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What a long strange trip it's been...
I read once in a "how to be a real estate agent" book that no one ever grows up wanting to be a Realtor. And, of course, that's true. I know in my own case, it took many years and many turnings along the road to reach this point. Through the years I have acquired many skills and a strong personal philosophy that I believe serve me very well as a real estate agent. If you're looking for someone to help you with the sale of your intown home, I believe I can be of great assistance to you.
Let me tell you a bit about myself...
I was born and raised in Decatur near Emory University and Toco Hills Shopping Center. I attended DeKalb county schools (Laurel Ridge Elementary and Shamrock High before it was redesignated as a middle school) and earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology (minor in filmmaking) from Georgia State University before moving on to the University of Georgia where I received a master's degree in landscape architecture (with a certificate in historic preservation).
I spent about 15 years (give or take) working as a legal secretary. Then, in 1998, I created
atlanta-midtown.com. The internet was still a bit of a novelty at that point but I was frustrated with the relative dearth of local area information that was available, so I created the atlanta-midtown.com site to try to fill in some of the gaps. In the early years of the site, I created web sites for
Callanwolde Fine Arts Center,
Inman Middle School, and the
Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools, among others (those original sites have been updated over the years).
In 2000, I launched showing247.com as a dedicated intown real estate portal that provided information about homes for sale in the hottest intown neighborhoods. Over the years, I perfected a type of virtual tour that offered not only tremendous detail about each specific home, but also placed each home within a neighborhood context so that people unfamiliar with the area could get a true sense of the home and surrounding community. showing247.com grew rapidly and attracted not only intown residents but also people relocating to Atlanta from around the country and the world.
I still publish both atlanta-midtown.com and showing247.com and I still create virtual tours (the best!) for other real estate agents. But in 2005, I decided it was time to get my own real estate license because I recognized that I would do a better job of marketing homes than anyone else in town.
When you hire me as your agent, this is what you get...
Exceptional Marketing Skills: Marketing is my passion. I have the skills and experience to get information about your house in front of just about every person on the planet who might be interested in buying it - whether they are driving down your street or surfing the web from around the globe. This includes aggressive marketing from Day One. When a house first comes on the market, there is a great buzz of interest. Many agents hold off marketing until after this initial buzz has worn off since they prefer not to spend money marketing a house that might sell without that expense. However, I believe this would be a major disservice to my clients. Having an aggressive marketing plan in place and online from Day One maximizes the likelihood that your house will sell (and potentially have multiple offers). And, fortunately, since I have the skills to create most of these marketing materials myself I don't rely on anyone else's work schedule to get everything up and running.
21st Century Skills: Technology is my friend. I check (and respond to) my e-mail all day long. I carry a smartphone (iPhone) with wireless internet access. I find my way around town using a GPS navigation system in my car. I believe in staying on top of the latest technological advances that can improve the efficiency and experience of today's real estate transaction. In addition to my own background as a web designer, I have completed the e-PRO certification program of the National Association of REALTORS® to ensure that I have the most complete training available in the use of technology in real estate transactions.
Honesty: I don't believe that anyone is well-served by having an agent who equivocates, misleads, or only says what they believe their client wants to hear. A large part of the value of hiring a real estate professional is being able to benefit from her knowledge and objectivity. I take that very seriously. "Yes Men" are a dime a dozen but a Realtor who will tell you truthfully about potential consumer objections to your house before it hits the market can substantially increase your bottom line.
Dedication: I won't accept a listing that I don't believe in, and I won't overload my schedule with more listings than I can effectively handle. But for every listing that I take, I give it everything I have. My goal is to work in partnership with each client to ensure their house is properly positioned to sell quickly and for the best possible price.
If you would like to know more about how I can help you market your intown home for sale, I hope you'll contact me.
Just in case you're interested...
I'm an info-junkie, so I always like to know as much as possible about people that I work with. If you're the same way, here's more about me:
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I'm a Mac person (bought my first Mac, a 512k "Fat Mac", in 1984 and have owned at least one ever since)
I love country music (favorites include Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, and Rascal Flats) and classical guitar
My favorite TV shows are: NCIS, Burn Notice, The Closer, Lost, and Survivor (favorite guilty pleasures are Dancing with the Stars and Doctor Who)
I'm a big fan of PGA golf and competitive figure skating although I can't golf or skate myself
I used to be a big fan of the Atlanta Braves but they traded too many of my favorite players (Javy Lopez was the last straw)
I'm a cat person but also love dogs (unless they are mean or overly slobbery)
I contribute regularly to charities. Some of my favorites are:
Doctors Without Borders;
International Rescue Committee;
The Heifer Project;
CARE;
Nepalese Youth Opportunity Fund;
World Wildlife Federation;
Atlanta Community Food Bank
I give blood
As a child I wanted to be either a movie star or an archeologist
As an undergraduate lab assistant in the anthropology department at Georgia State I reconstructed human skulls, wrote a research paper that was published as a chapter in a book, and won the Phi Beta Kappa faculty group award
I worked on the fan campaign to save the TV show Farscape
My favorite subject in school was history and my least favorite was physics but at the University of Georgia I taught a summer school enrichment class in physics to gifted elementary school students and absolutely loved it
The subject of my master's thesis was the design of developmentally-appropriate outdoor play and learning environments for children
But enough about me...
If you're selling an intown home, I do hope you'll contact me. I'd love to know more about you and discuss strategies for marketing your home.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Lisa Crowder, e-PRO
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage
404.422.2947 - direct
404.844.4977 - brokerage
lisa@intownagent247.com
atlanta-midtown.com
showing247.com
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