Christy Cottle may be new to Seattle, but she’s no stranger to real estate. Now eight months into her career at Redfin, Christy continues to exude excitement about her role as a North Seattle listing agent. She’s closed nearly 45 deals and shows no sign of slowing down. Christy’s desire to help others is so genuine, and that’s a quality that Redfin values deeply. She shares with us what brought her to Redfin and how the experience has impacted her career.
How did you first hear about Redfin, and what brought you here?
I’ve been working in real estate for 15 years and have had my license for about six. I worked in new construction for a few years in Idaho, and met a real estate agent who later came to work for Redfin in Seattle. I kept in touch with him, and he always had such good things to say about the company. Then a family tragedy struck and turned my life upside down, and I found myself thinking about a career change. Redfin seemed like the wave of the future. It’s where real estate is going, I thought; starting over might be a fun adventure.
I interviewed with Redfin and got the job in December. I sold almost all my belongings, moved out of my beautiful 2,700-square-foot home in Idaho, and drove to Seattle with my significant other in the middle of the worst winter storm in decades. I was trying to get here in time for my first training day, and every major road was closed. The drive took 16 hours instead of the usual eight. But now I’m here, working for Redfin, and I absolutely love it. It’s been one of the best decisions of my life.
Tell me about that transition. Did it seem natural? Was it challenging in some ways?
Real estate is very different here compared with Idaho. The contracts and laws are different, so I’ve had a big learning curve. It took about a month and a half to get up and running, but everybody has been incredibly welcoming. From management down to other agents, I have a huge, supportive network. Whenever I’ve had a question or needed anything, which was definitely the case starting out, I’ve always been able to get help and feel supported.
I work out of the Everett office, and there’s a sense of collaboration and camaraderie there that I’ve never felt with a company before. Everyone’s working really hard; there’s enough business for everyone. There’s no competition, other than healthy competition. It’s nothing like the dog-eat-dog type of atmosphere you find in other places. I love it. Every day I’m happy to work alongside an incredible group of people who really care about each other and their clients.
It’s been really cool to be able to carry the workload I have while having that team to lean on. I like to call Redfin the “plug and play.” I just plugged in, and I got to start playing right away. All the systems were in place for me to do that.
Tell me a little more about the experience of working on a team day-to-day at Redfin
It’s absolutely amazing. In traditional real estate you’re spread so thin as an individual, trying to be everything to everyone. You’re wearing so many different hats. Here I get to do what I’m best at: work individually with clients and help them accomplish their goals in selling their homes. On top of that, I work with amazing people who have specialized knowledge. It’s empowering to know that I’ve got this whole team of people supporting me. They’ve been such a huge help, getting me further ahead and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.
I also work with incredible individuals at the Chicago hub who help with contracts and setting up appointments. They have such a can-do attitude. Anytime we ask them for something, they’re like, “Yep! Got it. All taken care of.”
What keeps you at Redfin?
I stay at Redfin because there’s incredible community and opportunity here. I’ve experienced levels of success in my career previously, but here they really do have everything in place for you to be successful if you want to be. You have to put in a lot of hard work, long hours and dedication, and you have to be ready to learn, but all the systems are in place. In the last six months I’ve closed 30 deals. I’ve been able to stay really busy and increase my business in a short amount of time.
I want to continue being a part of this new wave of real estate as technology changes things in different ways. But I think the biggest motivation for me to stay is the team environment. I’ve seen other agents and brokerages try to facilitate that, but they don’t necessarily take care of their teams. The team members don’t get a salary or health insurance benefits. They work and make a small percentage, then call it good, but they still can’t quite take care of their families.
Redfin has created an environment where you have to work really hard to make the money, but you’ve got a salary and health insurance. I know that my kids are taken care of, and I can just go to work and get the job done. I can be as successful and as busy as I want to be, and I love that balance.
Do you have any closing thoughts or words of wisdom you’d like to share?
The biggest thing that I feel toward Redfin right now is gratitude. I have an immense sense of appreciation for the ways they support agents and help us be successful. The quality of life is amazing when you’re in an environment where you feel supported and even the smallest of needs are taken care of.
There seems to be sincerity in the leadership about the employees and who we are. We’re not just numbers, even though the company’s growing and getting larger. I’ve never found that in a company before. To find it in real estate has been a dream come true.
To learn more about becoming a Lead Agent and available opportunities, click here.
United States
Canada