Crye-Leike broker Vicki Trapp has the smile and handshake thing down pat. When she’s meeting someone, she immediately hits them with her pearly whites, and then provides a surprisingly firm handshake as she says a bright hello. It’s a skill people in her profession employ daily, but not everyone is able to pull it off with as much sincerity and grace as she does.
That’s because Trapp’s cheerful demeanor goes deeper than her smile and handshake. It’s who she is – at work, at home, at church and wherever else she goes. Trapp is relentlessly optimistic, tirelessly positive and humming with coiled energy. If she can pull this off at 61 while managing a large real estate office in a challenging market, no one has an excuse for being down on the profession.
Trapp could complain if she wanted to. But she doesn’t. Instead, she searches for the nugget of gold in every situation. Referring to the agents at her downtown office, she says she’s lost about half of her Realtors since she became broker in 2007. Many of the departed were part-time, though, and she has good things to say about the agents who remained. “I’m fortunate to have an office full of wonderful people. They’re talented, experienced and hard working. They know their business, and they do an incredible job. Don’t tell Harold Crye, but they don’t need me,” she says, laughing.
Trapp can relax, as her agents definitely need her. As broker, she recruits new Realtors, trains and mentors them, and then inspires and encourages them as they develop their business. She also handles any difficulties they encounter. “Last week, one of my agents ran into a big problem with a lease purchase. A buyer was moving into a house, and the check bounced. So I’m there when they need me,” she says. By “there,” Trapp doesn’t necessarily mean her desk at the Market Street office, as cushy as her chair might be. Rather, she means she’s only a phone call away. That’s because Crye wants his brokers in the field, listing and selling houses, so they don’t lose touch with what their agents are going through. That suits Trapp just fine, as she loves working with clients.
“This is a wonderful business. You meet the nicest people, and you’re doing something to help them. That’s where the pleasure in real estate is for me – in helping someone achieve his or her dream of either buying or selling a house,” she says. Trapp especially enjoys taking on clients at the edges of the customer spectrum, including first-time homebuyers and people entering retirement that are looking to downsize.
“I took a couple of newlyweds out yesterday, and as we were looking at a particular house, they got really excited. I had to calm them down and get them to see the disadvantages of the house, too,” she says. Trapp is in a good position to discuss the benefits and the pitfalls of a house, as she’s lived in more than her share of them. Growing up, she moved over a dozen times with her family as the finance company for which her father worked transferred him from city to city, and state to state. One school year, Trapp’s family relocated three times.
While this didn’t give Trapp time to settle into a groove, she loved going with her mother and sister to look for the houses in which they would be staying. She also enjoyed fixing up her room, even when she knew she’d soon be repacking her things and moving on. Throughout the years of moving, and moving again, Trapp never stopped thinking about one particular city: Chattanooga, where she’d been born. No matter where her family went, or how long they stayed, nothing else felt like home.
Then, in 1963, her family moved back to Chattanooga for good. Trapp finished junior high and high school in East Brainerd, and then went to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to study history and teaching. Upon earning her undergraduate degree, however, she decided education was not her thing and went to work as a bank teller at American National Bank. Later, she switched to United Bank of Chattanooga, where she stayed until 1977, the year she gave birth to the first of her two children. Trapp was happy being a mother. But a day came when she and her husband, Ken, looked at each other and asked, “How are we going to pay for college?” Trapp’s father and husband suggested real estate, as she still loved houses. So, Trapp earned her license and went to work. Since then, she’s “been blessed to have worked for three incredible companies.”
“I started with Raymond and Ann Hale at Hale Realty. They were close to my mom and dad, and they’d sold them all of the houses they’d bought in Chattanooga, so it made sense to go there,” Trapp says. Thirteen years later, Trapp switched to Prudential Realty Center, and eventually became the managing broker of the company’s Riverfront office. Everything was going well when Crye-Leike called her and asked her to open a branch in Ooltewah, Tenn. Trapp said no. Undeterred, the company called again and offered her a position in East Brainerd. She said she wasn’t interested. Crye-Leike then called a third time and told her about an opening at the company’s downtown office. The person on the other end of the phone also told her Harold Crye was going to be in Chattanooga, and wanted to interview her. Trapp didn’t say no.
“I wanted to see what they had to offer. And I saw in Harold the same things I’d seen in Raymond. Raymond was a kind and compassionate person who always put his clients first. He always told me to do what was right for the client, even if it meant Hale Realty got a cut commission or no commission,” Trapp says. Crye also piqued Trapp’s interest by telling her about his desire to grow his company and take care of his agents. Trapp considered his offer, called Crye back and said, “Yes.”
Today, Trapp is thankful not only for Crye-Leike but also everyone else who has put their faith in her and given her a chance. She loves what she does, and has no intention of slowing down. “I’m going to continue working as long as I can. I can’t imagine ever sitting still. I want to be active. I want to be busy. I want to be out there meeting people. I take such pleasure in making my clients happy.”