Taunya Fagan’s Estate House is the end result of years of dedicated service and a desire to help others. It took years of experience and a recipe that included empathy, ambition, developing relationships, and hard work.
When Taunya began her real estate career with Prudential, there were many long-established processes consistently practiced by all of the local realtors. Taunya recognized that to stand out she had to be different, do more.
Her mentor, Joyce Miller, hired her as an assistant in 2004. And her managing Broker, Nancy Oaks, made suggestions that Taunya took to heart. Nancy advised, “You need to make a name for yourself, you need a tagline.” In that spirit, Taunya created her own brand, largely based on consistently going above and beyond for her clients and demonstrating her stringent values, and creating a tagline: “ Giving You The Advantage.”
She hired a marketing firm to design the collateral material and, as she puts it, “I advertised everywhere for an entire year!” She knew no one in Bozeman, since she had just moved to Bozeman from CO in 2003, and needed to get the word out. Starting in a time before the internet became the primary communication platform, she placed many ads in the Chronicle, weekly and monthly magazines, and created television commercials advertising her listings.
Taunya had the wisdom to create a website when she first started out in 2004, but she says she didn’t use it at all. Then one day in 2007, a friend of hers told her about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) “He said he knew someone selling blow-up swimming pools on the World Wide Web and making a killing just because they figured out how to make the most of keywords,” she explained. Fagan turned that information over to her husband Brett, and for the next several years, he worked non-stop to make her website “the first one that came up” in Bozeman and Montana real estate searches. She also said Brett was the first in Montana to effectively utilize all platforms of social media for real estate, establishing a presence everywhere.
“This partnership with her husband, Brett worked out well,” She said, “We are both chiefs, and he’s chief over his domain, I’m chief over mine. He’s brilliant at what he does, has his masters in English, and is all self-taught”. She said, “he had my website on the top of every keyword search imaginable and that was before Zillow, Trulia, etc…He’s definitely my web GURU!”
Taunya spent ten years working at Prudential and was the top performer in Montana for the last five of those years. Even during the real estate crash in 2008, while others were shutting down, Taunya says she had a revolving door.
PureWest Christie’s International Real Estate courted Taunya and was able to finally lure her away with an offer she couldn’t resist, and Taunya spent the next fabulous four years working with them. “But I always wanted to venture out on my own,” she said. “I had this great idea; I just didn’t want to be all by myself.”
Her client and good friend Jon Stites, with Edward Jones, finally convinced her to make a change. “Why are you paying high brokerage fees when you could be doing this yourself?” he asked.
As the conversation developed, the real estate coop began to take shape…
In creating a structure that can provide a working space for multiple independent brokers with a similar target demographic, a destination was established. Homebuyers and sellers could confidently approach any of the brokers at ESTATE House and know they would receive the very best of real estate professionalism.
For the Brokers, they had an opportunity for collaboration and comradery with like-minded professionals while also being independent.
“I love the concept,” Taunya said. “Brokers can lease their own space and be their own boss.” It offers each Broker the freedom to run their own business with shared common facilities.
Taunya wanted to create an elegant and classy space that could comfortably house independent Brokers, sharing common areas, such as the beautiful lounge area, conference room, and adjacent kitchen, but also include private, professional office spaces with beautiful views. Taunya designed the space to allow for large gatherings and events but it is also warm and inviting for guests entering on a quiet afternoon. Utilizing extensive real estate design, an eye for detail, and a talent for expressing the brand, she created ESTATE House.
Taunya gave her ideas and designs to Stites and they worked together to make her dream come true. ESTATE House is a modern and unique real estate model which offers personal, boutique, and luxury services. ESTATE House features top independent, highly experienced Brokers in the area including, The Marcie Hahn-Knoff Group, Michael Blevins, Michael Morgner, and Taunya Fagan.
Brokers don’t have to pay high franchise fees or splits and Taunya states they can write off the lease fee as a business expense each year. It’s a win/win for everyone! “It also offers everyone the support and collaboration of their peers,” Fagan said. “You can be independent without being a Lone Ranger.”