This year’s Residential Specialist cover contest winners, all from the RRC Young Professionals Network, share their stories of serving their clients, communities and industry
CRS Designees are special, not only as REALTORS®, but as community and industry leaders. Here we spotlight our Young Professionals Network (YPN)—members under 40—who are making a difference.
Fara Captain, CRS
Fara Captain is broker/owner of Captain & Co. Real Estate LLC in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to starting her own brokerage, she was the leading agent at the Crye-Leike Midtown Office for three consecutive years. She is passionate about being a quality REALTOR® and believes in providing outstanding customer service to all her clients—clients like the Gregory family.
Captain met the Gregory family over a year ago while they were in and out of the NICU visiting their son, Houston. In their initial meeting, they expressed wanting to refinance their home. Houston’s medical diagnosis had a lot of unknowns at the time and was going to financially impact them. The refinance didn’t work, so the next option was to sell.
Bad news hit when the appraisal came back low. Their home was in an up-and-coming neighborhood, and although it was a newer build with several thousand dollars of upgrades, the appraiser’s perception of the area didn’t bode well. “I asked if I could speak to their lender and see if we could ask for a ‘second look,’” says Captain. After a long discussion, they agreed to a second appraisal and that Captain would be the point of contact.
After detailing the work that the Gregorys put into the home and comparing their lot to other homes in the area, Captain was able to get their home appraised for a fair price.
A year later in May 2020, Captain received a text from the mother, Larissa. She said that Houston was now visually and mobility impaired and they wanted to find a house that would suit his needs. The Gregorys were able to move into their dream home in July. Captain recently received a text from Larissa expressing how much they love their house. She included videos of her sons playing on their trampoline, as well as photos of their renovations.
“As a CRS, it’s not always about compensation,” says Captain. “It’s moments like [these] that are priceless. It’s moments and stories like these that continue to bring life into what we do because that’s who we ‘R.’”
Whether there was or wasn’t a bias on the original appraisal will always be unknown, says Captain. Her passion to be vocal on racial bias was ignited in 2015 when she met with an organization leader who shared with her how she “turned the local school around.”
“When I asked her what impacted the change, her response was, ‘We kicked all the Black kids out,’” says Captain. “My inspiration to make change started then.”
In 2019, she completed the certification at the National Civil Rights Museum for “Unpacking Racism” and was honored as the class of 2019’s Chamber of Commerce Young Memphian for her desire to bring about systematic change within the city.
Last year, her company made 200 care packages for Memphis Homeless. This year, they contributed 10% of their June and July profits to the National Civil Rights Museum. In 2021, she hopes to create a sister branch that will invest in affordable housing opportunities.
Captain recently taught her second webinar for RRC, titled “How to be an inclusive REALTOR®.”
“Although our Code of Ethics indicated that we should not ‘discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity,’ these words sometimes get lost by some agents in the process,” says Captain, who serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Tennessee REALTORS® Association. “I hope to continue my work to promote inclusivity within our industry and within Memphis.”
Mary Lane Sloan, CRS
From the early stages of her career, Mary Lane Sloan, CRS, with The ART of Real Estate, Columbia, South Carolina, knew one of the best ways she could impact this industry was to continue her passion for lifelong learning and mentorship. “If I don’t get a listing, I want to know what I could have done better. If I see another agent doing something innovative, I want to learn how to incorporate it into my repertoire. If I feel like something is needed to improve the process for my clients, I will go out and find it or create it,” says Sloan.
She adds that the best way to serve her clients and this profession is to never stop learning and mentoring. “Once you’ve mastered a skill, teach the REALTOR® next to you. Once you have found a breakthrough technology, share it with the REALTOR® next to you. Once you have learned a hard lesson, coach the REALTOR® next to you,” says Sloan. “The only way to truly better this profession is to be the best versions of ourselves we can be, and then turn around and pull the next person up with you.”
Sloan is passionate about community service and involvement. “As REALTORS®, our role is bigger than just selling houses,” says Sloan. “We truly are community builders.”
Her company hosts Pumpkin Picking in the fall and outdoor movie nights, where admission is a can of food for Harvest Hope Food Bank. They’ve partnered with local nurseries and the Holiday Home Tour, and donate to local schools, animal shelters, Historic Columbia and Oliver Gospel Mission.
Sloan takes great pride in her relationship with her clients as well. Recently, she helped a family move across the country from Colorado to Columbia amid the pandemic. Three weeks before closing, their deal fell apart. Having to act fast, Sloan called every agent she knew and was able to find five houses that met their criteria. They found one they loved and made an offer. Sloan not only won the deal for the family, but was also able to find an Airbnb for them to rent as they awaited closing.
“From sending flowers to clients on listing day to talking to buyers at 10 p.m. about [their] offer, I’m always trying to do the very best for my clients,” says Sloan.
Khoi Le, CRS
Khoi Le, CRS, Hunter Chase Realty, Albuquerque, New Mexico, struggled with homelessness and poverty for most of his childhood and has worked since he was 6 years old. Because his family emigrated from an oppressive regime in Vietnam when he was young, his mother was forced to rely on others for her real estate needs. After seeing her cry out of frustration because an agent was neither listening nor explaining the paperwork to her understanding, he picked up a purchase agreement for the first time. Since then, he has vowed to always do the right thing for his community. Being able to help families find and buy homes is his dream come true.
Panee is just one example of someone who Le has helped. Panee was a special, hardworking woman who was left with a crippling mortgage, worked late hours as a caretaker and could barely afford necessities. “It was a tragic story,” says Le, who took on Panee’s case. “[She was] an immigrant woman who was left by the man who brought her here and taken advantage of by her previous agent.”
Le learned that Panee was afraid of her previous agent and had not signed with anyone else in fear that he would retaliate. After comforting her, Le went over his sales process. “She had my promise that everything was going to work out,” says Le. “She revealed to me that she was praying for a way to move back to her home country, Thailand, when I called her expired listing.”
Scheduling showings was difficult, as Panee worked nights and overtime, and didn’t have a cellphone or email address. When they finally got an offer, Le paid for a new thermostat and heater installation. In the end, he sold her house for more than the asking price.
“[Panee] moved into a quaint four-plex with amazing neighbors who watch out for her,” says Le. “She is finally able to save money to go back to her home country, where she wants to own a restaurant and donate all profits to the needy.”
Le’s selflessness does not end there. One holiday season, he brought his Albuquerque team together to donate to the Barret House, a nonprofit for battered women and children. “This is a cause very dear to my heart [as] I was raised by a single mother of five,” says Le.
Le and his team drove from house to house gathering donations. They even called their clients, friends and family members seeking contributions. “The day came, and we had so many donations we had to get a moving truck!” says Le.
This year, Le got the unique opportunity to speak at Sell-a-bration 2020. He is now teaching classes across the nation (via Zoom) and sharing his perspective on current trends and where the industry is going.
“I make an impact on the industry every day by honoring my word and doing what I say I will do,” says Le. “I encourage my brokers to do the same so that we can create a sterling image of our great industry, one client at a time.”
