Pleasanton, CA — July 17, 2019 — NextHome is excited to announce that Karen Parnes, an experienced real estate leader in the Maryland area, is joining the NextHome family as its newest franchisee. NextHome Your Way will become the fourth NextHome franchise in the state of Maryland.
Karen and her team of highly-trained agents will serve clients across Montgomery County, MD and surrounding areas. NextHome Your Way helps clients with investment purchases, relocations, and condominium purchases. Karen and her team are also able to make first-time home buying a smooth process.
“I absolutely love living in Montgomery County for many reasons, but especially because of its proximity to Washington, DC,” Karen said. “We get all of the wonderful diversity that comes with embassies and diplomats.”
Karen started her real estate career in 2005, just as market forces were about to take the industry on a roller coaster ride. The birth of her second daughter soon after she got her license taught Karen how to innovate and juggle challenges in her changing world. Ever the astute businessperson, Karen saw what overzealous buying could do to the families she served.
“I found myself telling people not to buy a house,” Karen recalled of those early years. “I did have their best interest in mind.”
When the market crashed, Karen was glad she chose to serve her clients interests over her own. So began the difficulties of building a thriving real estate business through The Great Recession as a real estate agent.
In 2010, Karen joined Redfin where she nimbly climbed the company’s corporate ladder.
“It was really helpful being a part of a company that was growing and evolving through The Great Recession,” Karen said. “There was a lot to learn just being a showing agent and I used that time to sharpen my knowledge.”
Karen soon became the top-producing agent in all of Maryland; she closed $120 million in four years, topping 200 deals.
“I learned the system,” Karen said. “I learned how to get a client, how to really listen to them, how to learn their real needs, identify the right fit, and how to show it to them in the right way.”
Eventually, Karen found herself as Redfin’s area manager for the entire Maryland market. In that role she helped other agents succeed through great training, managing support staff, rolling out new products, and mentoring.
In 2017, Karen left Redfin and began to see the industry evolve again. New technology and improved systems were changing the way people buy and sell homes.
“I am really interested in the whole change that’s happening in the industry in general,” Karen said. “Technology is becoming available outside (national firms such as Redfin) and that gives me the opportunity to open my own brokerage and leverage those incredible tools in my way.”
Karen’s way is the way that best serves her clients and agents, so she chose “NextHome Your Way” as her brokerage name.
“That was very deliberate,” Karen said. “One of the most important things for potential clients to know is that if they work with any one of our agents they will be 100 percent trained and knowledgeable. Our agents will have the knowledge, training and support to really facilitate home buying and selling ‘Your Way.’”
Although Karen could have gone with many different options for opening her own business, she chose NextHome because of its suite of technology, the company’s focused eye on the industry, the support she receives, and NextHome’s exceptional marketing.
“I loved that it has all those systems – you don’t have to buy a million different systems from different people,” Karen said. “I also love that they have their eye on what’s happening in the market right now. And on top of all that, I feel like I can count on them. I love that starting from the sign to the listing, and what’s inside the listing, the branding is all so well done… those are really the values that I’m looking for.”
Karen brings those values to her business through NextHome Your Way’s Heroes Program – a service especially designed for first responders and military service members looking for guidance and reduced fees through their home buying process.
Outside of her brokerage, Karen also serves on the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors (GCAAR) Board. She also actively supports the Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation – a Maryland-based nonprofit committed to finding a cure for childhood brainstem tumors known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas (DIPG).
Karen is the proud mother of two daughters; Romi, 19, a student at Towson University, and Mayah, 13. The family enjoys exploring Maryland’s stunning hiking trails and waterfalls and watching movies.
“We are thrilled to welcome Karen to the NextHome family and know her expertise will be a tremendous asset to both agents and homebuyers in the Maryland area,” said Imran Poladi, NextHome’s Vice President.
Please join us in congratulating Karen on the opening of her brand new NextHome brokerage in Montgomery County!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.