Editorial
Front Page - Friday, May 14, 2010
President, student and mom is daring to be different
Erica Tuggle
Sabrena Turner is an owner of the Help-U-Sell family owned business housed in a homey residence turned office space off East Brainerd Road. (Turner works full-time in real estate, will finish her degree in business administration at Bryan College this month, is involved in community work and takes care of her three children.)
- Erica Tuggle
Sabrena Turner says she likes being different, and this fits well for her as the company president of the unique, family owned business, Help-U-Sell Realty.
The difference for Turner is evident even from the location of the Help-U-Sell office in the midst of their target areas between the Ringgold and Ooltewah areas off East Brainerd Road. The charming white, cottage house is the workspace of the six agents for Help-U-Sell, and with a white picket fence, wishing well and other stunning landscaping done by Turner’s mother, it sends more than a few walk-ins to their door, Turner says.
Inside the Help-U-Sell house, the feel of a corporate office is gone, and in its stead, those who enter feel like they are visiting a friend’s house. Turner says that’s just what her agents and she aim to be for their clients: friends. She believes it’s not all about the payday for Help-U-Sell agents.
“I have found in the seven years working in this business, the most rewarding and fulfilling aspect of a deal is when I can walk away, not only getting paid, but knowing I made a difference for someone,” she says. “When you go over and beyond the call of duty, it comes back to you in a special way. It means a lot when you can help someone and become their friend for life; not just their Realtor.”
Turner says she began in real estate while doing ultrasound technology at the time, and fortunately was able to get listings right away as things took off tremendously. She got her real estate license in both Tennessee and Georgia in August 2003 and by December she was the agent of the month for her company. This was around the time that the previous owner of Help-U-Sell Realty began to petition Turner to join his team. She says once she decided to make the change to Help-U-Sell, her business tripled. She says she has never regretted making the change.
Turner says the reason Help-U-Sell can help their clients save such a large amount is their policy to charge a flat rate commission of $2,995 if they sell a property in-house, and that fee plus the outside Realtor’s fee if the property is sold with an outside Realtor’s help. Either way, she says, this is significant savings.
“Especially, in this market where prices have fallen and we don’t have as many buyers that can buy due to lending restrictions they are facing now, it is so imperative that people price their homes so they can compete with other homes on the market,” she says.
Shortly after becoming an agent with Help-U-Sell, Turner says, the former owner of the business wanted to sell the franchise to her. She says she discussed the matter with her mother, and after some soul searching, praying and bringing her brother on board, the three went in together in 2005 at the Shallowford location. Although, she says, from the beginning they knew they wanted a location of their own once the lease was over.
The three were stuck on finding the perfect property until one day both Turner’s mother and brother came in separately, both raving about the same property. The building needed some TLC, but Turner said she knew it was perfect and contacted the owners the same day, negotiating a deal and then putting the property under contract, although it would be six months until the building could be rezoned to allow them to use the space as an office as well as a residence.
Turner said maintaining close ties with all those in the real estate business is vital to her, and when clients ask her about another realty company, her response is automatic: “I cannot talk to you about anyone else, but I’ll be happy to talk to you about Help-U-Sell,” she says.
What she says about her company is that they are a full service realty business that advertises all the properties, handles all the showings and open houses and get the properties with her business maximum Internet exposure on almost 30 Web sites. The main difference, she says, is the savings.
Life in the Help-U-Sell office is also a bit unique she says, as the team functions partly as a ministry with all sales meetings begun in devotions and prayer that is also put to use for clients, listings and everything in-between.
Although the spare time of a Realtor is sparse indeed, Turner manages to pack more into a day than most. She is graduating through the Bryan Aspire program this month with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and business management, and Summa Cum Laude on top of that.
“They say when times get tough, it is the most important time to educate yourself,” she says.
Turner says the timing of this return to education was important for the lessons she wants to instill in her three teenage children, aged 16,17 and 18.
“The timing was so good because I was able to set an example for my three kids,” she says. “I wanted them to see how serious I was about college and my grades, and hopefully it will rub off on them and influence them to do the same.”
Now she says she’s looking for more things to fill her schedule in the place of homework. Focusing on her dedication to community involvement as well as political activism is the direction she’ll likely take.
She says, “I have gotten pretty involved politically because I care. Being involved in making sure we have good leadership, making critical decisions for our lives especially in the times we are involved in now, is important for me, for my kids’ sake and every citizens’ sake.”
Whatever she is undertaking, Turner says she wants it to make a difference just as she credits her family and God to making a difference in the level of success and position she enjoys today.
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