Realtors launch brokerage firm

Realtors Jim and Becky Todd on May 9 opened a new brokerage, Family and Friends Realty.

“Family and Friends is the name of the brokerage, and then, we have been Todd Family & Friends (LLC) for a couple of years now,” Becky Todd said of the real estate business she and her husband have built in the last eight years.

The Todds and their team, which now numbers seven, left Keller Williams Realty of Greater Springfield on May 5 to start Family and Friends.

Now, because they are the broker, they get to call their own shots.

“For the first time, we get to (work) as we have been trained, to be real estate consultants, instead of high-pressure sales,” she added.

And not only that, Jim Todd said, but the brokerage firm can help other Realtors, something they’ve been asked to do at an increasing rate since Todd Family and Friends closed $22 million in sales in 2005.

“A lot of people have come forward and asked for instruction regarding how we accomplished that, what it is that we do,” he said.

“We now have the opportunity to affect the businesses of other Realtors, and maybe help them to move up to a higher service level and do a little more volume for themselves.”

For the brokerage firm’s first year, they’re aiming to boost their sales number to $30 million, Jim Todd said, noting that in the first quarter of this year, Todd Family & Friends closed $7.5 million.

The name of the business comes from the fact that the Todds’ son and daughter are part of the team, along with people who have been clients of the Todds in the past who are now working in real estate.

For now, the company is operating out of the Todds’ Emerald Park Home and online at www.toddfamilyandfriends.com; the Todds said they are looking for office space to purchase.

The couple doesn’t have a target number of agents they’d like to add to the brokerage, but they said they’ll choose agents who will share their approach to the business.

Building a philosophy

The Todds brought a different perspective to their real estate endeavor, having owned several service businesses – a landscaping company and a commercial cleaning company among them – before beginning their careers in realty. The couple worked with several firms besides Keller Williams: ReMax House of Brokers, Century 21 Home Team and Murney Associates.

“At each one of those agencies, we met some fantastic agents, and we had some wonderful training,” Becky Todd said.

Evan DeShong, team leader of Keller Williams in Springfield, said that the agency has about 100 Realtors in the local market.

“Jim and Becky are absolute professionals, and we wish them the very best in their business adventure,” he said. “(They) are just good folks, and they’re very experienced agents, and we left on very professional terms. They were going in one direction, we were going in another, and that’s OK.”

Jim Todd said the goal of Family and Friends is to approach real estate as an experience rather than just the buying or selling of a piece of property.

“We decided that if we were really going to live on referrals, that we had to give (clients) a good experience in everything that regards real estate,” he said. “Our approach is to tell our clients to hold us accountable to the entire process.”

That means analyzing the loan products offered to clients so that they can choose the one that best meets their needs, helping clients choose a home inspector, and answering any other questions or concerns the client may have.

“What we know is that if any of those things do not go smoothly, then they have not had a good real estate experience … and we haven’t earned their referrals,” he said.

Becky Todd added that the personal service is particularly important because of the abundance of information consumers can find for themselves online.

“They’re not sure who they can trust, or whether or not something is a good deal,” she said. “Our philosophy … takes it back to where the industry was years and years ago (when) the local Realtor was someone you went to to get help. They knew where everything was and you trusted them.

“Now, what we find is that the Realtor, because of online (people) don’t think that they need them. But now that online real estate has been available … what we’re finding out is, we’re being referred to those people who have purchased unwisely without someone representing them … A lot of our work now is … trying to repair damage.”

Client base

Family & Friends’ clients, and the properties they buy and sell, are varied, she said.

“We’ve sold everything from the run-down starter home that needs a lot of work up to the million-dollar property (or) land,” she added. “A lot of development land is brought to us.”

The Todds also do quite a bit of work with new homes; the business represents more than 20 local builders.

One of those builders is Dan Holt of Dan Holt Construction. Holt has built several homes in the area, but he’s branching out into development with Huntington Pointe, a 110-lot subdivision near Truman Elementary School.

Lots in Huntington Pointe will be available for sale in about four months, Holt said, and the development will be open to the Todds as well as other local Realtors.

Of the Todds, Holt said, “They have an upbeat attitude. I don’t have any negative experiences with them. I think they put a lot of effort into moving our properties. I know they’re honest and I feel they’re fair. Those are probably the biggest attributes that I feel are necessary in this business.”