Legacy Realty Group LLC, which was incorporated on May 16, has been launched at 1100 First Ave. N. The enterprise brings together five experienced, highly successful local real estate agents in a collaborative venture. The agency’s broker is Kati Lemberg. Her colleagues in this new undertaking are Kyle Egemo, Jamie Lara, Craig Patterson and James Schwan. The office manager is Becky Johnson.

The five Realtors collectively have 53 years of real estate experience.

“We wanted to unite top-selling agents to bring something new to Fort Dodge where we can all contribute to the company,” Lemberg said. “We are aggressive, full-time agents. We are very close and work very well together in terms of communication.”

Lara expressed the group’s enthusiasm for this new adventure.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Realtors from Legacy Realty Group pose outside of their office at 1100 First Ave. N., recently.

“It was an opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up,” she said.

Lemberg and the other agents stressed that they regard Legacy Realty as very much a team effort, which they said will significantly benefit their clients.

“We present a united front,” Lara said. “We work so well together. We work as a group.”

The agency handles the full range of real estate transactions.

“We do residential, commercial and construction,” Lemberg said. “We do have the Williams Bend Addition. That is all new construction. Of the 13 available 11 have already sold. We work directly with our clients and the builder to establish the home that they want.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Katie Lemberg, front, and Kyle Egemo, realtors with Legacy Realtor Group, talk about the recent sale of this home at 825 Forest Ave.

“We are the exclusive listing agency for Williams Bend,” Patterson said.

Lara said the purchases at the Williams Bend addition are reflecting the arrival on newcomers to Fort Dodge as the local economy booms. She said of the 11 properties sold thus far, eight have been purchased by people who do not currently live in Webster County.

Enhancing downtown

To create a home for the Legacy Realty Group about half of the 7,000-square-foot building on the northeast corner of First Avenue North and 11th Street was massively renovated to create an impressive office complex. This re-imagining of a structure with a long history in the community is in sync with the ongoing community campaign to take advantage the downtown area’s significant architectural possibilities.

“It was a large empty warehouse,” Lemberg said. “We have seven offices, which we built, and a beautiful conference room that seats 10 people.”

Legacy Realty’s office complex also includes a spacious reception area and a full kitchen. In addition to on-street parking a parking lot is being created nearby.

“We are excited to be downtown,” Patterson said.

The Realtor advantage

Buying or selling property can be complicated. Working with a Realtor can be an advantage at all stages of the process, according to the team members at Legacy Realty.

For the selling party, help finding a potential buyer can obviously be useful. For the buyer, assistance in locating just the right property to acquire can make the process easier and faster. The potential help a real estate expert can render, however, goes well beyond those obvious benefits.

“You have an educated expert provide market knowledge and guide people through the process,” Lemberg said. “We take everything off of them so they will not feel any burden. We make it an easy and enjoyable experience. Through our experience with education with the legalities of real estate we can see potential issues that may arise and head those off and prevent those hurdles. We can prevent a buyer or seller from having to go through any unnecessary headaches during the process.”

Experienced real estate professionals are also alert to possible problems with a property that someone less schooled in such matters might not notice.

Since most people who are seeking to buy or sell a property aren’t real estate experts, working with agents who are can help them approach the endeavor with realistic expectations.

“We provide access to facts and market information,” Lara said.

Additionally, working with a Realtor can make the interaction between the parties to the transaction proceed smoothly.

“We are a great buffer between a buyer and a seller,” Lemberg said.

The process

The team members at Legacy Realty bring state-of-the-art expertise to the home-buying and home-selling processes.

“I would say we are innovative with advanced marketing strategies and ideas,” Lemberg said. “We make use of social media marketing. We promote our listings through social media in addition to all the traditional approaches.”

Lara underlined just how important understanding how people communicate in today’s world can be.

“There are so many people that are on their phone constantly and the social media has taken over quite a bit,” she said.

Most people seeking to buy a home will need to get approval from a lender early in the process. That’s a crucial step.

“Sometimes they have already been to a lender when they come to us,” Lemberg said. “We start our research for that client to build a file to really understand their needs. Additionally, if they haven’t been to a lender that’s when we educate them and give them lender options that may suit their specific needs.”

Because properties tend to sell quickly in the hot local real estate market, she said it is beneficial for clients to get a lender approval before they start seeking a home.

“With our fast-paced market and how quickly things are selling now, it is more advantageous for them to be pre-approved as a buyer,” Lemberg said.

Lara seconded that point.

“It is a sellers’ market,” she said.

Legacy Realty’s agents said are enthusiastic about the profession they have chosen.

“I enjoy seeing the satisfied look on buyers’ faces,” Patterson said, noting that he also finds the variety the work affords to be stimulating.

“Every day is different,” he said.

Lara said sharing in the excitement first-time buyers experience is delightful.

“It’s such a new and exciting time in their lives and it’s fun to be a part of it,” she said.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No