Today we’d like to introduce you to Karisa Patton.
Hi Karisa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I got my Real Estate license in 2018. My husband and I had discussed selling our old house and getting something slightly larger. We were in a 3 bed home on 1/3 acre. in a part of town we were getting tired of. We were wanting a 4 bed home so our boys didn’t have to share a bedroom anymore and we were wanting a smaller lot as it was becoming a lot to maintain. We had met with a couple of real estate agents and it just felt like the only thing they cared about was the commission and not my families needs. It just felt like they were not listening to us. a few months later we fell into some financial issues and part time bartending was just not cutting it anymore. I was only working part time to be home with my kids more as my daughter was a toddler and my boys were still in young elementary school. I called up a girlfriend one day and said, “hey lets go get our real estate licenses!” so that’s exactly what we did. Told my husband that night, i’m going to real estate school which starts next week.
I grew up around the Real estate world already, both my grandma and my great aunt worked for a local real estate investor so my brothers and i would go to the office quite often. When i was 8 years old my mom married a man who was a local contractor, and my mom eventually got her real estate license to help sell the homes he built. by 10 years old, my 4 other siblings and i were cleaning the job sites. totally not allowed in todays world haha.
My first goal after getting my real estate license was to move our family. I was able to sell just enough homes within the first year to move my family that next summer.
in January 2023 my father passed away, a little unexpected. without going into too much details the year before was rough with my dad. My brothers and I really had to lean on each other to help him out. He was not local either, it was easily on a good day 1.5 hour drive each way. We had to go thru probate to take care of my dad’s final affairs, I had previously taken a class on probate but did not fully understand it until i had to actually go thru it. My brothers and I had decided unanimously i would be the personal representative as my job had a little more time flexibility and it already a world i was kind of in anyways. One thing i have discovered is probate can do one of 2 things to siblings and families. it can either seperate them or bring them together. I can gladly say it brought us together. My brothers were ready do what was needed when I told them to do so.
shortly after i was able to settle my dad’s estate i decided this was what i wanted to specialize in. I wanted to help families going thru probate. especially now that i know exactly what they were going thru. I started sending out letters to probate attorneys, started calling them. i was basically a squeaky wheel. I now work with a couple local probate attorneys with their clients. I don’t only help with probate though. i help estates before or after someone has passed. it can be very emotional trying for families and the last thing they need is someone pushy and no emotional understanding of what they are going thru. I still help all my families not going thru these big situations but this is one more thing to throw in my bag. When people think of probate, I want them to think of me. Honestly, Probate sucks so just get a trust or a correctly written will. (they can go thru probate too)
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
absolutely not. pretty sure everyone and their grandma got their real estate license in 2018/2019.. I was having to compete against sooo many other people. Then covid happened shortly after. Luckily i was still selling homes but it was much more of a challenge with all of my kids being at home since schools were closed. My husband was working 2 jobs (at one point 3) to get himself in the door for better opportunities. While other people were staying home getting unemployment, he was working his butt off so he was not home much. not to mention the ice storm from valentines day in 2021. Our home was out of power and internet for over 2 weeks so every time i needed a digital signature i had to run to my moms restaurant and use her wifi until all my signatures were signed and sent off where they needed to go. plus i had to do it within the small window my husband was home as i was not about to drag all 3 of my kids there with me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love working with families and building relationships. I specialize in probate and smaller family farms/ rural properties. I am known for physically helping my clients. Im talking throwing on my mucks and gloves and getting dirty. I have spent many many hours helping families clean out hoarding situations. I have spent many hours cleaning homes before they go on market. A lot of the families i work with do not have much upfront money to work on things and it’s often all in the equity of the home. I am lucky to have contractors i work i with that depending on the situation are willing to get paid after closing. I am proud of the hard work i put in to build my business. I love being approached by family members shocked at how much i have helped and that they have never heard of a realtor going above and beyond like this. I am not a person to be the center of attention or to really talk about what i do. I would rather do things out of integrity and let others speak for me. I have even babysat my clients children to help them pack and move. as long as its legal and nothing too out of the box nothing is off the table. I have paid my sons to help clients move as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kpsellshomes.com
- Instagram: @knpattonrealtor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarisaPatton
