Relocation experts help newcomers find LI homes

Kelly Lund, 33, had been longing to return to Long Island ever since her husband Robert's last job offer took them from their Centerport home to Tatamy, Pa., nearly four years ago. Earlier this year, Lund says, her prayers were answered when Robert, 38, was offered a job at a pharmaceutical company in New York City.

"I always knew from the day we moved ... I wanted to go home," says Lund, a stay-at-home mother. "I could not get Long Island out of my mind."

But even though the Lunds are familiar with Long Island - she grew up in Merrick - they say they're not about to plan their upcoming move on their own, as they did when they headed to Pennsylvania. Now that they have a child in school, a preschooler and a newborn, they say it's not as simple as just finding a nice area and home. This time, they need guidance to identify good school districts. So the couple is working with a relocation expert.

Trained in the special demands that come with long-distance transfers, relocation professionals - typically found in most major real estate companies - are a one-stop concierge of sorts for people on the move. From helping clients buy or sell a house under tight deadlines to offering solutions on how to ship furniture, pets and antiques, they are in the business of making transfers go smoothly.

These relocation professionals work in a real estate company's relocation department or a dedicated relocation company and usually carry the title of relocation director or relocation coordinator. In larger realty companies, there is typically one person who manages the relocation department's staff.

"The relocation coordinators are the single point of contact for the person relocating and the sales agent providing the real estate service," says Marie Montchal, senior vice president of relocation and ancillary services for Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty's Hauppauge-based relocation/customer service center.

Montchal says relocation experts are educated either through their employer's ongoing in-house training or though certified relocation certification through Worldwide ERC, a Virginia-based workforce mobility professional trade organization. Montchal says the National Association of Realtors also offers a designation. She says to qualify, a candidate must have two years of relocation experience and pass an exam on relocation practices, customs and trends. To maintain the designation (which must be renewed every three years), there are continuing education requirements.

At Daniel Gale, a relocation professional will typically conduct a "needs analysis" - a questionnaire designed to determine wants and needs for the client, who is then referred to the most suitable real estate agent (in-house or out of state, depending on the transferee's destination, who best knows the areas in which the transferee is interested in), who will help house hunt and introduce the new area.

Montchal says the relocation professional will stay in contact with the real estate agent and transferee, monitoring the process to the end.

The relocation expert's advice, research and referrals are, in most cases, complimentary, says Joseph Benevides Jr., president of Worldwide ERC. He says that's because relocation companies and relocation departments often receive a referral fee from the customer leads they provide to real estate agents, moving companies and other moving-related vendors.

When companies do charge, it is often for "settling in services," from assisting corporate transfers in using the New York Subway system to helping them apply for a bank account.

Janet Manno, relocation director for Prudential Douglas Elliman in South Huntington, says prices vary according to the amount of time spent with the transfer but can run $500 for half-day to $5,000 a week. These charges are picked up by the transfer's employer.

Manno says her relocation department will also charge a "tour" fee for job candidates who haven't officially accepted a new job but are coming to Long Island to see if they like the area. She says the fees, typically picked up by the company looking to recruit, can range from $200 to $500 for half-day. The price depends on extras, such as lunch or limo service.

Relocation experts have long been a resource for those moving for work. But some are seeing a larger number of noncorporate clients seeking guidance.

Lots of reasons to move

L.P. Finn, director of corporate and relocation services for Northport-based Coach Realtors, says 50 percent of his company's full-time relocation division's clients are moving for reasons other than jobs. Many are nearing retirement and are interested in moving to another city or are homeowners who want to purchase a second home elsewhere, or are in their early 30s and 40s and seeking a lifestyle change. Finn says he also gets calls from adults looking for help relocating an elderly parent.

Kelly Lund says her husband, a strategy manager, was offered a comprehensive relocation package from his new employer. His company referred them to Manno. Lund says she welcomed the extra help. With her husband logging long days commuting from Pennsylvania to his job in Manhattan, the bulk of the research would have fallen on her shoulders. "I know if I had to do this on my own, I feel like it wouldn't get done properly," says Kelly Lund, who, with two young daughters and a newborn son, didn't have much free time to research market prices and school district data.

Since January, Manno has been supplying the Lunds with school district data and names of moving specialists. Manno also placed the Lunds in touch with Prudential Douglas Elliman real estate agent Matthew Korman, who recently started showing the couple homes in Huntington, Centerport, Rockville Centre and Merrick. Another Prudential Douglas Elliman relocation specialist is handling the sale of their Pennsylvania home.

For Scott and Melissa Conchieri, their relocation expert - Jody O'Donnell, president of Relocation Solutions, an independent relocation company in Northport - was the first person to introduce them to life on Long Island. "I used them as an unbiased source of information about the area," says Scott Conchieri, 29, a Vermont native who spoke with O'Donnell before accepting an electrical engineering position at a Hauppauge-based semiconductor company.

A cyclist, he was most interested in finding the best places he and wife, Melissa, 30, could bicycle on Long Island. O'Donnell sent them a packet of information that included bike paths.