We were lucky to catch up with Sherri McFadden recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sherri, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?
I often tell potential clients to “meet me at the closing table.” In a real estate transaction, the closing table represents the finish line. It is the place where buyers & sellers meet, usually for the first time, accompanied by their representatives. The closing table is where documents are signed, keys are exchanged & new chapters begin.
In the course of my real estate career, I have been privileged to assist buyers and sellers alike, helping them navigate the housing market and ultimately, end up at the closing table. I especially love working with first-time homebuyers. I find that most buyers experience some degree of trepidation when purchasing their first home. They often don’t know what to expect, which makes the process seem daunting. I am there to assuage their fears by educating them and walking them through the process, step by step.
My career allows me to make amazing connections and I often form long-lasting relationships with clients that extend far beyond the sale. I’ve worked with investors, first-time home buyers, sellers & people who have chosen to relocate to Maryland. It is extremely rewarding to help my clients achieve their real estate goals & I’ve been blessed to be a part of some amazing success stories.
Last year, I received a direct message from a young woman who had been following me on social media. She told me that when she was ready, she and her husband would be contacting me to assist with the purchase of her family’s first home. After a few months, I received another message. They were ready. We scheduled a consultation and I inquired about their real estate goals. I was able to connect them with an amazing lender and we soon had the green-light to start shopping. We met that weekend for the first time and by mid-week, my clients had found their dream home. Their offer was accepted the next day and the home inspection and appraisal were both done by the end of the week. Because their process moved so quickly, they were able to close on their new, completely renovated home about a week ahead of schedule.
While I appreciate and value all of my clients, this wonderful couple & their success story will always be special to me. While getting to know them, there were moments of full transparency, on both ends. They told me about a lot of the sacrifices they made to achieve their goal of home ownership. They did the work and they now have a beautiful home to show for it. At times, they were a little overwhelmed because they had not expected the process to move so swiftly. What they thought would take several months, took about 4 weeks from start to finish.
This is just one of many happy endings. I love helping clients achieve their real estate aspirations & I am grateful for the opportunity to be of service.
Sherri, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Although it took me a while to jump into the field, I have been interested in real estate for as long as I can remember. I’ve always enjoyed looking at beautiful homes & have always been passionate about nurturing and helping others. In 2019, during a period of self-reflection, I decided that I owed it to myself to pursue my dreams. After years of putting it off, I pushed my fears to the side and signed up to take the class offered by the local Board of REALTORS®. On my 48th birthday, I passed the exam to become a licensed salesperson.
I have finally discovered my passion. I often wish that I had started my real estate career sooner but I know that everything happens as it’s supposed to. I have a BA in Marketing from Morgan State University, as well as an MBA. My educational background, along with years of working in Marketing & Customer Service, has provided me with valuable skills that I use daily in negotiations and in the process of educating my clients, who trust me to give them my absolute best.
I truly love all aspects of working in real estate. For the past two years, I have been recognized as one of the top 3 producing agents at Mims Realty Group. I also have the pleasure and honor of serving as Membership Director, 2023, for Women’s Council of Realtors, Greater Baltimore, an amazing network of real estate professionals.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Much to my surprise, many of my clients have come by way of social media. I try to post pretty consistently about topics related to buying and selling real estate. I’ve had quite a few people indicate that they’d followed me for months before initiating contact. In addition to making new connections, social media has also afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with people I’ve known for several years, but had lost contact with. I’ve been able to assist former co-workers, high-school classmates, childhood friends, etc.
It’s important to post consistently, engage your followers & provide valuable, educational content.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As I mentioned, I obtained my salesperson license toward the end of 2019. No one could have predicted what was about to take place a short time later. I was still getting my feet wet and settling in as a new agent when we were faced with a global pandemic. With that, came so much uncertainty…..so much fear. It changed everything. In spite of it all, there were still people who wanted to buy and sell homes, which meant that I had work to do. New processes and safety measures were put into place and we kept working. I remember doing a lot of virtual showings during that time. We were actually a few months into the pandemic when I sold my first home.
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Jermaine Gibbs