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After practically 20 years at a big-box brokerage, Sarah Leonard took the reins as crew lead and broker-owner at Legacy Properties. The distinction between a franchise and an indie? Entry.
“Being independent means there are no layers of corporate red tape,” Leonard mentioned. “Our clients and agents have direct access to decision-makers, which ensures fast responses, flexible solutions and exceptional service.”
As well as, Leonard relishes the power to supply “a customized expertise to each shopper. We’re not certain by company guidelines, which suggests we are able to deal with what really issues — constructing relationships and serving our local people.
“We live and work here, so we deeply understand the market and the unique needs of our clients.”
Learn the way Leonard and her crew are setting the usual for excellence of their Chicagoland market with cutting-edge strategies, unparalleled shopper service and neighborhood advocacy.
Title: Sarah Leonard
Title: Crew lead, proprietor, dealer
Expertise: 19 years
Location: Chicago, Illinois metro space
Brokerage title: Legacy Properties, A Sarah Leonard Firm
Rankings: fifth
Crew measurement: 12
Transaction sides: 373 YTD
Gross sales quantity: $151,120,860 YTD
How did you get your begin in actual property?
I bought began on the age of 21, getting licensed on my birthday, and it’s been an unbelievable journey ever since. Actual property has all the time been part of my life. Rising up, my household moved each 4 to 5 years, with my mother and father designing and constructing the houses we lived in with their very own palms. Being immersed in that course of gave me an early appreciation for the true property world.
In highschool, I bought an excellent nearer look when my mother labored on the [local] Affiliation of Realtors. I helped her host occasions, which gave me firsthand perception into what a Realtor’s life was like. From that time ahead, I knew this was the trail I needed to comply with.
I spent 19 years on the similar brokerage, gaining invaluable expertise and studying what works and what doesn’t work at these big-box brokerages. This brings me present with beginning my very own brokerage, Legacy Properties, A Sarah Leonard Firm.
What do you would like extra individuals knew about working in actual property?
Working in actual property is usually misunderstood as a glamorous job stuffed with exhibiting stunning houses and shutting offers, however there’s a lot extra to it. Success is constructed on belief, relationships and real take care of purchasers, because it’s not nearly gross sales however serving to individuals navigate a number of the most essential selections of their lives.
The hours are unpredictable, with brokers usually working evenings, weekends and even holidays to accommodate purchasers’ schedules. It’s a multifaceted function the place you put on many hats, performing as a negotiator, marketer, problem-solver, counselor and challenge supervisor — no two days are ever the identical.
Steady studying is important, as market traits, authorized updates and new instruments continuously evolve. Whereas the business could be profitable, it takes time, constant effort and upfront funding to construct a profitable enterprise.
Teamwork can also be very important, as brokers collaborate with lenders, inspectors, attorneys, appraisers and colleagues to make sure easy transactions. Lastly, the emotional facet of actual property can’t be overstated — shopping for or promoting a house is deeply private, and brokers usually function mediators, advisors and emotional anchors for his or her purchasers.
What are 5 stuff you’d like readers to learn about you and your brokerage?
The large-box brokerage mannequin usually prioritizes income and development over relationships and the shopper expertise. I needed to create one thing completely different, the place the main target is on really serving purchasers. That imaginative and prescient grew to become a actuality with the Sarah Leonard Crew.
Immediately, we’re a gaggle of 12 full-time brokers, divided into itemizing and purchaser specialists, so every shopper will get the advantage of a devoted skilled. Because the crew chief, itemizing agent and proprietor of the corporate, I take immense pleasure within the unbelievable professionals I work alongside and the distinctive service we offer to our purchasers.
Shopping for or promoting a house is likely one of the greatest selections an individual could make, and my crew’s mission is to take the heavy lifting off our purchasers’ shoulders. We’ve constructed sturdy partnerships with trusted professionals, together with dwelling inspectors, attorneys, appraisers, lenders, stagers, photographers and transferring firms. Each one among these relationships is rigorously chosen to make sure they meet our excessive requirements, serving to to make the method as seamless and stress-free as doable.
Our purpose is to make each shopper really feel like they’re our solely shopper, delivering the customized consideration they deserve all through the journey.
What’s your high tip for freshly licensed brokers?
Be clear about the place you need to go. A number of brokers get into this business for the liberty and wealth alternative but don’t have an finish vacation spot in thoughts. If you don’t have an finish vacation spot in thoughts, it’s straightforward to get distracted and be unproductive together with your day by day actions, which takes you additional away from the top results of what you’re searching for.
I like to recommend discovering the fitting neighborhood and mentors that can provide help to obtain the approach to life and targets which can be essential to you and why you selected actual property.
What’s one factor you would like each agent knew?
Actual property is an infinite sport. You must have a look at each interplay exercise and see the long-term advantages of it. That is an business the place one transaction can flip into a number of transactions in the event you deal with it appropriately. And doc it properly.
Use the industries, instruments and assets to assist your life be simpler and discover your neighborhood that can provide help to obtain the long-term targets you’re searching for.
E-mail Dani Vanderboegh
