Pleasanton, CA — May 13, 2020 — NextHome is pleased to announce the newest addition to the franchise, NextHome Our Town, based in Waco, Texas. The brokerage represents the 34th office location opened in Texas for the NextHome franchise and the 470th NextHome office opened nationally.
Located in the heart of Texas, the growing Waco area is home to more than 234,000 people. NextHome Our Town will serve clients across McLennan County including Waco, Woodway, Hewitt, Robinson, China Spring, Lorena, McGregor, and other surrounding cities.
NextHome Our Town is owned by Waco native and real estate veteran Cristi McGowan. With more than 20 years of experience in Texas real estate, Cristi is happy to help clients with all types of residential transactions.
After graduating from the University of Houston, and working for a brief time in technology sales, Cristi began a career in new home construction. For the next six years, her won’t-quit work ethic benefited builders in the Houston area.
However, Cristi began to long for the simplicity of her Waco hometown. In 2007, she moved back to Waco and worked with StyleCraft Builders.
Cristi obtained her real estate sales license in 2011 and immediately chartered the Heart of Texas chapter of the Women’s Council of REALTORS®. Cristi was the group’s founding president from 2011 to 2012 and remains an integral part of the organization to this day.
In 2012, Cristi had the opportunity to take over a team and book of business from a top REALTOR® client she met through her with StyleCraft, it was then that her real estate sales career really took off.
“It was a wonderful opportunity,” Cristi said.
For the next five years, Cristi excelled as a team leader and top-producer with RE/MAX Centex Associates.
Although she was successful under Centex Associates, Cristi always knew that she was built to be a business owner. In 2017, she opened her own independent brokerage – Waco Home Team.
“I’ve always been incredibly entrepreneurial, creative, and independent,” Cristi said. “Owning my own company is in my DNA. I love learning by doing, thinking outside the box, and rising to new challenges.”
Cristi spent the next years growing her business and doing incredibly well. Waco Home Team was busy enough to employ a full-time executive assistant and transaction manager. In 2019, she hired a marketing manager.
However, Cristi has always been forward-thinking in her approach to business and she began to see changes on the horizon.
“As my business grew and the market evolved, customer expectations shifted,” Cristi said. “I wanted to think about expanding and adding more services. As industries change, we need to be constantly learning and evolving. That’s when I started exploring opportunities to franchise.”
As she was talking with a potential franchisor, it became clear that Cristi and the franchisor didn’t agree on several key points.
“Exasperated, she finally told me that I just needed to check out NextHome,” Cristi recalled. “And NextHome was the last call I ever made. It was a perfect fit.”
Cristi had the unique experience of first speaking directly with NextHome’s Chief Executive Officer, James Dwiggins.
“Nothing he said was canned or rehearsed,” Cristi said. “He was incredibly honest and filled with motivation for NextHome’s philosophy. I thought, that’s a franchise I could work with.”
Also appealing was NextHome’s fresh approach to real estate and its unparalleled portfolio of tools.
“I’ve always had to piece together back end technology tools and figure out how to make them work with each other,” Cristi said. “As a result, the percentage of agents who actually use these tools to provide superior service can be really low. With NextHome, there is one login for everything and all the technology and marketing works seamlessly together. The portfolio of tools that are available through a single sign-on helps create less time in front of a computer and more time in front of clients.”
As she leverages NextHome’s marketing and tools, Cristi is creating unparalleled service packages for Waco-area clients.
“I’ve always been hell-bent on delivering the best,” Cristi said. “I pride myself on always knowing what is going on in the market, knowing what is coming down the pipeline, and integrating that into our service package in an efficient and effective manner so it truly makes a difference for our client. At NextHome Our Town, we are all about serving the client and making their experience next-level.”
Cristi is also very active in real estate leadership and community service. Throughout the years, she has remained active with the Women’s Council of REALTORS® on both the state and local level. Her love of the Waco community shows through her service with the local Lions Club and her son’s Scouts BSA troop. In addition, Cristi is a passionate supporter of The American Cancer Society.
“After my mother passed away six years ago from brain cancer, it became very personal,” Cristi said. “I don’t know anyone who is not impacted by cancer. Through my service, I’m able to fill a need for some of the work and education that Cancer deserves.”
Cristi met her husband Chris while attending Texas A&M University. They have known each other for almost 30 years and have been married for 21 years. Together, they are the proud parents of one son, Oliver, who will turn 10 in May.
When Cristi isn’t building her business, she loves to spend time at Waco’s downtown farmer’s market, enjoy the sights at Cameron Park, and bake.
Please join us in congratulating Cristi on the opening of NextHome Our Town in Waco, Texas!
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.