Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Brooks.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Andrea. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My real estate career had an early start. As a teenager I worked as an assistant for my mother who was a broker and real estate developer/investor in Abilene, Texas for over 20 years. I caught the investing bug too and at age nineteen I purchased my first “flip” property – although they weren’t called that then. This was in the early 80s during the S&L crisis in Texas, which was a smaller version of the mortgage melt down the whole country experienced recently. I was able to sell that property for a profit and went on to buy over 20 units that I own personally.
After graduate school and a stint working in the public sector I decided to start my own real estate business here in North Dallas.
Having seen both good times and bad in this industry, I learned early on the importance of developing a robust business model that is sustainable no matter what the market conditions may be.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
2008 was the beginning of some rough times in my business. With rampant job uncertainty, buyers were scared to buy. Lenders revised lending criteria in the strictest possible terms, making mortgages significantly harder to obtain. Home values stagnated and those who didn’t absolutely have sell just stayed put. During this time I focused heavily on the investor market and began working foreclosures and short sales. Ultimately I was able to build a book of investors that were ready and willing to take a chance on a down market. This sustained my business and allowed me to gain experience in new areas of the market.
There are always challenges in this profession, but I am always willing to learn and push forward to become the best I can be.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Andrea Brooks, Keller Williams – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
From the beginning I have focused on delivering a high level of customer service. I routinely heard people say their chief complaint about their last agent was lack of communication. So I wanted to create systems that allow me to stay in touch with clients – present, past and potential – across a variety of platforms. Email, texts, specialized apps, and social media are all amazing tools that make it simpler to communicate and conduct business at a high level.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My business continue to grow and evolve to fit the market so I will be here no matter what the future holds! One of the cool things that the success of my business has allowed me to do is explore a personal goal of developing an invention of mine.
Two years ago I started the design and patent process and today have a product, Footsie Soft, which is a callus remover that is currently sold online at www.footsiesoft.com. It’s been fun to see this come together from the design phase to a final product and hope to see it on store shelves soon!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.topagent.co
- Phone: 469-450-1326
- Email: andrea.brooks@kw.com
- Other: www.footsiesoft.com
Image Credit:
Andrea Brooks
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