We were lucky to catch up with Emily Everett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

When I started in real estate a decade ago, I had spent the previous decade in non-profit management. Talk about a conversation starter for friends, family, and colleagues. They all wanted to know how I made the decision to leave my job in helping people to sales. And the answer was clear to me from the start; I was helping people in a new way. Taking the trust I had earned through years in the non-profit world and transferring it to helping homebuyers or investors navigate the home buying process for the first time or walking sellers through the steps of selling their home successfully. Real estate has never been about sales for me and I’ve kept that organic approach throughout my career. My goal is to always make my clients feel knowledgable, comfortable, and confident in their home selling and purchasing process.

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

I’ve been in Charleston, SC for 15 years, but grew up in Southwest Virginia, attending Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business. I started in the non-profit sector shortly after graduating college and found my calling, managing organizations, volunteers, and communicating with the public about the good our organizations brought to the community. After buying my first home, my Realtor mentioned that she thought I would be good at real estate. Seeing how organized and communicative I was during the process. So I started taking night classes to get my real estate license, while serving as the Executive Director of a local non-profit. I knew what brokerage I was going to after getting my license and fell right into the Realtor role. Even having to drive out of town for my exam, so I could have my license for a closing that week! I worked closely with mentors in my company and have stayed with the same brokerage for all ten years. I have a very streamlined process that my clients praise for the ease of buying or selling a home. I work purely on a referral basis, from friends and family that have worked with me previously. You won’t see my face on a billboard- although I did get a glossy page in Charleston Magazine last summer. My client’s trust in me means everything. Knowing they feel confident in the process and with their purchase or sale is what keeps me going. Home buying or selling can be confusing, but not with someone who knows what they’re doing- or knows who to ask when something new arises.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The owner of my company always says, “You know you’ve made it when you fire a client”. And that’s definitely a lesson learned. In the beginning, you take any client, driving around for days at a time, taking phone calls at all hours, and writing contracts- all for houses that might not close. I’ve learned to trust my intuition. If a client feels like they’re taking advantage of your time and boundaries with no end in sight, they probably are. And it’s time to let them know that you have their best interests in mind, but you will not be taken for granted. You don’t get paid in real estate until a home closes. All of our services are ‘free’ up until that point. But if they never really plan on buying, you’re wasting valuable time you could be helping out other clients or with your friends and family. Always make sure you’re on the same page. I’ve worked with some clients for years and it was worth it- knowing they would eventually find the dream home they were looking for. And I’ve worked with some clients for weeks- know they were just dragging me around. You start to be able to snuff out the difference pretty quickly.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

My clients know they’ll hear from me at least once a year- to share the current value of their home, but I also reach out with general news about the Charleston market, helpful tips for hurricanes, event opportunities, and more. These are not e-newsletters, but organic emails I take the time to write out myself, in my voice, and follow back up on. I am super communicative, answering emails nearly as quickly as texts and providing my clients resources for years to come. I have a customer relationship management tool I use called Trello, that helps me keep track of important dates, sold price/ sqft, etc. I also happen to become friends with most of my clients, even if we weren’t originally, and keep in touch through social media. I love seeing how my clients make their house a home or what life events they’re going through.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://homewithemily.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/homewithemilye
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/homewithemilye
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyeeverett/

Image Credits

I own all of the photos