Well before I got into real estate, when my husband and I lived up in Maine and I was teaching at a private academy, I was told by our family Realtor that I should become a Realtor. My response was not only “NO”, but “Hell NO”. The agent’s head knocked back by my response. I could not picture doing it and was honestly more than happy to pay a real estate commission to a Realtor to handle the stress and details of one of the biggest financial transactions my family would ever have. At the time, we were selling a home that I designed and we had custom built to cash out and move to Pensacola to start a new life. We had plans to take the money from the sale of our property to start a new business in downtown Pensacola. It was not long after we moved to Pensacola that we knew our timing was off and downtown did not have the foot traffic at the time to support our dream. This was in 2007, need I say more. Our business plan saved our hides. Thankfully, we listened to our brains and not just our hearts. Then the big question was… What do we do now? We literally only knew half a dozen people in Pensacola. We had no jobs, no income and now no plan. We tried not to panic. One morning I woke up, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat out on the deck in the Florida sun contemplating our future. It came to me. We would become Realtors! It combined many of the skills that I had gathered to that point in my life - from my background in customer service, management, communications, and marketing, to architectural design and construction. I saw a circle come together in my mind. The only way Rob and I had ever saved a nickel was through buying and selling real estate. I could help other people do the same! It was a no brainer. But wait a minute… I had not only said, “NO” but, “Hell NO” to the idea. At this point, I reflected on the bad real estate experiences I personally had and thought about what I would do differently. I decided I would reinvent what a Realtor was in my mind, and would be the Realtor that I thought one should be. By working hard and taking pride in a job well done, treating every transaction as if it were my own, treating people as I wanted to be treated, I slowly built my business. I built a business I could be proud of with a loyal customer base and a focus on the historic downtown Pensacola neighborhoods and waterfront properties I was passionate about.
We came from Maine… there are really old houses up there. The first house we ever bought in Maine was 169 years old at the time. We also had a house that was built in 1774! There was one thing I knew well and that was old houses. I considered my East Hill Craftsman to be my “new” old house since it was only 90 years old when we bought it. It is all relative.
I also gravitated to waterfront properties. I am a water girl – an avid fisherman, surfer, and nature lover. I was even a lifeguard back in the day. I wanted to be around the waterfront lifestyle that drew me to Pensacola in the first place. When you see Pensacola from the Bay it is quite apparent that Pensacola is all about the water. You can only imagine how the first settlers saw it coming into its safe harbor in 1559.
But I digress. Why am I telling you all of this? When you sell or buy a home it is a massive financial decision in your family’s life. These are decisions that can affect generational wealth. In an industry that is rife with pitfalls, you should know the Realtor you hire. Realtors do much more than just open doors. I can share a list of over 100 obstacles I overcome in any given transaction. A good Realtor has your back.
Some Realtors have teams. I choose to be a one woman show. I put 100% focus into every aspect of my clients’ transactions. I have surrounded myself with a fantastic network of inspectors, lenders, insurance providers, title agents etc. for support I (we) can rely on. Working from contract to closing, my people work with me and me only. They are not passed to a transaction coordinator. I know every detail of a transaction from start to finish which allows me to give thoughtful skill, care, and diligence to the people I work with. In doing so, I better understand a client’s needs and goals at a level that makes a smoother, more effective, positive, and successful process. I choose to work this way - to focus on quality not quantity.
I welcome you to read the testimonials from some of the people I have worked with and welcome the opportunity to talk with you. Click to Open Biography and Testimonials
Sincerely,
Chris Reid, Realtor
