2014 Year in Review!

Jan, 02 15 Post by: Amy

New Year Picture 4With everything I’ve learned during the last decade in Real Estate, there’s always more to learn. And so it was time in 2014 to earn the CRS (Counsel of Residential Specialists) and the SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) designations. These may be just letters to most, but earning them involved many hours of study, discussion and investment so I can best help those looking to improve, or simply adjust, their quality of life.

I also served on the Membership Committee with the Knox Area Association of Realtors. This is my second year serving on a board after previously holding positions on the Education and Technology Committees. Plus, I’ve been serving on my Condo’s Homeowner’s Association Board, so for those in “condo-land” — I feel your pain. Although do remember if you don’t love living in “condo-land” I can help get you into a house, just call me.

Thanks in large part to all this knowledge and experience, I have continued to see great growth in my business since the “bottoming out” in 2008. The Property Management division is booming as well.(Speaking of which, if you ever grow tired of managing your own rental and investment properties, just give me a call, we will be happy to help).

With all this expansion, my “I” has had to become a “we” — for no woman is an island.

 

Meet the Crew

ShannonI’ve added a new affiliate, Shannon DeMarco, by way of Beverly Hills. It’s gratifying for me to have agents coming to me asking to be a part of my brokerage, but as a boutique firm, we don’t want to grow too rapidly.

With the explosion of Social Media and Digital Marketing in Real Estate (and life in general), I saw the need to add a new staff Boganmember in 2014. Diana Bogan has been a much-needed addition to the mix and is doing a great job helping us get information out on a global level about our outstanding listings as well as all the services we offer to help our clients with their Real Estate needs.

We also added Rosie Nguyen. She started out this summer as rosiean unpaid college intern who had to deal with being handed iPhones, printers and every other piece of technology and given the edict to “fix it;” she took all this and ran with it, and now I couldn’t do without her and her ability to just jump in when needed.

Finally, we added Jassen Kelly out of Seymour, as our go-to guy for maintenance, repair and helping keep all of our represented properties running smoothly. That has been a pleasant addition. This is not only a benefit to my buyers, investors and sellers, but also to any of our clients who may need maintenance (even after the sale). He’s a Jack-of-all-trades and master of many.

More Office News 


The Fleet
: You may remember seeing me in the little MINI or my old VW convertible “Pearl,” which was great on gas mileage but not so good for everyone to get in-and-out of, so I now have a Land Rover SUV to accommodate buyers who might prefer to do a ride-along. There are buttons on it I have yet to understand…#firstworldproblems

Office moves: We moved our office from the cozy quiet Sequoyah Hills center to a space just off Kingston Pike.

Events: UT/Bama Tailgate
We had the first annual Garland Properties client appreciation tailgate. I missed a few faces that I would have loved to see! If we missed you please share an email address, I’d love to add you to the 2nd annual tailgate as well as any other events we have this year.

Thanks to my Friends Barbara Stephens, Jennifer and Chris Beets, Lisa Stinnet, Walt Conway, Amy Ridgell, Annie Puma, Vasileios and Cynthia Maroulas, and others for all their referrals and references, it’s really one of the best compliments I can receive.

 

What’s New for 2015

Downsizing campaign: I’ve heard so often the phrase “we/I need to downsize.” That can mean anything from going through a closet to moving to a space with MUCH less square footage. More and more I see people who are ready to make a living transition that upgrades their quality of life — it may be less square feet, but offer more amenities. We are continuing to help those with that in mind and are spending much of the first quarter 2015 with that demand in mind.

Drones: I’m a tech geek at heart and when it comes to making my listings stand out I am always looking for that “next big thing”and one of those big things is drone pictures and videos. Buyers are visual and, many times, could be doing a home tour in another country at 2:00 in the morning. Meeting those demands as well as being syndicated out to many websites is paramount in getting the best and most exposure for my listings — not to mention it’s just really cool.

Most importantly, I plan to continue doing great business and helping people create the life that they fancy in Knoxville. With homes on the market down 16% nationwide, and interest rates continuing to stay low, it’s a great time to put a house on the market.

Meanwhile, here’s wishing you and yours the Happiest of Holidays and a Healthy & Productive 2015!

“Keeping it Real” in Real Estate,
Amy

Owner/Broker Garland Properties

*Like us on Facebook at Garland Properties *Follow us on Twitter @knoxgirl

 

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