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Real Estate Services for The Soldiers and Airmen of Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base
As you read this, I hope that you become convinced that not only is it wise to work with a realtor who understands your needs as a military family; but also why I am uniquely qualified to provide superior service to all home buyers and sellers. It all boils down to a couple of points:
- Your realtor should be able to present a solid plan, with clear goals and objectives, that will get you into or out of your home quickly.
- Your realtor should listen to you, understand your needs, timelines, and expectations. (and it helps if he or she understands VA loan guarantees, BAH, etc.)
- Your realtor should have the resources necessary to get you thru the process with a minimum effort on your part, and at the least expense. He or she should have the experience necessary to identify the pitfalls before you fall in, and should make you aware of what those pitfalls may be at your first meeting.
Every community that hosts a military installation, and we host two, has a network of behind the scenes military affiliates. Spouses working in the community, prior service and retirees; and personnel from the surrounding community who work on the installation. With that comes everything from bankers to dentists. The Thurston County community is comprised of a large population of former military personnel, both ETS’d and retired. I am one of them, and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and how I ended up in Real Estate.
I retired from Ft. Lewis as the Garrison First Sergeant in 2004, Prior to that I had been the B Btry and Headquarters battery First Sergeant for 2-8FA, 1st BDE, 25th ID. I arrived at Ft. Lewis in 1997, and purchased my first home in the area from a retired Ft. Lewis soldier named Clarence Barnes. Clarence is still an active realtor with my office, Abbey Real Estate, and he mentored me in my real estate career during my last years in the Army. You see, I started investing in real estate in Thurston County immediately after purchasing my residence, and didn’t look back. In 2000, I owned several single family homes and some apartment buildings in Lacey. At that time I needed to find a partner, and found one in my brother. Malcolm (my brother) and I continued to invest in the local area, and formed an investment company called Sharp and Sharp Holdings LLC, our focus was initially on rental properties, and then to renovations, flips, and land development and construction.
Throughout this time I was of course starting to think of retirement from the Army, even though I had planned to stay and do 30, I really didn’t want to PCS again. With almost 25 years in service, I decided it was time to go. I made the decision to retire in 2002, and got talked into one more 1SG job before I left, and so didn’t retire until 2004.
By 2004, my brother and I had built quite an investment business, I had become a licensed Realtor in order to give us an “in house realtor”, and in our spare time we formed a General Contracting Company with the employees that maintained our properties and fixed up the flips. All of a sudden, I was knee deep in almost every aspect of the real estate business; only thing was I only bought and sold properties for my company. Upon my retirement I decided that selling real estate was the next logical step, and was a great networking opportunity. I have formed many partnerships, helped some wonderful people find homes, and have made lifelong friends.
So why should you hire me to represent you as your realtor?
- Just because I am retired from the Army…Probably not.
- Because I speak the language and understand the issues that soldiers and families face…Maybe.
- Because I am a resident of Thurston County, a well established business man, and experienced in almost all aspects of real estate; buying, selling, building (and tearing down), with a network of affiliates, all of whom share most of the same experiences as I and who are use to working with military folks…..That’s a pretty good reason.
I publish frequent articles in the Olympian, the Thurston County News Paper. The following was published in April of 2007, and will tell you a little about what I bring to the table.
Not Just a Realtor©; But A Network
Finding the right realtor is not just about calling the agent with the best looking website or advertising; it is about finding someone whose personality is compatible with yours, and someone who will help you buy, or market and sell, your home in a manner that suits you. Then you get to the nuts and bolts; when you hire a realtor, you are not just entering into a contract with him or her, you are engaging the services of that agents’ entire network.
An accomplished realtor should have a network of associates who can assist in all aspects of your transaction. Starting with the Title company used by your agent to produce a title report, to a contractor to repair items identified by the buyers inspector, your agent should have these people in a back pocket ready to resolve the inevitable issues that arise in the course of buying or selling a home.
You should expect, as a matter of routine, for your agent to bring up his or her network at your first meeting. I routinely discuss the following with clients before representing them.
- Title costs and procedures
- Inspections/inspectors
- Reputable lenders (things to consider when finding the right lender)
- Contractors (plumbing, electric, landscape, paint, minor to major repair, etc.)
Your Realtor should also have the following “on tap” if needed:
- Land use planner/engineer (especially if you are looking to build)
- Septic designers and well drillers
- Architect or draftsman (many folks plan to add additions etc. after purchase, do you know if the people that issue the permits will?)
- Wetland/environmental experts (for all of the reasons mentioned above)
- Many others!!!
As realtors, we represent ourselves as experts in the field of real estate. The term “real estate” is very broad, it includes not only our homes, but the roads that serve them, the water, the sewer, community impacts, and everything else we take for granted until it affects our purchase or sale. No one person will have all of the answers; but you should insist that your expert know what questions need to be asked, and of whom.
For more information about Thurston County, to include home ownership, home improvment, land use, zoning and community development I invite you to visit the Thurston County Post, My Real estate Weblog.
Realtor serving the Fort Lewis and McCord AFB communities with professional real estate buyer and seller representation; weather you are Army or Airforce, buying or selling, I encourage you to call Phil Sharp at 360-970-9977...Get To Know Your Realtor!