In addition to internet marketing which reaches around the globe, STAR Realty chooses to employ innovative local advertising thus supporting the local economy and reaching local buyers. Jef Barnes of ISVA, LLC has set up video ads (just images, no sound as seen below) at two local Hopkinton businesses, Colella’s Supermarket and Hopkinton Drug.

The video screens are strategically located at places where folks have a natural wait: the drug counter, the deli counter, and the check out registers. In addition to paid local advertising such as ours, Barnes and ISVA provide community service announcements and weather forecasts within the loop for free.

We at STAR Realty are thrilled with the exposure we get of our properties and our firm, and we’re delighted to support local businesses at the same time.

Star Realty is an independent, non-franchise real estate brokerage firm specializing in residential real estate sales in and around Hopkinton, Massachusetts. This short business profile video was produced by TurnHere Productions at the suggestion of Morgan Brown.

One of the great advantages to being an independent, non-franchise local brokerage firm is the flexibility it provides in sponsoring local community events. The Hopkinton Community Spelling Bee is a collaborative effort between the two main school support non-profits in town: the Hopkinton Parent Teacher Association (HPTA) and the Hopkinton Education Foundation (HEF). We love to sponsor this event because it brings together so many different organizations in Hopkinton. Last year for example, some of the teams (yes spelling is done by consensus in teams of three) competing were the Hopkinton Athletic Association, Boy & Girl Scouts, the Senior Center, the Schools, the Police Department, the Garden Club, the Board of Selectman, and our local newspaper the Hopkinton Independent.

During the event, refreshments are available and a ‘Mini-Bee’ takes place during intermission giving K-5 students an opportunity to compete in their own age-appropriate bees. Last year over $7000 was raised to benefit the HEF & HPTA who bring innovative and enriching programs to our Hopkinton Public Schools.

For more information, to register a team, or to sponsor the event, please visit HopkintonSpellingBee.info.

Recently our local independent newspaper, appropriately named The Hopkinton Independent, ran an article about our homegrown Hopkinton Firm. Highlights were:

• with no franchise fees to cough up to far away corporate owners, we can use those dollars to better market our listings with intensive staging, professionally drawn floor plans, full motion video tours, neighborhood tours, and more;
• we’ve expressed our gratitude for our success by giving over $30,000 back to community causes
• Some causes we’ve been able to support include the Hopkinton Education Foundation, Project Just Because, the Hopkinton Parent Teacher Association, Hopkinton Little League, Hopkinton Lacrosse, Hopkinton Women’s Club, and others.

Here is the article as it appeared in the paper:

Hopkinton’s own celebrates five years of town giving

by Amy Comcowich

It’s a philosophy that works.  Kathleen Buckley, founder and owner of STAR Realty, believes in community: she believes the community helped make her and her independent real estate brokerage so successful, and she believes giving back to the community is the best way she knows how to express her gratitude.

Giving back to Hopkinton has happened in a number of ways over the past five years since she founded her business in 2004.  She has given financial support to the Hopkinton Education Foundation, Project Just Because, Hopkinton Little League, Hopkinton Lacrosse, Hopkinton Women’s Club, the Police Association and the Hopkinton Garden Club to name a few of the approximate 30 organizations she has supported.

Buckley credits her ability to provide so much support to these various causes to her decision to not affiliate with the larger, franchised real estate brokerages.  As an independent firm, she explains, she doesn’t have to pay fees to a franchise – which can be eight percent of the real estate transaction fee.

“We don’t have that piece of overhead… It allows us to use these funds to best market a property and it allows us to invest in the community,” said Buckley.

She also said that not being part of a franchise keeps her and the five agents who work with her on their toes.
“With every transaction, our reputation is on the line,” she said.

“We’re a small but mighty group” she said of her agents Beth Maguire, Paula Hurlbut, Lily Holden, Donna O’Brien and Pat O’Brien, all of whom call Hopkinton home.

Buckley believes strongly in keeping her focus on Hopkinton.  By doing so, she and her agents can be experts on the community, and giving back to just this community allows her to make the biggest impact.

Overall, Buckley estimates that she has given back at least $30,000 to the various charitable events and organizations.  She modestly points out, however, that she is just one of the local businesses that contribute time, talent and resources to Hopkinton, and she is simply happy to play her part.

On Buckley’s STAR Realty website, StarRealtyHopkinton.com, it says “Hopkinton: where we live, where we work, where we give back.”
From the community here in Hopkinton, where so many lives have been touched by Buckley’s efforts, it can be said in response: “Kathleen Buckley: to whom we are grateful.”

Seems like a natural fit for Hopkinton’s Homegrown Real Estate Brokerage Firm to sponsor Hopkinton Community Television. Supporting a variety of local causes has been an explicit company goal since 2004.

Free of excessive overhead and franchise fees of larger and national brokerage firms, we are delighted to share the rewards of our success right here with and within the community we serve. HCAM Rocks!

One of the top five reasons to love being a non-franchise brokerage firm: the ability to sponsor important local events and organizations with funds that may otherwise have gone to pay for franchise fees of some sort.  At STAR REALTY, we have enjoyed the freedom to contribute over $25,000 to the Hopkinton Education Foundation (HEF) since our firm was founded in 2004.

HEF hosts the annual Winter Gala event to raise money which it then uses to fund innovative grants requested by Hopkinton public school teachers and staff.  At STAR REALTY, we know that an excellent education is the key to opening doors of opportunity throught life.  We are honored and delighted to sponsor the HEF in its endeavor to open minds and spark imaginations through innovative and enriching programs.

Tickets to this year’s event are still available through HEF Board Member Libby Skiba (508) 497-9465

HEF is just one of a number of local organizations that STAR REALTY enjoys sponsoring.  Others include Project Just Because, The Hopkinton PTA, The Hopkinton Women’s Club, The Hopkinton Police Association, Hopkinton Boy Scout Troops, and Hopkinton Little League & Soccer Teams, The Hopkinton Mom’s Club, and others.