Tag: Lake Homes Realty

47 Agents Honored at 2018 Lake Homes Realty National Summit

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Lake Homes Realty awarded nearly 50 top-producing lake experts with Premier Agent designations at the brokerage’s sixth annual Agents Summit, held October 16-19, 2018.

“Each year we look forward to honoring the hours of work our agents have put in over the last 12 months,” said Lake Homes Realty CEO Glenn S. Phillips, “and each year, we are proud to add more names to our list of award winners.”

2018 Big Wave and Aqua Award honorees represent 10 of the 23 states in which the brokerage is currently licensed and more than 30 lake real estate markets across the Eastern United States.

Award Criteria and Eligibility

The Lake Homes Realty Aqua Award was presented to agents who, in the 12-month evaluation period, sold a total transaction volume of at least $3.5 million up to, but not including, $10 million.

Agents who had not reached this total transaction volume between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018 were still eligible for to win this award if they had closed at least 20 transaction sides within the time period.

Lake Homes Realty Agents Summit

Those agents who sold or exceeded $10 million in total transaction volume were honored as Big Wave Award winners.

By receiving these awards, Lake Homes Realty agents are able to market themselves as the top-producing lake experts the company has to offer.

In determining 2018’s award honorees, Lake Homes Realty defined total transaction volume as the combined sales price of each transaction, independent of the number of sides an agent represented.

“Put another way, if you were to add up the final price at which each property an agents represented sold for in the last 12 months, whether they represented a single side or both the buyer and seller side, you would reach the agent’s total transaction volume,”explained brokerage CEO Glenn S. Phillips.

Referral transactions were not taken into consideration when calculating total transaction volume.

2018 Lake Homes Realty Premier Agents

Aqua Award Honorees:

Big Wave Award Honorees:

“It’s because of these agents and their dedication, passion for helping their clients invest in the lake lifestyle, and their hard work that Lake Homes Realty continues to be the largest-lake focused real estate company in the country,” Phillips said.

Lake Holiday: The Perfect Place to Call Home

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A picturesque, gated lake community with affordable homes surrounded by nature? Sounds perfect to us.

Located in Gainesboro, Virginia, just near the West Virginia state line, Lake Holiday offers everything a true lake lover craves. The 1,900-acre wooded community has a modest average home price of $286,892 and encompasses a 240-acre residential lake.

Don’t let the fact that it’s a neighborhood lake fool you, though. It’s no stranger to energetic residents. In fact, Lake Holiday happens to be perfect for popular water sports such as canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, sailing and swimming.

And humans aren’t the only ones enjoying the great outdoors. Lake Holiday is overflowing with diverse wildlife. White-tailed deer, wild turkeys, great blue herons and even eagles frequent the area. Ducks and geese are present year round and are sometimes joined by the occasional swan.

Beneath the water’s surface is an angler’s paradise. This body of water just so happens have some of the best bass fishing in the state. In addition to smallmouth and largemouth bass, fishermen also reel in black and white crappie and channel catfish.

Community residents have access to a 91-slip marina, beaches and a lakefront clubhouse. And that’s just in Lake Holiday’s own backyard. Since the residents are also in the great state of Virginia, they’re never far away from a good time.

A Nature-Bound Haven

Virginia is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Four-season natural recreation ranges from skiing in the mountains to sunbathing on the Atlantic coast. For Lake Holiday residents, it’s only a one hour drive to the Shenandoah National Park.

This massive natural preserve is nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains, just 75 miles west of Washington, D.C. It features 500 miles of nature trails–including 101 miles of the well-known Appalachian Trail–surrounded by towering trees, waterfalls and rock formations.

Backpackers love to hike up Hawksbill Mountain. At 4,050 feet, it’s the highest peak in the Shenandoah National Park and features 360-degree panoramic views of the world below.

scenic autumn drive

Visitors can get another perspective of the landscape with the historic Skyline Drive. This National Scenic Byway stretches the entirety of the 105-mile long park. It features envy-worthy views from various peaks and overlooks, as well as multiple campsites, and continues south as the famous Blue Ridge Parkway.

The park also serves as a safe haven for a wide variety of animals otherwise pressured by too much human activity. In fact, there are over 40 fish species, 50 mammal species, 20 reptile and amphibian species and more than 190 different types of birds.

The majority of animals in the park, like white-tailed deer and woodchucks, are relatively harmless. However, visitors should still keep an eye out for larger predators like black bear, bobcats and coyote who thrive in the deep woods.

The park thrives in every season, from the colorful foliage of fall to the snowy slopes of winter. And with infinite recreational opportunities like white-water rafting and mountain climbing, it’s a great place to visit with the family.

The Perfect Place to Call Home

With all this fun within just one hour of the lake, Lake Holiday is an ideal community for lake lovers to settle down in.

Its safe, secluded location puts it miles away from any big city, offering something we could all use a little more of: peace and quiet. It’s engulfed in nature on all sides and couldn’t be more perfect for those who live for the outdoors.

A word to the wise: consider purchasing your next lake home here. You won’t be disappointed.

 

For more information on what’s available on Lake Holiday right now, click here.

Lake Homes Realty Moves to Larger Headquarters

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Lake Homes Realty’s brokerage operations are rapidly expanding into new states across the U.S., but the company’s market footprint isn’t the only thing that has grown.

Not only did the company add brokerage operations in seven more states in 2017, they added more members to their corporate and operations teams.

All this growth prompted a move this month from their Pelham, Alabama office to a multi-tenant building in nearby Hoover.

beige, multi-tenant office complex

“Growth is never a problem, but there can be challenges along the way,” said Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn S. Phillips. “We built our Pelham office in 2008 for other business ventures. We really enjoyed the time we operated there but we were just flat out of room and out of parking. Lake Homes Realty is growing so fast, we really needed room immediately and to expand. We’ll add staff to all the different teams in this new headquarters.”

The corporate and central brokerage operations offices for Lake Homes Realty are now at Hoover’s South Lake Plaza, an appropriate location for the nation’s largest lake real estate company.

Currently the brokerage occupies space on two floors of the three-story office complex. The firm’s marketing and technology teams are located on the first floor of the building, and the brokerage operations team occupies much of the second floor.

Southlake Plaza is owned and managed by the Barber Companies, Inc. of Birmingham. Weyman Prater represented the Barber Companies in the lease negotiations, and Anita Turner of Colliers International provided tenant representation.

More Space, More Room to Grow

“Candidly, our goal each year will be to grow enough that we acquire more office space within the building. This will be needed as we enter more markets across the U.S. and grow our staff,” Phillips explained.

The Lake Homes Realty CEO added that availability of office space and increasing business demands also means new opportunities for employment within the operations, marketing and engineering departments are on the horizon.

“We are working on brokerage licensing in 10 more states for 2018, bringing us to operations in 27 states,” Phillips said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and we will be looking to hire people who understand the power of our business model, and who are dedicated to providing exceptional service to our clients and agents alike.”

The company’s unique and highly virtual operations model starts with a focus on a one-stop website for lake homes and land, via the company website, LakeHomes.com.

The technology is paired with the brokerage’s own select group of top-producing expert lake market agents. The company has rejected a focus on traditional brick-and-mortar opting to focus more spending on marketing properties and bringing new convenience to buyers and sellers.

“Before us, there was no large multi-state real estate company focused on lake real estate,” Phillips explained. “Our success in the last five years goes to show that there is a need for the type of niche real estate service we are providing. We are excited to see where it takes us!”

Lake Homes Realty was named #927 on the 2017 Inc 5,000 and was recently featured by Realtor® Magazine.

The Birmingham Business Journal has also named Lake Homes Realty one of the 30 fastest growing businesses in Birmingham each of the past three years.

 

 

Lake Wedowee Agents Receive National Agents of the Year Award

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Lake Homes Realty named Terry and Sherrie Norton 2017’s Splash Award recipients at its annual Agent Summit, which took place Oct. 17-20, 2017. Additionally, both members of the Lake Wedowee, AL team are now recognized as Lake Homes Realty Premier Agents.

“We are incredibly honored, humbled and appreciative of this recognition of our hard work,” this year’s winners said. “It is an honor to be chosen from among our fellow agents who all work so hard to attain their goals. It really is an incredible honor.”

The Splash Award Defined

The award, presented to company’s Realty Agent of the Year, is given to the Lake Homes Realty agent, or agent team, with the overall best performance across a number of important accomplishments.

“Winning the Splash Award is an honor and a great way for LHR to say that our company appreciates our hard work,” the Nortons said. “Maintaining and working toward this goal again for the coming year is certainly a great incentive.”

Eligibility is open to agents who have been licensed with Lake Homes Realty for a minimum of 24 months by Aug. 31,2017.

These agents must also have completed at least 12 transactions on either the buyer or seller side of a sale within a 12 month evaluation period, which began Sept. 1, 2016 and concluded on Aug. 31.

Lake Homes Realty CEO, COO and Splash Award Winners holding award plaque
Lake Homes Realty’s Terry (center) and Sherrie (right middle) Norton named 2017 Agents of the Year at annual Agent Summit on Oct. 19, 2017.

Additionally, agents had to have closed $3.5 million or greater in transaction volume during this time in order to gain award eligibility.

“Eligible agents are then ranked, relative to each other, by performance in a number of key areas. These include overall effective commission per side and percent increase of year-over-year transaction volume in dollars,” explained Glenn S. Phillips, Lake Homes Realty CEO.

Additional areas assessed include average number of days it takes from closing to office file completion, total number of sides closed and number of listings in Multiple Listing Services as of Sept, 1, 2017.

Agents are also ranked by total transaction volume closed in dollars.

This volume is defined by sale price apart from the number of sides an agent represents for a given transaction. Referral transactions are not included in the total transaction volume.

Determining the Agent of the Year

To determine the Splash Award winner, the best performance in each of the criteria areas is given one point. The next best performance receives two points, the third receives three points and so forth.

The points from each area are then totaled with the lowest total score named the winner of this prestigious award.

“In the event of a tie in total points, the tie-breaker is determined by the highest transaction volume between those tied during the evaluation period,” Phillips explained.

For 2017, the Splash Award winners and the second best overall performing agent were separated by just one point.

“Lake Homes agents are the special forces unit of real estate industry,” Phillips said. “They are the lake real estate experts and their knowledge and skills continue to be reinforced year-after-year.”

2017 Agents of the Year

“We feel extremely blessed by our past success,” they said. “We have to continue to strive to always do our best.”

During the 12-month evaluation period alone, the team sold more than $7.7 million in lake property.

The Nortons are proven local lake real estate experts who are passionate not about selling property, rather their passion is for selling the lake experience.

Their credibility is further made evident by their relationships among both buyers and sellers. From Sept. 2016 to Aug. 2017, the Premier Agents team represented 55 total sides closed.

The Key is Happy Clients

“Our motto is ‘we work hard for our clients.’ Our clients are our success,” the couple emphasized. “There is great satisfaction in a job well done and in knowing we have provided the best service possible to our clients.”

Additionally, the Nortons’ transaction volume increased by an impressive 44.15 percent in the last year.

“Hopefully clients and potential clients who read about our awards and success will feel confidence in LHR,” they said, “and about our abilities to represent them as they list their home or purchase a new home.

Lake Homes Realty is the largest, lake-focused real estate brokerage in the nation. The company business model focuses on creating a national market reach for local properties and agents.

Phillips and his wife Doris, who serves as Lake Homes Realty’s Chief Operating Officer, shared that treating their agents with respect and confidence in their abilities is paramount to the company’s success.

“We always say we have four clients: the buyer, the seller, the agent, and our staff,” the COO explained. “Just like we want Lake Homes buyers and sellers to be happy with us, we strive to maintain positive relationships with our agents. Their happiness is what drives their success, and ultimately, the success of Lake Homes Realty.”

This mindset is proving its worth as LHR is currently licensed in 16 states, and counting, and belongs to more than 70 MLSs.

“We are so proud to be a member of the LHR team. Simply put, we could not provide the customer service we provide if we did not work for such an amazing company,” the Nortons said. “We can proudly state [Lake Homes Realty] is the leader in lake home sales. We know we work for the best.”

Karen Davis Named National Director of Brokerage Operations

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Karen Davis, of Birmingham, Alabama, has joined Lake Homes Realty as the brokerage’s new National Director of Brokerage Operations.

Lake Homes Realty is the largest lake-focused real estate company in the United States, with licensed real estate brokerage operations in 16 states.

Karen Davis, National Director of Brokerage operations
National Director of Brokerage Operations Karen Davis

In her role, Davis will oversee both existing and new real estate brokerages in each state the company operates.

This will include assisting brokers and agents, managing the compliance team and refining brokerage back-office operations.

“I have been watching the growth of Lake Homes Realty since the beginning and was very impressed with what had been accomplished and the plans for the future,” Davis said.

“When they approached me about coming to work here, I saw it as an opportunity to be a part of something exciting that had really never been done before in real estate.”

Davis brings more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, having worked as both a licensed real estate agent and managing broker.

She is currently a licensed broker in Alabama and Georgia.

Prior to joining Lake Homes Realty, Davis worked for Signature Homes, a multi-state construction and real estate company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

There she served in numerous roles managing home sales, property purchases and providing agent support.

Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty, added, “Karen is a fantastic addition to our management team. We’ve known her for several years and have seen her be an incredible professional, as well as a genuine and caring person.

“As we grow the company, adding the right leadership to our team is imperative, and we are excited Karen has joined us.”

Through her work at Lake Homes Realty, Davis said she is excited to help the company continue its rapid growth while maintaining its high standards of integrity, service and compliance.

About Lake Homes Realty

Lake Homes Realty (www.LakeHomes.com) is a multi-state real estate company focused on lake homes and land.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the firm is one of the fastest growing real estate companies in the country.

The company was named #927 on the 2017 Inc 5,000 and has been recently featured by Realtor® Magazine. Lake Homes Realty has also been named by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the 30 fastest growing businesses in Birmingham each of the past three years.

Lake Homes Realty is a licensed real estate brokerage in 16 states, and is growing rapidly into additional states.

Lake Homes Realty Earns FastTrack 30 for Third Straight Year

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Birmingham Business Journal Fast Track 30 Banner
Birmingham Business Journal Fast Track 30

For the third consecutive year, The Birmingham Business Journal has named Lake Homes Realty among the 30 fastest growing businesses in Birmingham.

Lake Homes Realty was ranked number 28 on the list, released on Sept. 1, 2017.

The company was the highest ranked real estate company on the list, also for a third straight year.

“I’m excited about this for our team. We’ve made this list every year the company has been eligible. Since the rankings are based on annual growth rate, each year requires significantly more growth to make the list again,” said CEO Glenn S. Phillips.

“I believe our continued strong growth shows the value of our original vision to provide our agents and clients a true unique advantage in real estate,” added Phillips.

To be eligible for the 2017 FastTrack 30, companies must be headquartered in metro Birmingham and have had at least $100,000 in revenue in 2015. Rankings are based on the percentage of revenue growth between 2015 and 2016.

The list represents a wide range of industries, from health care and technology to retailers and home builders.

To see the complete 2017 FastTrack 30, visit (NOTE: requires subscription to view complete list online): https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/subscriber-only/2017/09/01/fastest-growing-companies.html

 

Lake Homes Realty makes Top Tier of Inc. Magazine’s List of 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies

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Lake Homes Realty was the highest-ranked Birmingham-area company to make the 2017 Inc. 5000, the prestigious annual ranking by Inc. Magazine of the 5000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S.

Lake Homes Realty landed in the top fifth of the 2017 list, at number 927, courtesy of its three-year growth of 473 percent.

To be eligible for inclusion in the Inc. 5000, companies are evaluated for growth from 2013 to 2016 and ranked by revenue growth rate.  This was the first year Lake Homes Realty was eligible for inclusion in Inc.’s analysis.

Nationally, Lake Homes Realty was ranked the ninth-fastest growing multi-state real estate brokerage.

The company was the only Birmingham-area business to make the top 1,000, and was the eighth-highest ranked of the 59 Alabama companies on the list.

Glenn S. Phillips, Lake Homes Realty CEO
Glenn S. Phillips, CEO
Lake Homes Realty

“All of us at Lake Homes are thrilled that our hard work has paid off with this kind of national recognition,” said Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty.

“And in many ways, we are just getting started. Our growth this year has been outstanding and we’re excited what our growth has done to genuinely benefit our real estate buyers, sellers and agents,” Phillips adds.

Leveraging Traditional Real Estate with Powerful Web Tools

Lake Homes Realty has grown to become the nation’s largest lake-focused real estate company. The firm’s website, LakeHomes.com, aggregates lake-area real estate listings from more than 60 Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in 13 states.

Increasingly popular with lake real estate buyers and sellers, LakeHomes.com is on track this year for more than 4 million visitors, and that already includes people in from every state and nearly 100 countries on five continents.

Since 2013, the company has expanded it’s licensed real estate brokerages from one state to now thirteen states in the Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Additional states are opening operations this year.

Lake Homes Realty offers a unique combination of services to prospective buyers of lake property: the convenience of using a single website to research all thousands of lake-related listings coupled with its own licensed local real estate agents.

Real Estate Listings from More than 500 Local Lake Markets

LakeHomes.com currently provides visitors with access to view and search real estate listings totaling more than $16.5 billion across more than 500 local lake markets in 13 states.

 

Entrepreneur Magazine Shares Leadership Lesson From Lake Homes Realty CEO

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Glenn S. Phillips, Lake Homes Realty CEO

Lake Homes Realty CEO Glenn S. Phillips was recently featured for his experiences in leadership on the business magazine website Entrepreneur.com

The article “5 Stories That Will Make You Rethink Your Leadership Style,”  by contributing writer Heather R. Huhman, shares the story of a significant struggle Phillips encountered while running his software company, Forté.

From this experience, Phillips learned the importance of embracing ongoing education.

Now, personal and staff education is a daily activity in his leadership role as CEO of Lake Homes Realty.

“I appreciate Entrepreneur magazine sharing my story,” said Phillips. “Everyone running a business can benefit from the lessons learned by peers and mentors. No one builds a business alone. I hope I’m doing a good job of paying-it-forward for all those who have helped me, and those who continue to help me.”

“In my case, this was a lesson learned the hard way, trying to just work harder,” he continued. “What was key, as I would learn, is that I needed more knowledge and different types of education behind that work.”

The article also includes helpful leadership lessons and “takeaways” from other business leaders around the country.

entrepreneur magazine logo Entrepreneur magazine is well respected in the business community. The magazine seeks to inspire, inform and celebrate entrepreneurs.

To read more of Phillips’ story, and those of others like him, visit https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293842.

Luke Anthony joins Lake Homes Realty Team

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Luke AnthonyBirmingham communications professional Luke Anthony has joined Lake Homes Realty as Senior Communications Specialist.

Anthony has worked in the Birmingham communications industry since 2003, after earning his bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the University of Alabama.

He has worked in advertising and internal communications roles, with a strong emphasis on copywriting and digital media work.

He most recently served as Communications Director for Civitan International, where he managed the nonprofit’s advertising, publications and online content.

Anthony is a Houston native, who left Texas after high school to attend the University of Alabama.

In his free time, he enjoys hiking and camping across the Southeast, trail running and the occasional zombie movie marathon. In a former life, he was a martial arts instructor and home-brewer.

Anthony has also worked as a copy editor and marketing consultant for small businesses in Birmingham, including Sacred Glow Yoga and Typing Cat Press.

“This is a very exciting time to be joining Lake Homes,” he said. “I look forward to working with all the great people here, and helping our agents as the company expands into 2017.”

For more information on Lake Homes Realty, visit www.lakehomes.com.