Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty is pleased to welcome Buck Schall to our brokerage. We are confident that Buck’s skills and extensive experience will help him provide the excellent service that makes Mosaic Realty the top-producing locally-owned real estate agency in Asheville and WNC. Mosaic's Hillary Edgin took a moment to connect with Buck over these questions.
Thanks for taking the time to talk. Please share a bit about your background with us.
Sure! I was sort of drawn to Asheville because I grew up in a small town in south central Pennsylvania (the other end of Appalachia).
I was a social worker for 20 years, and bounced around the country a bit. Along the way, I lived in a couple of big cities: San Francisco and New Orleans (where I met my wife!), as well as a couple of places in New Mexico. But my small-town mountain roots meant Asheville was the place to be!
What made you want to be a real estate broker?
When we moved here and were in the process of looking for our home, I was always heavily involved in the search. I’ve long been fascinated with architecture, especially with homes that look different (not 1000-house cookie-cutter developments). I guess I just never stopped monitoring the market even after we bought our house!
Also, after 20 years of social work, I wanted a new challenge, but I just couldn’t do work that wasn’t meaningful to me. And then I thought about using my previous work experience to help people find the right place to live their lives. As a social worker, I’d seen what happens when someone stabilizes their finances for homeownership, and what that does to help stabilize them personally. So I started realty part-time in 2016 and went full-time in 2019.
Ah, so you’re still helping people! You’re helping them make the right decision on what is, for a lot of people, a really big life choice. But why the move to Mosaic?
Well, I moved to Mosaic because of its very local focus. Not to disparage any other brokerages, but I’m just not a fan of huge corporations, especially when it comes to services. And talking with Mike, I saw that Mosaic was figuratively AND literally invested in our community, and that it was a great group of people building relationships on a daily basis. Couldn’t pass that up!
You’re clearly an invested, passionate person … and should fit right in with the rest of the Mosaic group! What are your “big ticket” subjects? What ways do you enjoy giving back to our community?
With my background, the availability of affordable housing is really important to me, so I work with the Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust. They help put homeownership within reach of more people in our area. I feel if a community has increased stability, it affects everyone in that community in a more positive way.
What is your approach to working with real estate clients? (specialties/realty superpowers)
First & foremost, I listen! I try to understand their goals & help them achieve those—while providing feedback that’s as objective as possible for those goals. A question I like to start with is, “What is the purpose of the home you’re looking for?” or “What will selling this home mean for your life, going forward?”
If I’m working with buyers, we talk about criteria—what they want, what they don’t, what would be the icing on the cake—and I’ll write up a first draft that we refer to and revise as we go. If someone is new to the area, I’ll take them for a tour of different areas. We can’t get lost because it’s all new!
I try to take my own personal preferences out of our discussions while providing objective viewpoints that help them make their decision. We build a relationship that is genuine, authentic, and based on trust. With some flexibility in our views and approach—because we have to understand how things we can't control affect the market—we get there.
I always tell people this is your life, your money, and your decision. I’m here to make sure you have the info and the professional guidance you need to make the right choice for you. And that goes for new clients as well as old ones. Even when someone has bought and sold many homes, every transaction is still different!
Any last words of advice before we wrap up?
I feel that if someone is able to be authentic and communicate honestly with me; if they go into it knowing they may need to react to something they hadn’t considered (and many times, that they have no control over), that’s all I need!
Connect with Buck at Buck@MyMosaicRealty.com or 828-242-5949
Learn more: About Buck
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