The Robinson Group Realty office on Fort Wood Street is about as charming a place to discuss real estate options, financing, listings, and anything else for that matter. Located within a historic Fort Wood home, the outside of the property rises high amongst the old trees surrounding it, a swing floats gently in midair beside a relic cannon, and the serene silence of the property on a summer day makes it an ideal working environment.
Not only the aesthetics of the Robinson office earn praise, though, as buyer specialist Ali Reeves will quickly explain. Here, there is a group spirit and support that makes the Robinson Realty family an even more appealing choice.
Reeves grew up in Pensacola, Fla., graduated from a boarding school in Lumberton, Miss., in 1991 and immediately moved to Chattanooga, where her brother was going to school, to continue her own education. Pushing almost 20 years here, Reeves says she still loves Chattanooga to this day.
Between school and starting her real estate career, Reeves worked in the restaurant industry, which allowed her to meet many people in the city. The more people she met, the more she realized the people-based nature of the business that she could bring to real estate. Reeves also bought her first home when she was 24, a HUD home she financed all on her own, and enjoyed this process.
“I love houses, I love going in and out of them, and thought, ‘This may be a career’ I could really work with and enjoy,” she says.
With these two elements in mind, Reeves made the transition into real estate in 2004.
When Reeves started out on her own, she worked for Crye-Leike, listing houses and working with buyers. She says she found that she was looking for something different from this style, where she could be part of a team process. At Robinson Group Realty, J. Robinson is the list agent of the properties that the buyer’s specialists co-list with and bring sellers to the table. But mainly, Reeves’ job since joining the company in January of this year is to retrieve phone calls of people who are looking for homes and working more on the buyer’s side.
“I like to have people in my car, driving them around the city (especially if they are not from here) show them what we have to offer and take them in and out of houses. That’s the part of this process that I enjoy the most,” she says. “It was just a really good fit for me to come to Robinson Real Estate, where that listing side was already taken care of, so I could mainly focus on working with buyers.”
At Robinson Realty, Reeves says she has discovered what she was looking for from her career.
“We just have such a good support staff here that I don’t have to take away that part of my time from putting another buyer in my car and working with them that way,” she says. “When I interviewed here, I just knew it was a no-brainer. It was going to fit what I was looking for.”
Before coming to Robinson Realty, Reeves learned a lot about how to be a successful Realtor. Honesty, integrity and follow-up are strong factors to success, she says.
“We hear in the industry more than anything, when someone calls us and then gets a response from us immediately, is people can’t believe [we] responded. So many Realtors who we give messages to don’t ever respond,” Reeves says. “The most important things are being very timely with your responses and really developing that relationship and letting the person know that you have a vested interest in working with them and become their friend.”
Reeves says this is where all her repeat customers come from, as they enjoy working with her the first time and call again with real estate needs because she worked so hard to develop that initial relationship with them.
Reeves also says Realtors can never rely on the phone ringing for their business.
“You have to constantly have a pipeline on who you are going to contact next. Never think that it’s just going to come to you. You have to be willing to make the phone calls and stay in contact with all those people you have worked with in the past. Someone may have used [a Realtor] five years ago, but that Realtor disappeared out of that person’s life and never stayed in contact. Although they may have been happy with them, when it comes time to sell or buy again, they can’t even remember the Realtor’s name.”
Staying in front of people, letting them know you are still in the business and want to work with them, are huge pieces of the real estate puzzle, she says.
Reeves spends much of her time outdoors, either on the lake or running, especially across the downtown bridges and around the social scenes of Chattanooga. She likes to get involved in local runs like the Mud Run for Habitat for Humanity which, she will participate in again this year.
“There are so many peoplerunning in it, that it’s just a matter of support and getting out there and having fun. I didn’t train last year and had a blast,” she says.
Reeves enjoys what she does and loves meeting new people, and being a part of the community.
Reeves says: “The real estate market, even though times have been tough, is a good place to put your money and not waste it on apartment rent. Move somewhere and get some credit established and make your mark.”
What better place to start doing this than the dream home atmosphere at the Robinson Realty office? That’s where Reeves found what she was looking for, and maybe buyers
can too.