By Carole Hawkins, Staff Writer
CC Underwood is what's known in her company as a rainmaker.
"I find people leads, and I love it," said Underwood, a Realtor for Keller Williams Jacksonville. "I love going out to other businesses and forming really long relationships that help everyone make money and help everyone's business grow."
Underwood leads of a team of seven who guarantee to sell a home in 60 days or give up their commission.
"They're not discounted home prices," she said. "They're fair market value and a lot of those that are listed at our 60-day price are getting multiple offers and selling over our asking price. We do not give away our homes."
Besides Underwood, the 60-day guarantee team includes a listing specialist, a marketing coordinator, a sales agent and three buyers' agents.
Market analysis, aggressive promotion of their product and a group approach are what account for the team's success, she said. After six months and a dozen or so homes sold under the guarantee, Underwood hasn't given up a commission.
Underwood didn't know at first she would become a Realtor. As a teenager she wanted to work in sports medicine.
"I've always been athletic," she said. "I love watching Jaguar games. I love watching baseball. And I love science."
She originally ran a sports rehab business. Her clients included professional football players who came to play in Jacksonville.
But Underwood, a petite person, found herself exhausted after performing deep tissue massage on large athletes for 40 to 50 hours a week.
She saw a commercial on TV about real estate and thought it would be fun. It was 2007, right before the market crashed.
"You can imagine all the positive reinforcement I got," she said, with a laugh.
Underwood survived the tough times, though. And from her upbeat manner, no one could tell the experience was anything short of exciting.
This year she's looking forward to increased sales. Homeowners, she said, can finally upgrade to bigger houses and better neighborhoods, after years of being locked into their existing homes by a stagnate market.
As a Realtor, Underwood differentiates herself by her reliance on the team approach, which is promoted at Keller Williams, and by an ambitious vision. Eventually she wants to replace herself in this market with her team members and expand her territory into Orlando.
"Teams are hard and they're definitely not the norm, but I think we'll start seeing more of them, because as your business builds, you can only handle so much," she said. "You can have it all, but you can't do it all."