Pleasanton, CA — January 14, 2021 — NextHome is pleased to announce the newest addition to the franchise, NextHome Universal Realty, based in Chesterfield, Missouri. The brokerage represents the ninth office location opened in Missouri for the NextHome franchise and the 541st NextHome office opened nationally.
The brokerage is ideally located in a charming suburb of St. Louis, just 20 minutes from the heart of downtown. NextHome Universal Realty will serve clients across the St. Louis metro area including Brentwood, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Ellisville, St. Peters, Lake Saint Louis, O’Fallon, and the remainder of St. Charles County.
NextHome Universal Realty is owned by the husband and wife team of Robert and Cindy Blanton. The couple met in 1997 and that same year obtained their real estate sales licenses together.
Robert entered real estate as a prolific and successful entrepreneur. Prior to becoming a REALTOR® Robert owned several businesses, including Midwest Video Supply. In the ‘90s, this chain of retail stores became the second largest electronics distributor in the country.
As technology evolved, so did Robert’s career. After obtaining his real estate sales license in 1997, he started at a large independent, then joined a RE/MAX franchise.
In 2000, Robert opened his own franchise – RE/MAX Connection in Ellisville, Missouri. The brokerage expanded to open another office in Chesterfield and quickly grew to 165 agents.
“We made a pretty good name for ourselves pretty fast in the real estate world,” Cindy recalled. “Robert has lots of integrity and respect in the industry, and through that we were able to connect with many high-producing agents and bring them over.”
The company’s success was so meteoric that in 2002, Entrepreneur Magazine reached out asking to highlight the company as an example of small business success.
In 2007, Robert and Cindy realized that the franchise model was no longer in alignment with their long-term goals and they opened their own independent. For the next 13 years, Universal Realty Group served clients as a small, but mighty force in St. Louis area real estate.
As the years rolled on, Robert and Cindy knew they would eventually evolve again. They began looking into NextHome in 2018, but a healthy hesitancy about franchises kept them from committing.
“Robert started looking at NextHome and was really excited,” Cindy recalled. “He kept saying, ‘You have got to look at this company. It’s crazy what they offer.’”
However, Cindy became the voice of caution and wanted to make absolutely sure that getting into a franchise again was the right decision. She soon discovered that NextHome is unique in the world of franchises.
“The more he continued to look at it over the past couple years, the more it became appealing,” Cindy said. “After diving in, I am 100 percent supportive of this decision. I am so pleased with what I’ve seen so far, and we are so excited to go live!”
Robert agrees.
“NextHome was a great fit,” he said. “The camaraderie that seems to be with NextHome and all their franchises and people is unlike anything I’ve seen. In addition, they offer industry-leading tools and technology. No other franchise we saw offered what NextHome did.”
Now under the NextHome banner, Cindy and Robert will offer area clients unparalleled customer service and marketing. With their history of leadership, business growth and management expertise they are also looking forward to recruiting top-notch talent.
Robert will continue to sell real estate while also focusing attention on recruitment and training. Cindy will take on the administrative and financial side of the business.
Together, Robert and Cindy enjoy spending time at their condo in Lake of the Ozarks, touring the country on their motorcycles, and working out.
Robert is the father of five kids and has 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Please join us in congratulating Robert and Cindy on the opening of NextHome Universal Realty in Chesterfield, Missouri!
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.