We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Corcoran recently and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a customer success story with us?

I love helping all of my clients buy and/or sell and my favorite (and most challenging) stories are the most deserving clients who almost don’t get their home sold or purchased, but because of my amazing team (my brokers, lenders, title company, inspector, etc) we get it done!

Reflecting back, one of my favorites was a young couple with 2 little boys. I had met them, years prior, at their business that unfortunately ended in bankruptcy. These two totally took this as an opportunity to better themselves and their lives. I am still amazed by how well they composed themselves and took responsibility for what had happened. The short version of their story goes a little like this. After seeing several homes and not finding what they were truly looking for, they caught word their backyard neighbors were selling one of their houses that sounded perfect for this family of 4! At the time, I don’t want to say they didn’t stand a chance of winning a house bid, but they didn’t have a bunch of extra cash to throw at a house that didn’t appraise and they were not going to buy a home without an inspection. They viewed the home and fell in love! The sellers agreed to sell the home to them without putting it on the market, which went against everything their agent recommended.

We started preparing their home and put it on the market. Things were going so well; it was almost as if everything was too easy and too perfect! We immediately went under contract with a buyer on their home. Fast forward a few weeks, we had almost crossed the finish line of closing and boom! Devistation! Days before closing, we found out their attorney had filed a motion to sell for the list price, however, Summer 2021 was a great time to sell the perfect starter home, so we ended up with an offer over list price. Great, right? Absolutely! But now we needed an amendment to this motion to sell for the new sale price, signed by a judge who was going on vacation, and we needed it STAT! We were told at the time it would take 30 days and we needed it done sooner. Fortunately, the buyer and his agent on the other end were both understanding, the seller on their purchase was very flexible and what could have taken up to 30 days did not. We were able to get everything together and this anxious and deserving family is now loving their new home! It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it!

I have one of the most rewarding jobs. One thing I have learned in my 8+ years in real estate is no deal will ever be the exact same as the next. These challenges help me grow to be the best Realtor I can be for my clients and I’m always grateful for the challenges that keep me learning and on my toes!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My husband and I live in St. Charles and we have been married for 10 years. We have a beautiful 7 year old daughter and the funniest 3 year old son. They are our pride and joy! Around the time we got married, my husband and I would joke about how someday I would become a real estate agent and he would become an inspector, which he is not…he’s an engineer. I’ve always loved looking at houses and when I was 9, my parents built the home they still live in. I remember lots of evenings over there and loved all the details that went into watching those sticks become a home that we gather in today. If you had asked me then if I thought I’d be a Realtor, I would have said “a what?”. In our farm community, real estate wasn’t talked about much unless it was farm ground that was for sale.

In college, I earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree majoring in Biology, minoring in Chemistry and I had an emphasis in Genetic Engineering. After college, I took a corporate job that really taught me how important building relationships was and that you were expected to work hard so you could keep your job, but also if you’re picking up slack for others on your team, they could keep their jobs. I’m not proud to say I was fired from that job, but I am proud to say it was the best thing to ever happen to me! I have always been willing to go the extra mile, so when it was time, I knew real estate was a shot worth taking. I had nothing to lose. Real estate is an industry that rewards your hard work personally, mentally and financially.

In May of 2014, I went to lunch with Cindy Fox-Griffey, managing broker at what was Real Living Now, and met a few agents in her office. While it was an uneasy time for me, I felt like this office would be a good fit and she was willing to take a chance on me. She guided me on what was the best route to obtain my license and I went to work. In June of 2014, I passed the state and federal exams and I was on my way to becoming a Missouri licensed real estate agent. The rest is history! Our company location has changed, our name has changed, but the people at Fox & Riley Real Estate have not and they are my family. I’m so thankful for and proud of the path that brought me to them. I have always been a people person who loves to help others. Real estate ebbs and flows and in the less busy seasons, I pride myself on finding other ways to help people because it gives me life and purpose! Real estate is my passion. I always think people in other occupations want to go home and have no mention of their jobs, but real estate is 24/7 and I’m here for it!

I often brag about “my real estate team” and no, I’m not referring to an assistant or a buyers agent. My real estate team consists of my managing broker, Cindy Fox-Griffey who is a Commissioner on the Missouri Real Estate Commission and Joe Riley, who was the President of what was and may still be the largest real estate company in the St Louis area. They are a wealth of knowledge and what makes me a great Realtor is having them available to me all hours of the day. Not one person in this industry can say they know everything and I’m always willing to tell clients I might not have the answer, but someone on my team will or we’ll find out! I believe working with Fox & Riley Real Estate is invaluable to my success. In every transaction, something new happens and Cindy and Joe are always there to help me work through it. Cindy’s knowledge of the sales contract is almost unbelievable and Joe’s ability to recall zip codes and street names within those zip codes, in areas I’ve never even been to, is incredible. These 2 have taught me the importance of being hands on and making sure every detail of each deal is perfect.

I pride myself on the education piece of real estate. It is easy to sell someone a home or sell their home (especially post 2020), but it is vital that clients understand what they’re signing, why and what it means for them. One of the most important things we do as Realtors is (lovingly) “hand hold” our clients, step by step through the process so we don’t miss any time lines and we know our clients fully understand what they’re committing to when buying or selling their largest investment!

I am a very low pressure agent. My opening line to every potential client goes like this, “..let’s take some time to sit down and chat, make sure we’re a good fit for each other because this is not a one size fits all industry. You need to be confident and comfortable with me representing you because this is probably your largest investment to date.” I also believe in making sure my clients not only know how to get into an agency agreement with me, but also how to exit an agency agreement if they feel they are not being represented in a way THEY FEEL THEY DESERVE to be represented. Everyone deserves an A+ agent for their transaction!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Wow, do you remember when COVID-19 struck? Not only in our industry, but across the world, there was so much uncertainty. 2020 marked a turn in the real estate market. Houses went from taking days, weeks or even months to sell to sold in the first 12 hours on market, it was insanity! Then it became a thing to make sure everyone had an exclusive chance to view the listing.. so we would wait 2 or 3 days before deciding on an offer. DOUBLE INSANITY!

As agents, we really had to stay on top of what we needed to be doing to help our clients get into the home of their dreams. This was a market that was unprecedented. I had to start having hard talks with clients about the likelyhood of beating out the 20 other offers when they needed an appraisal and inspections. It was a very challenging time and it was a time of heart break for our clients. I remember saying “well it has to get better because it can’t get worse” and you all know what happened next, it got worse.

This challenging time in the market taught me to expect the unexpected and to always be willing to learn and try new strategies. It reassured me that now, more than ever, agent to agent relationships were of high importance. I know of a couple occasions where sellers chose my buyers because of the relationship the agent and I were able to form as well as sharing my expectations of my clients that I had made clear to them.

I have a love/hate relationship with these times… But I love the opportunities I was given to help families find homes that better fit their needs and the opportunity to build relationships with agents who I am proud call friends today.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

In the beginning of my career, open houses were my #1 lead generation. It’s very humbling to get into real estate in an area you have only lived in for 1.5 years. I’m from West Central Illinois, so I didn’t have a large sphere of influence in this area. Today, my #1 source of new clients are my past clients and friends. I could never thank these people enough for being my cheerleaders and for sharing my name with their friends, family and my latest favorite, strangers! Referrals are invaluable to me and they are truly what keeps me doing what I love! You all know who you are, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://daniellecorcoran.foxandriley.com/
• Instagram: @danielle.corcoran.realtor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.limkemann
• Youtube: youtube.com/@danielle.corcoran.realtor

Image Credits
Canon Shots Photography