Today we’d like to introduce you to Seanne Thomas.
Hi Seanne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I am a native St. Pauly girl who graduated from the U of M and entered corporate America. I had a great job with excellent benefits and loved being a corporate trainer; however, the business need was 2 pm-10 pm, and my first child was heading into full-day kindergarten, and I refused to be a weekend mom. Real estate always intrigued me, and I knew I could sell because I was driving a free Mary Kay car peddling makeup. If I could improve my average unit production from $250 to $250,000, I could make a living selling real estate. I quit my job of 10 years after birthing my third son and never looked back. I made more money in my first year of real estate than in my tenth year of corporate America and could work around my family. I am 22 years into the business and am the only black and female brick-and-mortar brokerage in the Twin Cities. I have a diverse team of real estate professionals and am a significant presence in new affordable housing construction in St. Paul.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I entered this business because I needed to advocate for my three black sons as they moved through their elementary public education. That part of my journey has been easy and greatly rewarding. The biggest struggle for anyone in this business is being solely dependent on commission income. Working in a salesperson’s mindset creates struggles, and approaching this business from a salesperson’s perspective can be very limiting.
Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your business.
Seven years ago, I launched ABC Realty LLC. I set out to build a boutique brokerage specializing in first-time home buyers and affordable housing development. I built a culturally sensitive team that speaks the languages of our clients, who often don’t speak English as their native language. We pride ourselves in looking like the people we serve and speaking their language or through interpretation. Four years ago, we took on the goal of helping close the homeownership gap between households of color and white households. Minnesota has one of the most significant homeownership gaps in the country. We do this by navigating people through the process, educating people about the benefits of home ownership and available resources, and walking them through closing their transactions and celebrating with them. My specialty is working with small non-profit affordable housing developers to create affordable products for families through scattered sites and project-based development. We are passionate about our community-building work at the intersection of housing and justice. We work in partnership with various organizations ranging in topic from renters’ rights to ensuring large-scale development provides adequate, affordable housing options and anything in between.
Please talk to us about happiness and what makes you happy.
Serving people makes me happy because it truly rewards them and me. I grow as a person by serving others.
Pricing:
- 6% seller listing fee
- $550 broker administrative fee to buyers and sellers
Contact Info:
- Website: https://abcrealtytwincities.com/
