We were lucky to catch up with Sara Sawyer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I started my business, Moon River Transactions, to give real estate agents the ability to leverage their time & energy away from the non-income-producing tasks of transaction management. I do this by utilizing efficient systems, excellent customer service & ever-growing knowledge from contract to close. I had been in Real Estate for several years and I wanted to take my skills for the paperwork and “Type-A” side of the business to a new level.

My goal while trying to come up with a good name was to keep it relevant to the area I live in (Savannah, Georgia) while also having a name that is fun and personal. I tried incorporating “Savannah” into a few ideas and came up with some names that integrated my last name but nothing felt quite right.

One day I had the song “Moon River” by Johnny Mercer stuck in my head and a little light bulb went off – it was perfect! Not only do I live near the river that was named after the song, but two major ways I find peace and relaxation in my life are spending time in the water and time sitting outside in the moonlight at night.

I love water, really any body of water, but especially swimming and hanging out in the ocean for hours on end. My husband and I try and go to the beach weekly throughout the summer. I am always the first one in the water and typically the last one to get out. I love getting lost in my own world and I come home feeling relaxed and rejuvenated for the week ahead.

I also always had a fascination with the moon and things that are beyond this small planet we inhabit. Growing up, my Dad and I watched a lot of Syfy, spent time studying the stars and moon through his telescope, read books about space and went to any cool space exhibits at the museums we could find. Nowadays, one of my favorite ways to wind down after a long day is to sit outside in the moonlight and just be quiet and reflective, especially when the moon is full and bright.

Real Estate can be a very crazy world and I want to bring that peace and relaxation to all the Agents I work with. I want them to feel confident handing a file over knowing I am going to handle it efficiently until we get to the closing table.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have a very Type-A personality. I love organizing, paperwork, problem-solving, and working on a schedule. Due to that, I never saw the 24/7 world of Real Estate as a career option.

My husband, Ben, and I were living in Arkansas when he accepted a job in Savannah, Georgia. We had never even been to Savannah, but we decided if we are going to move and start a new life somewhere, we wanted to go all in. Shortly after he accepted the job, we started the process of buying our first home. Ben moved to Savannah a few months ahead of me to start his job, so I traveled every other weekend for 3 months to look at houses. Throughout that time, I fell in love with the process and it sparked my interest in a world I was vastly unfamiliar with. A few months after moving to Savannah, I took a Real Estate course and got my license.

When I started out in real estate I was clueless. I became an Executive Assitant to a top luxury Realtor, Liza DiMarco, along with performing my own small real estate deals. Through those 2.5 years, I learned so much. I was thrown into all kinds of situations outside of my comfort zone. I learned new ways to problem solve, gained a lot of knowledge, and was able to figure out what I enjoyed and what my strengths and weaknesses were.

Most Real Estate Agents have a higher desire to dive into the customer-based side of Real Estate. Growing their business, going to Listing appointments, driving Buyers to houses, attending networking events, and hosting open houses tend to be where Agents find their passion and drive.

Things like writing contracts and amendments, keeping track of important dates, confirming appointments, circulating emails, and other non-income-producing tasks take away from the social aspects of Real Estate and hinder agents from growing their business. This is the side of Real Estate I gravitated towards.

I was able to take my passion for the paperwork side of real estate and turn it into a business. I now work with over 20 local Realtors as their Transaction Coordinator. I take all the nitty-gritty contract-to-close tasks off their plate and work hand-in-hand with Agents to get their clients to the closing table as smoothly as possible. My ever-growing knowledge in Real Estate allows me to work with my clients to problem solve and I am able to share that knowledge to help improve and grow their businesses as well.

I offer a vast amount of services to my clients, and I am with them every step of the way. I communicate with all parties through the course of the transaction, I look over contracts and make sure my Agents are in compliance with the Georgia Real Estate Commission. I also write Amendments, confirm appointments, keep up with important dates, touch base with Buyers/Sellers, order home warranties and termite inspections, follow up with requested repairs, ensure we are on track for closing, confirm when a transaction is closed and funded, send out reviews to Buyers and Sellers on behalf on my agents, and so much more!

I have been able to expand and customize my services as my business has grown. I am thankful for everything that led me to open Moon River Transactions. I was able to get out of my comfort zone to find my niche in Real Estate. I can say with full confidence I am living my dream. I work on a fixed schedule (Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm) and I spend every day helping my clients get organized, feel at peace, and navigate this chaotic world of Real Estate.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Savannah, although typically crawling with SCAD students and tons of tourists, is a small town. Once you have met enough people, you can’t even go to the grocery store without running into someone you know.

Starting off in Real Estate in a town I never even visited before deciding to move, gave me a great advantage. Not only did I learn the area well but I attended a lot of networking events, met tons of people, and I was able to really build my social skills. Working for Liza helped me gain access to a lot of events in town and once there, I talked to everyone I could. I used to be more on the shy side growing up but attending events and constantly meeting new people made it easier to connect and socialize. Now I can walk into a room of people I don’t know and walk out with several new connections. At the time. it also helped that my hair was bright pink, so once someone met me, they were likely to remember who I was.

Showing up to events, and supporting local businesses, entrepreneurs, and bands is a huge part of my life. Just being there for the people is a big way I build my reputation. My favorite time of the week is Saturday morning. My husband and I stroll through the Forsyth Farmers Market and we buy the bulk of what we need for the week. We do everything we can to buy things we need from local farms and vendors. Our meat, vegetables, coffee, laundry detergent, soap, and much more. We also have several friends in local bands so we try to attend shows/gigs and show support when we can. Making those connections and supporting local vendors is a great way to not only build relationships but to grow as a person.

Meeting people both in and outside the world of Real Estate is important for my business. With Savannah being as small as it is, once you meet enough people the word-of-mouth referral business is the best way you can grow. I thankfully do not have to do a lot of marketing around town. I show up, support others, connect with those I can, and business tends to find me. I am a very optimistic person and love being there for others. When I know I played even a small role in helping someone grow their business, whether that be a real estate business, a band, or a local farm, it brings me such joy.

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

Since a lot of my time is spent working alone either at home or at my office, I love getting out and meeting people.

Not only do I offer a lot of services to Real Estate Agents, but I do what I can to build my relationship with each of them. Once we start working together, I like to meet my Agents in person and attend any events they host as an Agent or as a Brokerage.

My clients all know I am here when they need me, and that I will do everything I can to help them grow and build their businesses. Sometimes that means problem-solving with them and other times it simply means being someone they can vent to and lean on. If an Agent has a service they need assistance with that falls outside of the realm of Transaction Coordinator work, I do what I can to accommodate. This is not something I advertise but since I have worked in different aspects of Real Estate, I am able to provide all kinds of customized side services to my clients. The ability to do so really helps me build trust and lasting relationships with my clients.

My clients are also not bound by a contract or forced to work with me through every transaction they get. Sometimes it’s easier to handle a deal on your own or you need to save a little money. Real Estate is a very unpredictable world and I want to work with Agents without the pressure of obligation. I want to help my clients find peace and relaxation, not add to their stress. Thankfully, it’s worked out well so far for both myself and my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moonrivertransactions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonrivertransactions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonrivertransactions

Image Credits
Elevated Coastal Productions, Keen Eye Marketing