Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Maiello.
Hi Amy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My real estate story started back in 2003. I had recently had a custom home built and after closing the builder approached me and asked if I would consider working for him part-time by choosing the finishing touches on his spec homes. I had a great time with it and was able to bring a little bit of design flair to a typical cookie-cutter home.
In 2005 I met my husband who is a mason by trade. I took care of his billing and the paperwork end of his business. I worked as the liaison between the builder and him. Before the economy crashed in 2008, he had been working for a couple of builders and did their concrete and stone work.
In 2014 my husband Adam said that I would really make a terrific real estate agent. Initially, I balked at the idea but warmed up to it when I realized that there would be plenty of flexibility so that I could still raise our three girls without putting them into daycare. I didn’t realize at the time how rewarding a career in this field would be!
When I started my career in real estate we had recently moved to the area. I had no local friends or family and no church. Since I had no clientele, I started doing open houses on the weekends and met people that way. I had a strong hustle and sold about ten homes my first year. Most of my clientele had no idea that I was a fresh new agent. I had previously purchased four homes and a commercial business, so I knew what I liked about previous agents that represented us, and I also knew that there were things that those agents could improve upon. I set out to be the kind of agent that I would want to represent me. That’s where “Real Estate Without The Hassle” was born. When I branded my team in 2015 as The Amy Group (at that time, I hung my license with Keller Williams), I was trying to think of a good tagline and was brainstorming with a designer who was helping me brand a hot pink vehicle wrap on my car. He asked me why people choose me, and it’s because of what I offer-real estate without any hassle. For me, it’s all about client service, and I am a full-service Realtor which means I take care of everything. I’m a great resource for anything that they need, and sometimes I’m their therapist. I want to take care of my clients and take as much stress out of the transaction for both my buyers and sellers that I possibly can. I have many solid relationships within the industry to help make their home sale or purchase as seamless as possible. If they need a handyman to do some punch list items prior to listing their home, if they have a leak they need fixed and need a plumber, if they need a moving company to assist in moving across country- I have all of that and so much more than what is standard in my industry. I even have a moving truck that our clients get to use for their local move at the end of their transaction. I’m a great problem solver and am well-skilled in my craft, and in the areas where I’m not as proficient, I have teammates who are. I have a great team of women who help make the dream work. Charlene is my Buyer’s Agent, Kathy is my Transaction Coordinator, and Meagan is my marketer. I’ve met all of these women through my business, and I’m happy to say that we are all very good friends, and I love them dearly. These women are all very diligent in their work and always do what is right for our clients. Top-tier customer service and responsiveness is key, and these women do such an incredible job assisting me with that.
The last few years I have hung my license with eXp Realty. What I love about eXp is that they let me be me! They are more about the agents than the brokerage. There’s a great culture there and they want for their agents to be successful and build strong teams. There’s also added bonuses such as stock awards and revenue sharing. When I made the switch to eXp Realty, I really had my eye on becoming an ICON Agent. The ICON award is the only award that eXp offers, and I am happy to say that I have been an ICON recipient 3 times! Each time I reward myself with something bougie, last year I bought myself a pink Chanel bag.
How did I go from not having any clients to building a very successful business so quickly? I always did my best to do the right thing. It sounds so cliche, but it’s something that my team and I live by. Because of it, my team has a solid reputation in the industry, not only with local buyers and sellers but also with others in my industry. People wanted to work with me based on referrals and my great reviews on different platforms online. I answer my phone (even at night), I’m very quick to respond to texts and emails-it’s how I built my business. I’m thankful for the clientele that I have, so the least I can do is put their mind at ease by responding quickly to their queries.
The Amy Group (powered by eXp) services an array of clientele, but our team’s niche is first-time home buyers, VA, relocation, and vacation homes. We live near a military base, so we are always servicing our beloved VA clients who CPS into the area and love helping them generate their BAH into wealth. First-time home buyers are inexperienced when it comes to making a home purchase, so we help guide them through the process. Many of our first-time home buyers qualify for grants, so we are partnered with lenders who are very helpful with assisting them make their dream of home ownership a reality. I have made TWO cross-country moves in the last 20 years, so I know what it takes to organize and facilitate every last detail with a long-distance move. I have had many clients move out of state in the last year, and a half, and not only have I assisted them with movers, but also great agents and mortgage lenders in the area in which they are moving to in order to make the move more seamless. I want for my clients to have a flawless experience when they purchase a home with me or my team. It doesn’t matter if they purchase a lower-cost home or a multi-million-dollar home-everyone gets the same experience and treatment when they purchase with me and my team. We are big believers in the American dream and love assisting others build their net worth. What we like to remind people is that if you’re renting-you’re still paying someone else’s mortgage…so wouldn’t you rather pay your own mortgage as opposed to someone else’s???
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been some bumps in the road-there always are! It’s how you get through them that matters. My very first home sale was on a septic system, and I didn’t have the proper addendums attached to the purchase and sale. The sale closed (escrow didn’t even catch it!), but about a month later the new buyers noticed that the alarm on the septic went off… and well not only did the septic need to be pumped, but there was also several thousand dollars worth of repairs needed on the septic system. Yikes! I had to come clean to my sellers and inform them of the unfortunate circumstance. There were tears, I brought wine, and we worked through it. One thing I will never forget is my client Dave shaking his head and telling me that I could have blamed the other agent and didn’t, I owned up to it. Dave and Brenda not only continued to work with me, but they have referred me to others, including their best friend and their daughter and son-in-law. I just love these people and feel honored that they continue to choose me as their real estate agent of choice.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
The Amy Group (Powered by eXp Realty) offers the very best in client services regarding real estate purchases. It doesn’t matter if you are purchasing land, a primary residence, or a vacation home…we have you covered! We are known for our excellence in customer service, negotiating and problem-solving skills, and our hot pink branding. I spend quite a bit of money on the marketing and branding; it’s been instrumental in assisting my client’s homes to sell quicker than others and for more money.
I’ve aligned myself with people in the industry (for example my escrow team and my lenders) who also share the same beliefs in serving our clientele and doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. It’s important to me to be among others that want to be fulfilled in their career as well. I love my career and the people that I am fortunate enough to work with. Most of us are now great friends and often get together to share in each of our successes.
My team and I specialize in residential real estate and land. We take care of pretty much everything, and if we don’t do it, we know someone who can assist. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for your very first home and need help navigating the waters or it’s your tenth home-we have you covered. I’m a new construction specialist so I am well-versed in the building process. My husband Adam and I have completely remodeled four homes (one of them was almost taken down to the studs!) so we are well aware of what is needed to do a light flip or a full rehab project. Having background knowledge in construction has been a helpful bonus in my line of business. It really helps to set me apart when I’m working with clients who are looking for a home with some sweat equity or our investor clients who are on the hunt for something specific. If we have a client looking for a vacation home with the option to rent out short term, we have all of the right resources for them to be successful.
What really sets us apart is the level of customer service we offer. I want for each and every client we serve to have a terrific experience, and I want them to feel important. We are great at hand-holding through the entire real estate purchase process, and we really do take the stress and hassle out of the transaction (as much as we possibly can). In our area, we have 35,000 agents that you could choose from. Each of us agents is capable of “doing the deal”, but it’s how we make our clients feel during the process and how well we facilitate the transaction that really matters. My team and I respond to late-night calls and texts, and we work weekends too! My clients know that they can call me years later for a vendor referral, or just ask for real estate advice and I’m always there for them. Recently I had a client contact me because their sister was moving to Florida and needed a great agent in the Tampa area. I had a great agent to refer her to, and she’s so happy that she didn’t have to find one on her own. That’s full service!
What I’m most proud of is what I’ve been able to build brand-wise. Jeff Bezos said it best when he said “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room”. I never in my wildest dreams thought that my hard work would be something that not only I could be proud of but it’s something that my family is proud of too. Who knew that putting others’ needs first could end up being so rewarding and fulfilling? My goal is to branch out into other markets and hire like-minded individuals so that we can help many more people achieve the American dream of homeownership.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m artistic. Give me a glue gun and watch the magic happen. I don’t have a lot of free time at the moment to devote to artwork, but I’m hoping that in the future, I will have a little more time for my creative outlet. My next project is going to be a carousel horse. My grandpa died last year, and created a marvelous carousel horse when I was about ten years old. He used my old spring hobby horse as a mold and created a thing of beauty! It’s made of concrete which he painted, and added a wig for the mane and for the tail. There used to be some additional embellishments on the horse when I was younger, but it’s been out in the elements for many years, and it has been over 35 years since it was created, so it’s now missing the hair and details to the saddle. It now rests in my dining room, so I have a great conversation piece when people come over for dinner. My husband is a concrete finisher so he will be making me a horse that we can design together. I inherited the molds for the horse so we are excited to start that project in the spring. She will look much different than the horse my grandpa created. I’m toying around with some fun ideas that include a bright-colored saddle and a hot pink mane and tail.
Contact Info:
- Website: TheAmyGroup.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/TheAmyGroup
- Facebook: Facebook.com/TheAmyGroup
Image Credits
Charlene
Brittany Farrington
