Editorial
Front Page - Friday, June 11, 2010
Realtor’s love for job stays strong in tough times
David Laprad
Treasure Coulter is a buyer’s specialist with Robinson Real Estate in Chattanooga. She enjoys the flexibility that comes with working in real estate and likes that each day as a Realtor is different from the last.
- David Laprad
Treasure Coulter admits times are tough for Realtors, but says she’s too busy enjoying her career to let the economy get her down.
As a buyer’s specialist with Robinson Real Estate in Chattanooga, Coulter likes the flexibility that comes with being a Realtor. While agents work a lot of nights and weekends, they can also take off in the middle of the day when necessary. As a working mother with two children, the oldest of which is three, Coulter says, she needs this option.
“I’m not a nine-to-five kind of person. Some people need to know from the moment they wake up what they’ll be doing for the rest of the day, but not me. You have to be flexible in this business or you’ll lose your mind,” she says.
Coulter also enjoys how each day is different from
the last. Whether every
second is packed with phone calls, meetings and general craziness, or she’s able to spend a low-key afternoon showing a client the city, she says her job suits her well.
In addition, Coulter says being a Realtor fits her personality, as she’s able to relate to many different kinds of individuals. This makes it a pleasure to meet new clients and easy to find out what they like.
Coulter also enjoys helping people solve their problems. “Maybe a family is trying to sell an elderly parent’s home before they have to move out. It makes you feel good when you’re a part of the solution,” she says.
Finally, Coulter likes those moments in which only Realtors get to participate, such as giving a young couple the keys to their first home. “I like being a part of their excitement,” she says.
Before Coulter can turn over the keys, she must travel a long road with a buyer. It begins with the initial consultation, during which she asks a litany of questions.
What’s bringing you to Chattanooga? Why are you moving? Did you just get married? Do you have a baby? Do you want to change school zones? Do you need less space? Do you need more space?” she says. “It’s a process of helping them identify their must-haves. When they move into a house, they’re going to be living there, so it’s important for them to understand what they need.”
Coulter is part of a real estate team that got its start working under Jay Robinson at Crye-Leike. Two years ago, Robinson moved the group into a stately home in the historical Fort Wood neighborhood in Chattanooga.
“It had come to the point where it made sense for us to do our own thing. Now we can serve our clients and meet their needs in the best way possible,” she says.
Coulter wasn’t always headed toward a career in real estate. After graduating from Girls Preparatory School in 1995, she earned a degree in fashion merchandising and marketing from the University of Georgia. Following graduation, Coulter stayed in the Peach State and found work in her field, although she lost her job when the industry hit hard times.
She returned to Chatta-nooga to figure out what her next move would be and hasn’t left town since.
Coulter’s working relationship with her boss has evolved over time from babysitting his kids when he and his wife would go out of town for real estate training conferences, to being his assistant after she moved back from Georgia, to becoming one of his buyer’s agents. Today, much of her job involves doing something she says is easy: selling Chattanooga.
“The city has come such a long way from where it started, it sells itself at this point. The cost of living is incredible compared to other parts of the country, it’s a wonderful place to raise children, and from valleys, to mountains, to waterfronts, it offers a variety of (living) options,” she says.
Having grown up in Chattanooga, Coulter is especially impressed with how the city has retained its small town feel as it’s increased in size and started offering the amenities of a larger metropolis. “We were able to tap into both of those things, which is rare. A lot of cities lose that as they begin to grow,” she says.
Coulter doesn’t just talk about Chattanooga, she experiences it, too. She and her husband have made the city’s renovated Southside their home, she’s been “trying to get back into running” and she’s working with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to plan its annual autumn fundraising event. What’s more, like many Scenic City residents, she’s found her niche in the world of work.
“I enjoy the flexibility that comes with working in real estate, I like that each day as a Realtor is different from the last and I enjoy helping people, but if I didn’t love this job, I wouldn’t be doing it,” she says.
Coulter isn’t the only real estate agent in Chattanooga who professes a love for their industry, but she is one of the boldest when it comes to speaking out against the negative perception people have about her city’s market.
“Business at Robinson has been better the last two months than it’s been in years. It’s a
fun time to be in real estate. Highly inflated markets that tanked have devastated places all over the country. We’ve escaped much of that. I know a lot of people have it hard right now but life is good. This is a great place to live and work.”
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