Her Story
About Lara
I originally went to school for fashion because I've always loved anything creative. That passion morphed into interior design, and I worked in design for about 20 years. About 7 years ago, my family and I made a big change - we sold our two houses, one in Michigan and one in Chicago, and moved to Wisconsin. We pretty much just threw a dart at a map and bought a farm. That move really intrigued me to learn more about real estate, and I got into the industry once we moved here. I've been in real estate for over 6 years now. A year ago, I took a job with a developer and got my real estate broker's license. We opened a brokerage, and now I sell custom single-family homes - we do development, build from the ground up, and offer lots and home packages. I also still do traditional residential real estate. I've done all of it, from selling $200,000 condos to $4.5 million homes. For me, customer service is my number one priority. I really feel strongly about treating everyone the same and valuing their relationship, regardless of where it is. Making people happy is super important - getting them through what can be a stressful process and making sure they're happy at the end of it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lara
01What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in real estate right now are continuing to help clients in an uncertain economy. A lot of clients are apprehensive to sell their homes because they've locked into very low interest rates. In real estate, it's pretty common to sell every 5 to 7 years, and if you think back to 5 years ago, that's when COVID happened and real estate interest rates were so low. As a result of that, you're seeing a shortage of inventory because the normal progression would be to sell and move up or try something new. Not as many people want to do that, being locked into such a low interest rate, and then buying new, you're buying at an interest rate that's double what it was.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For me, customer service is my number one priority. I really feel strongly about making customers feel like they're extremely important, whether I'm selling a $200,000 condo or a $4.5 million home. I've kind of done all of it, and I just really feel strongly about treating everyone the same and valuing their relationship, regardless of where it is. Making people happy is super important - getting them through what can be a stressful process and making sure they're happy at the end of it.
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