WHEN THERE'S NO PLAN IN PLACE

BY MELANIE ROBITAILLE, SR. STAFF WRITER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER

No two real estate transactions are ever alike, but a certain few come with their own unique challenges like probates, estates, and conservator business. It’s not easy, but Associate Broker, Natalie Olmsted has found her real estate forté is one not everyone shares.

“When I first started, a natural niche was first time home buyers, but I was losing potential clients because they were missing part of their home buying process. Their credit score was too low, their debt was too high, or they didn’t have any money for a down payment but would be able to make the monthly mortgage payments if they could just get a loan. I put them on a ‘future’ list, and kept checking in on them, educating them, and when they were ready, they came back to me. That’s when it hit me to focus there and build my database for the future,” she shared of one of two very different ends of the real estate spectrum.

Last time home sellers are an extremely specific niche. I was introduced to this market through a good friend of mine who’s an estate attorney. When I became licensed, she was looking for a new REALTOR ® to work with and refer to her clients. As time went by, she introduced me to her sphere, I began to develop my own relationships, and as one client led to another, my knowledge and expertise in this area grew as well. In 2021, last time home sellers accounted for 45% of all my business.

—NATALIE OLMSTED, ASSOC. BROKER

Natalie first heard of EXIT Realty through her sister, Kelly Steichen, Broker/Owner of EXIT Realty Center in Maryland, but having a personal penchant for training, it was all EXIT had to offer in this area that sealed the deal for her in the spring of 2015. Almost exactly six years later she would meet Associate Broker, Jennifer Mencl, after she made the switch to EXIT Realty Mountain View in Colorado. The two would soon find themselves co-brokering deals and working well together, so they combined their extensive knowledge to create the TEAL Pro Team.

“We spent hours brainstorming ideas on our team’s mission, name, brand, and finally our business plan and marketing plans,” she shared. “The name TEAL Pro is divided into two parts: TEAL is an acronym for Trusts, Estates, Assets, and Legacy, and Pro is short for properties, probate, professionals, and promise.” Natalie considers a commitment to continuing education the defining factor that sets some real estate professionals apart, and this belief is evident in her recent earning of both her Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist (CPRES), and Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designations.

“I earned both to further understand the many sides of real estate, and to continue to educate and hold myself to a higher level in my business. Designations and certificates are more than just letters after an agent’s name; they show an agent’s dedication to learning and honing their skills to better serve their clients. One thing I enjoy about taking these additional classes is learning what further information I still need to study, then I seek out those classes and take them. Learning never stops as a real estate professional,” she explained.

Natalie has been paying this knowledge forward for five years now through her Home Buying 101 class for any first-time home buyers, and she and Jennifer have also recently begun inviting the public to estate planning sessions through their dedicated landing page www.tealproteam.com/estate-planning, knowing all too well what can happen when the State steps in (as many governments do) when there’s no plan in place.

This “never put off what can be done today” thinking goes hand-in-hand with Natalie’s personal motto of, “You can’t make a living sitting on your butt,” as she explained, “I spent too much of my life thinking I couldn’t. One day I got up and said, ‘I can. I’m possible.’ Today, I AM!” So, she encourages everyone to find a niche or two to focus on, and if one of those happens to be probate, take classes in your local area, check with your state’s/province’s bar association for classes open to the public, talk with attorneys, sit in on probate court cases, and learn everything you can before diving in.

And now that the TEAL Pro Team is all in, Natalie and Jennifer are working diligently to build their name in the Colorado Springs area, but Natalie also has big plans for the future saying, “Over the next few years, I would like to build a referral network of CPRES brokers that work together to collaborate with one another, learn from each other, and increase our resource toolbox for our clients and customers.”