Eight years after Kathleen Baylies launched a real estate business that works only with buyers, folks are still scratching their heads, wondering why she chooses to skip the seller’s portion of the business.

“Buyers are the happy side of the transaction,” said Baylies, owner of Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. in Wilmington. “Buying a house usually represents a personal milestone: a promotion, that first home, retirement. Sellers are ready to move on, and the listing agent stands between them and the next phase of their life.”

Although Baylies’ professional background is in marketing, she’s had plenty of experience in real estate – as a buyer herself — since her husband’s career took them all over the country.

“I have lived in six different states, and in each move I made the decision as to what house to purchase,” she said. “My experience taught me the importance of having an agent who listens. I also had a few negative experiences buying a home from the listing firm. It’s like asking a lawyer to represent both the husband and wife in a divorce case.

”Baylies entered real estate after she and her husband moved to Kure Beach 11-½ years ago. When the value of their home doubled in a very short time, she decided to develop a small real estate portfolio as an investment, and earned her real estate license.

“Pretty soon, friends started asking me to show them properties, then they began asking me to negotiate contracts and collect checks for them,” she recalled. “I realized it was a lot of fun and exceptionally rewarding to guide people through an expensive and complicated process to find the right place.”

Baylies named her venture Myrtle Realty and worked out of her home at first, but moved to the Cotton Exchange as her business grew. Soon she realized she needed a name that would better communicate the aim of her business and help differentiate her from the other 1,400 members of the Wilmington Region Association of Realtors.

With its new name, Just for Buyers Realty, and an additional agent, the agency continued to grow. Then, three years ago, Baylies’ husband was killed in an accident. She realized that her income, which had always paid for the couple’s “extras,” was going to have to sustain her.

“I had to rethink my life,” she said. “I realized I was doing what I wanted but not as effectively as I might. One thing I needed was a more visible location, so I purchased office space just off Carolina Beach Road and added agents.”

She looked for people who were good listeners and understood the importance of customer service. The team currently includes agents Linda Mehner and Dave Chiprut, and operations director Carol Adams.

Typically, 70 to 80 percent of the firm’s clients are folks new to the Cape Fear area or planning a move here. They learn about Just For Buyers through friends in the area, or through exclusive buyer’s agents elsewhere, or they go online.

“We invest a lot of time on our online presence, because that’s where the buyers are,” Baylies said. “As people become more educated about the buying process, they see the value of having an exclusive buyers’ agent. Once they see that, they are ours to lose.”

Broker Earns Certified Negotiation Expert Designation

Kathleen Baylies, Broker/Owner of Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. has been awarded the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation, achieved by real estate professionals who have successfully completed formal training in the art of negotiation. Fewer than 1% of all real estate brokers and/or agents in the nation hold this designation.

Baylies traveled to Tucson, AZ for the training. “I’ve taken several negotiation classes locally. While valuable, none of those classes provided the in-depth knowledge that resulted in an professional designation. Most surveys indicate buyers expect their real estate representative to have advanced negotiating skills. This designation enhances the skills I already had and definitely gives me an edge in the marketplace.”

With professional negotiation skills, brokers typically obtain better results for their clients. CNE brokers have an advantage because of their ability to uncover information effectively, get more and give less during purchase negotiations, and retain control over desired outcomes.

The certification training is provided by Negotiation Expertise, LLC, a national negotiation training and coaching company based in Peoria, AZ. Negotiation Expertise owner, Tom Hayman, says, “Any buyer who hires a CNE broker can feel confident they will get superior results and have better resolution of any issues when purchasing real estate.”

Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. is a different breed of real estate company. As the name implies, Just For Buyers Realty works only with buyers and never accepts listings nor represents sellers. This means buyers can have confidence their real estate agent is always advocating for their best interests and never trying to serve both sides of the deal. Just for Buyers Realty agents are committed to handling their clients’ transactions as if they were their own, often resulting in savings of several thousands dollars for buyers.

Wilmington, NC – Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. brokers Linda Mehner, Fred Spike and Kathleen Baylies have earned their certification as Workforce Housing Specialists.

The certification is awarded to real estate agents who complete sixteen hours of specialized education. Certified agents are well equipped to assist low-and moderate-income buyers with purchasing affordable homes. Agents who have earned the Workforce Housing Specialist (WHS) designation have expert knowledge on the federal, state and local housing programs and resources available to serve these buyers.

Less than 35 agents (of almost 1800) in the Wilmington region have earned the WHS designation.

The Workforce Housing Specialist Designation is awarded through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. is an exclusive buyers’ agency. Neither the agency nor any of its agents accept listings or work with sellers, which means they represent only buyers, giving buyers confidence their agent is always advocating on their behalf.