictures and descriptions of property listings, allowing customers to ask questions and receive instant feedback.

Scheduling appointments and responding to questions were no problem for the realtor who worked to find Henry Cohen of Woodmere Park a house two years ago.

“They knew the houses and the neighborhood really well, and went out of their way to find a nice selection of houses to look at,” said Cohen, who added that the house was within the targeted budget and in a neighborhood that was the right fit.

Every other day, agents create blog posts that are uploaded to the Pugatch Realty website, focusing on topics ranging from home maintenance to recent trends in the market. Each listing on the website contains a link to pictures of the property, with detailed explanations of the features and location, as well as which school district the house is in and what year it was built.“They were very patient,” said Jennifer Crince of Cedarhurst,” they wanted to make sure the house was right, and there was no pressure.”

Potential buyers and sellers have the ability to easily take pictures of what is called a quick response code found on the website, and instantly receive information sent to their smart phones. “Any questions I had at any time of the day were answered,” Holly Mjaanes, a Cedarhurst resident who recently sold her home through Pugatch Realty, “they did whatever was needed to help out.”

In reaching out to the community, Pugatch recently awarded coupons for a free home inspection and bank appraisals of properties, as well as a membership to Southwest Fitness Sports Club during a recent raffle contest held in the office. “We care, Pugatch said, “and that’s why it’s our company motto.”