Mark Karten and the TKG Group: Get to know Mark Karten and TKG; Get to Know His Vegas
As the saying goes, there’s only one chance to make a first impression and sometimes perception precedes the impression. But for Mark Karten, whether it’s a person, a house or an entire city like Las Vegas, Nevada, perception isn’t always reality.
“The media has painted such a desperate picture of Vegas, but I tell people, you don’t know my Vegas,” he says.
Being in the top 1% of agents in Las Vegas, Karten and his firm The Karten Group (TKG) have a vision to dispel that perception — and their reputation proves it.
“First and foremost I’m a businessman and I think I’m different from everybody else or strive to be. I’ve been in sales for over 30 years and the number one thing, no matter who you’re working with is, if you’re going to be successful, it’s not about you,” he says.
He learned that value early on from his grandfather, a salesman who “was in sales so long ago that he sold luggage to the Army.” Karten says he didn’t realize there was a negative perception of salespeople because he saw the way his grandfather could make anyone feel special, even a six-year-old.
“He was always fun and funny. He listened and he cared. It took me a long time to realize that was the sales side of him but it was a part of him, a charisma that was genuine and I saw why people liked him. He was always interested in what you were doing,” he says.
Karten carries that same charm with an authenticity and personality as vibrant as his city which undoubtedly has contributed to his success. His rise to the top of his industry came almost as quickly as the real estate bubble itself but instead of going bust, Mark Karten continued to grow and he credits his wife, Shelley, for getting his foot in the door.
As a longtime real estate paralegal in New York, Shelley’s passion was awoken in her when they moved to Vegas in December of 1999. In New York there was no such thing as selling a new home and the sales of million dollar homes and high rise condos was unlike anything they had ever seen. Listening to her excitement at the end of each day finally spurred Karten to get his license. In 2004, he became official and only three days after that he was hired to sell condo conversions.
“I went from being a sales person to a sales manager for the largest condo community in Las Vegas and I managed and sold the first thousand condos with the team. It was ridiculous. We would sell 25-30 condos a day. You talk about learning the business quickly, we worked with every type of person, every type of transaction,” he says.
He was soon elevated to sales manager of all 14 communities and oversaw the whole valley.
“It was a terrific time. Little did I know that was going to be my foundation for the future,” he says.
When the boom went bust, he went into general real estate as a lone agent. He understood the market and had a client reach of 1,000 people strong, thanks to his previous roles in the industry. His wife’s extensive knowledge of legalities and the behind-the-scenes technicalities, complemented his efforts and eventually, Karten’s business was so steady he couldn’t keep up. To ensure his quality of work and reputation never faltered, he soon invited his former colleagues to join the TKG team.
The complementary and extensive knowledge behind TKG makes them an unstoppable force and it’s their leadership style that truly helps the firm be a success. Working alongside his spouse of thirteen years, Karten notes that while communication in a marriage is important, when working together as well, it’s imperative.
“Shelley and I are greater as a team. We rely on each other and know we’ve got an experienced, sharp person whose got our back. It’s truly like our other half,” he says. “Our vision of the group is that we are a collection of individuals and we work for the agents. We call it ‘subservient management.’ We protect our clients. We protect our team.”
That emphasis on communication is also key when it comes to their clients. That’s where Karten’s stellar listening skills and ability to connect personally with his clients really pays off. Oftentimes, he doesn’t even need to take notes. “It just sorta sticks,” he says.
He writes a weekly newsletter that is distributed every Sunday. Sharp, candid, and personal, the newsletter sounds a lot like him. And with more than 1,600 subscribers, he often gets e-mails from clients wondering if he was writing specifically about them.
Most of the time, he says, he’s talking to everyone.
“We’re all going through the same thing and our issues are the same. I’m listening to these people. ‘Las Vegas doesn’t have the stuff like back home,’ they say. It’s usually about food. Everybody is homesick for something they can’t get here—food or family,” he says.
In fact, his years of experience have taught him one of the most important lessons he’s learned when working with clients who have relocated to Vegas: it’s all about food.
Recently a young family came to him after having moved from the South to Vegas. The wife was missing one of her hometown favorites, boiled peanuts. For someone who had never heard of boiled peanuts, Karten was intrigued. So as he researched farmer’s markets for his newsletter, he came across a vendor who sold boiled peanuts.
“I e-mailed the woman and included the link. She sent me an e-mail back saying that said she’d just gotten home from getting her peanuts and it finally felt like home,” he says.
In addition to relocating clients, TKG also works with a lot of investors. So many, in fact, that Karten has put together the TKG Investment Report, a unique, extensive and comprehensive resource comprised of MLS listings specifically geared towards investors.
“Every week I scour the MLS listings and all the available properties. I find the ones with the highest investment return from 7-24%. I put together a full, detailed report, showing you the property, the pictures, and all the details. I publish it in the newsletter on Sunday and half of the properties are gone by Monday,” he says.
Karten and the TKG Group are not only known nationally for this, but internationally as well, stating proudly that people from all over the world have found this report and used it to help them buy investment properties in Las Vegas.
In fact, Karten recently had a client fly in from the UK specifically to meet him in the hopes of purchasing an investment property. After three hours of viewing homes, his client became discouraged and began to question why anyone would move to Vegas. Before traveling back home, he invited Karten to lunch. Karten recommended his favorite restaurant, Vintner Grill in Summerlin. By the end of lunch, his client told him it was the best food he’d ever eaten in Vegas and thanking him for showing him “the other side.”
Whether he’s writing about farmer’s markets or scouring the MLS listings, it’s the attention to detail and the attention he pays his clients that makes Karten and TKG stand out among the rest.
This past summer, TKG took it one step further when they launched TKG Heroes, a philanthropic endeavor offering teachers, first responders, law enforcement and military (active, retired, or veteran) 25% of TKG’s commission back to the Hero with each home purchase or sale.
“You risk your life and you’ve forsaken money to do a greater good, it’s a no brainer to me. We started this on Memorial Day and it took until August until we had closings. It’s a way for us to show them our appreciation. Giving back is my reward,” he says.
It’s just one more way Mark Karten and TKG are opening doors for the people of Las Vegas.
“I see myself as helping people in the community. And that has become TKG’s defining goal,” he says. “We’re helping people by finding them a home or helping them move on. This has nothing to do with real estate; this has to do with life. Life is more complex and layered. It’s about the relationships and listening and what’s real for other people.”
For Karten and TKG, his goal is to make dreams become a reality for each of his clients while showing them the Las Vegas he knows and loves best.
“This is a thriving community just like your hometown. Weather is number one in people’s minds but there are endless things to do here. There’s culture, entertainment, food, jobs, housing—an amazing life on and off the strip,” he says. “I want people to visit my Vegas—I’m making it real. I’m showing the flavor and character. When it comes down to it, a house may be a home but the city is what you’re going to live in every day.”
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