ADKOR Group with Maxavenue in Plum Creek is more than just “A Different Kind of Realty,” it’s a family that’s ready to go all in for clients. Led by Realtor/Broker Celeste Messer, she and daughters Ashley and Audrey regularly go above and beyond for every client — even taking on the task of staging sellers’ homes.
A Family Business
“When Ashley and I first started talking about working together, I had to think about it long and hard” Celeste says. Wondering if she could trust Ashley to do business with the same client centric focus, they agreed to start with a test period. “I wanted her to prove to me that she had the work ethic and commitment that I felt necessary,” explains Celeste.
Ashley had her own reservations. In 2005 she began helping out at the office, but she saw how hard her mom worked and wasn’t sure real estate would be the right fit for her. “I had the opportunity to get my real estate license and at that time I still planned on just helping out with the escrow files and eventually moving on to do something else. That was until my first closing,” Ashley recalls with a laugh.
A Love of Helping Others
“I can’t even explain the satisfaction I felt from being able to help my clients (first time home buyers) purchase the home of their dreams,” Ashley says. “The look on their faces when they got their keys was priceless!”
“At that point I realized that this was it, this was the reason my mom worked such long hours and went above and beyond the call of duty. This was the reward. Seeing and feeling the gratitude from a job well done was enough to clench the deal for me.”
Since that time Ashley has continued with real estate and never looked back. “I learn something new every day and will forever be grateful to my mom, who made me get a summer job that just happened to turn into a career that I love,” says Ashley.
Back when Ashley first got into the real estate business, the youngest daughter, Audrey, was in elementary school. Flash forward… Audrey earned her real estate license in March 2016.
“When I got to high school I started working in the office part time, filing, data entry, working on the website, whatever needed to be done that didn’t require a license, I did,” explains Audrey. “I couldn’t get enough! I saw that this is something I could do. I enjoy helping others and I love looking at homes, visualizing how a run-down place could look with some elbow grease.”
Home Staging Specialists
The ability to envision a home’s potential is more than just a special skill shared by Celeste and her daughters. As certified experts in the Maximum Value Home Selling System®.
The ADKOR team uses Maxavenue’s Maximum Value Home Selling System® to help sellers prepare their homes to sell for the maximum value.
“Staging homes made sense to us,” says Celeste. “We started doing it even before it had a name. When we started selling homes back in the early 2000s we learned pretty quickly that not all buyers could visualize how a home would look if it were decluttered, painted, etc. It seemed obvious to us that to sell a home quickly and for more money it needed to look good so we partner with our clients to make sure the home shines.”
“The Maximum Value Home Selling System® goes way beyond just staging. Everything starts with a targeted persona most likely to pay top dollar for the property based on its location and amenities. We stage homes to attract that persona because we know they will sell faster and for more money than a comparable non-staged home,” she continues. “Trust me when I say that we didn’t plan to do staging to the extent we do. In fact, we started really small, buying a piece of furniture or an accessory here and there, but it made such a huge difference and our clients were so thrilled with the results that we kept adding to our inventory.”
“Now we have a couple of storage units and a room in our home all dedicated to storing furniture, lamps, accessories, drapes, whatever it takes to make a home pop in photos. Then we take that one step further and hire a professional photographer to take the photos. Again we are doing everything in our power to make sure our clients’ homes sell quicker and for more money than others on the market. We think it makes sense. Why else would builders pay thousands upon thousands to build and decorate model homes? They know the models help the products sell. They show how a home could be.”
A Trio that Treats You Like Family
Celeste has moved 13 times while at a corporate job and understands how stressful the process can be. “I also know from more than a decade of being a realtor that the buying and selling process can be more complicated than it appears on the surface. All deals do not go smoothly and when things go off the rails you want someone on your side you can trust is right there with you.”
Her clients agree. “This is the second time we’ve used Celeste and she is just fabulous!” said past client Kristina Donley. “She is thorough, detailed oriented and brings a lot of information to the table. She asked questions we never even thought of. Biggest thing – aside from being very knowledgeable and helpful is that she allows you to make an educated decision based on the information that she has provided.”
“I guess you can say that when I agree to represent a client I am ’all in,’ says Celeste. “My clients aren’t numbers to me. They trust me to guide them through the process. This is especially the case with first time home buyers/sellers or clients from out of state who don’t know the area. I was there once. I know what it’s like. I am also a straight shooter, good or bad news I let my clients know what to expect. All of that comes through.”
