The Ultimate Real Estate Team
On March 22, 2019, Netflix aired the first episode of Selling Sunset, a reality television series that showcases the drama at The Oppenheim Group, where elite real estate brokers sell the luxurious life to their affluent buyers.
The trailer for Season One starts with this:
“I’m Jason Oppenheim, and this is my twin brother Brett. Together we built and own The Oppenheim Group here. Anyone who’s buying or selling in the Sunset Strip or the Hollywood Hills calls us. Behind those doors is all of the kick-ass women that make this brokerage what it is.”
And by kick-ass women, Jason is referring to Mary Fitzgerald, Christine Quinn, Heather Rae Young, and Chrishelle Stause — all top producing agents on his team.
The show is a healthy mixture of selling zillion-dollar homes, experiencing atypical amounts of office drama, and throwing extravagant pool parties — and somehow amidst the chaos, I became a fan.
As dysfunctional as the group seems, there are plenty of moments in the show where we get a glimpse into their world — moments when they come together as a team and make you feel as though they are a tight-knit family.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Meanwhile, 400 miles away sits Chandler, Arizona — a suburb of Phoenix, with more than a quarter of a million residents and no signs of slowing down.
Chandler’s parks, pools, museums, art galleries, hotels, golf courses, restaurants, and shopping make this one of Arizona’s best cities to live, play, and work.
It’s also a great place to run a business, and ASU grad Kim Stoegbauer has done just that. For the past 20 years, she has utilized her skills as a designer and stylist to create The TomKat Studio and TomKat Real Estate.
In the early 2000s, Kim spent 8+ years working full time in real estate — running a brokerage and working with buyers and sellers. She left in 2008 when the market crashed, and in 2017 resumed her interest in the industry.
Over the last three years, Kim has channeled her love for real estate and renovating properties and turned it into a multi-million dollar business.
Kim has grown TomKat Real Estate and has a talented team serving the greater Phoenix area while helping others with their home renovations and real estate needs.
Better Together
There is something special when a group of people comes together to accomplish a goal. With real estate, that goal is to help clients buy or sell their home.
Each transaction is a process, and it takes several individuals to ensure a pleasant experience for clients. Without a collaborative effort of people who know what they are doing, the process could have its challenges.
These challenges are why teams exist, and you might even find yourself on more than one of them. (Think being a part of a brokerage, as well as your team — made up of you, a lender, a home inspector, and support staff.)
The real estate industry offers a multitude of options. Buyers get to choose where they want to live, who will fund their mortgage, and which agent they want to represent them. Given that nearly 90% of all home sales occur with a real estate agent, there is plenty of inventory to go around.
While the competition in your local area might be stiff, your mission should be to stand out, and without a doubt, provide world-class service — to be the obvious choice for buyers and sellers.
The Ultimate Real Estate Team
Friday Night Lights was an award-winning show centered on the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, where winning the state football championship is prized above all else.
Coach Taylor navigated his team through pressure-filled seasons while dealing with struggles relating to his own family.
At the beginning of each game, he gathered his players, looked them in the eyes, and said, “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”
To Coach Taylor, these six words were the embodiment of teamwork, and they should serve as the foundation of your business. Each time you take the field, do it with the same confidence the Dillon Panthers had.
And when you do, remember the ultimate real estate team is your team.
