Emma Romney began her real estate career working with her dad on house flips, but got the itch to make something of her own. She enjoyed working with investors and seeing the transformation of house flipping, but absolutely loved working with first-time home buyers. “I bought my first house when I was 18, and I had zero knowledge.” Like Emma, most first-time home buyers don’t know what they're doing, and can easily be taken advantage of. “When I first got my real estate license, I thought it would be easy. I learned quickly that it wasn’t. I got desperate because I wasn’t making money. It became transactional at first. I didn’t know who I was or what my brand was. That changed when I started working with first-time buyers. Real estate is not about houses. It’s about helping people build a life. Once I learned that, it became rewarding.”
Emma focuses on giving first-time buyers a home-buying foundation. “People don’t know what due diligence is, or that they need to get inspections done on potential homes. In Utah, there’s a lot of radon (a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas) and people don’t even know what that is. It’s my job to inform people.” She also teaches first-time buyers about house hacking, which is homeowners renting a portion of their home, usually the basement, to a renter. A lot of first-time buyers don’t realize house hacking is an option, one that could help them afford a house when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
One of Emma’s favorite experiences was with sellers with young kids who were moving to Georgia. The family had four kids to provide for, and expensive out-of-state moving costs, and were hoping to get top dollar for their home. “Their house was a mess, with crayon on the walls and a wild yard.” Another agent told them to list it as-is and take what they could get, but Emma showed them what pristine, staged comparable homes on the market were getting, and told them what needed to be done to get to that level. Emma connected them with the right people for each job, and even did yard work herself. The home had a lot of great selling points and just needed a little TLC—and after just 19 days on the market, the family sold their home for 11% more than the original estimate. “That happened because somebody cared and told them what it would actually take. I try to do that with my listings—point out what sellers can’t see and make the house as picture perfect as possible. In this market, you have to.”
Emma is set apart by her honesty. ”I'm honest to a fault. I will always advise somebody against something if I wouldn’t personally invest in it. If I see a money pit, I’m going to tell them.” Emma is looking to the future, growing her business while bring the heart back into business, making sure people feel heard and seen. One thing is for sure–Emma Romney genuinely cares about her clients and wants to help them. And she succeeds.
"Real estate is not about houses. It’s about helping people build a life. Once I learned that, it became rewarding.”