Homebuyers in the New Bedford area are getting more accurate descriptions of historic properties for sale and area Realtors are gaining an appreciation for their surroundings thanks to an unusual educational course being held in The Whaling City.

The Greater New Bedford Association of Realtors, in collaboration with the Waterfront Historic Area League, or WHALE, recently concluded its second annual Historic House Specialist Seminar, a course designed to better educate real estate agents about homes in the area and the resources available for them.

According to Antone Tony G. Souza Jr., executive director of WHALE, only one other metropolitan area in the nation – Dallas – hosts a similar course for its agents. Souza said he got the idea for the seminar after speaking with a representative from Preservation Dallas, the group that came up with the idea.

One thing that drove me crazy is when I would look at listings for historic houses and, for example, an agent would say it was a Colonial when it technically wasn’t, Souza said. He then realized that real estate agents would benefit from an education course in historic homes. They might miss the boat, he said of agents, because if you’re really into buying a historic house, if an agent misnomers it in a listing, then they’ve missed an opportunity to sell it.

New Bedford is chock full of beautiful, historic houses, said Rita Ramsay, executive vice president of the Greater New Bedford Association of Realtors. She said that because of the abundance of historic homes in the market, real estate agents have found the course useful because it provides information about a large portion of the local inventory.

We’ve had no difficulty attracting interest in the program, she said. The participants feel like they’re armed with specific knowledge of the homes, which helps the seller, who is trying to market a property, more accurately portray their home. The knowledge is also helpful to the buyer that wants to purchase a historic home.

This is one more tool that Realtors can have in their kit, she added.

Ramsay said her organization was immediately interested in partnering with WHALE when Souza first approached the group with his idea for an educational course. Anything that gives an extra level of service to our members, we think is great, Ramsay said, so we worked with Tony and really put a face on this thing. We structured the course in a sense so that it would work well here.

WHALE and Greater New Bedford held their first seminar last year, and the second offering of the course concluded two weeks ago. Both were well attended, Ramsay and Souza said.

Though the idea to coordinate a historic home seminar with a Realtor organization went well in Massachusetts, Souza said the situation was entirely different in the Lone Star State. Although real estate agents in Dallas ended up attending the seminar, Souza said the reception by the area’s Realtor organization was cool.

When I told the woman [at Preservation Dallas] that we were working with our local Realtor organization, she was shocked, he said. She told me ‘We couldn’t get our professional association to give us the time of day.’

Walks and Talks
The New Bedford Historic House Specialist Seminar takes place over a two-day period. During the first day, participants learn about the history of the city and its different architectural styles.

Then, I give a talk on the different historic districts in the city, and we talk about why each of them is historic, Souza said. Later in the day, participants take a tour that shows them each of the historic districts.

People who think they’re going to be stuck in a classroom all day are pleasantly surprised, Souza said. And when the tour rolls around, people are already talking about the different styles or architecture they’re seeing.

The morning of the second day, agents are taken inside several city homes and learn about the different interiors. During the afternoon, agents shift their focus from architectural styles to the paperwork that goes along with homes in a historic area.

We teach them different research methods, in addition to just looking in the Registry of Deeds for information on a house, Souza said. We also talk about different preservation incentives that are available for historic homes, such as tax credits and different city programs, as well as different restrictions for the homes.

After listening to park rangers talk about the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, participants then take an exam that, if they pass, earns them the designation of Historic House Specialist. The new specialists are also given a logo they may add to their business cards or advertisements letting people know of their designation.

Joyce D. Lopes, 2000 president of the New Bedford association, said she has received nothing but positive comments about the course. From the Realtor standpoint, they thought it was great. The reviews were glorious, Lopes said. We had office principals and top producers commit to two days for this course.

In addition to learning about homes, those involved with the course said it also helps boost the image of New Bedford, a city that had fallen on hard times but in recent years is trying to spark a resurgence.

This gives people another view of the city that many people are not familiar with as they should be, said Lopes, who successfully completed the course last year. Even though we live here and work here, we don’t always see all the good points about the city.

There’s a market there that most people have overlooked, Souza said of the downtown area. The downtown has been marketed as negative instead of positive, and we wanted to show the Realtors why it was good for people to live in the downtown area. I saw this as a way to let people who normally don’t market this area see it through our eyes.

We’re going through a major renaissance in New Bedford, he added.

The seminar has met with success in New Bedford, and Souza said he sees the potential for other cities to host similar courses that could help efforts to change perceptions about their downtowns as well. I think it could be replicated, especially in the urban communities throughout the state, he said. I’m really not aware of any other [programs like this] in the country, at least not in the way that Dallas and New Bedford have put it together.

Lopes said the partnership with WHALE would continue. We’re hoping we can do this at least once or twice a year, she said.