When Gigi Peacock decided to sell her home on Lake Conroe several years ago, choosing a real estate agent was difficult. She knew and respected about 15 area Realtors, but after careful thought, she listed her home with Kelly Lawson. She had known Kelly for almost three decades; they attended the same church and had also volunteered at their children’s school together. Gigi knew Kelly would be responsive and attentive, and would exhibit an admirable attention to detail.
Gigi soon learned she had made the right choice. “There’s nothing Kelly said ‘no’ to,” she says, “even when I didn’t ask.” Today, Gigi knows even more Realtors than she did when she relocated, but she still recommends Kelly to friends, family members, and acquaintances.
The week Hurricane Alicia made landfall in 1983, Kelly joined the adult workforce as an employee of the J.C. Penney store at Greenspoint Mall in Houston. During the aftermath of the hurricane, she attended a required orientation class for new employees. There, she learned James Cash Penney’s “one simple rule:” to treat others as we would like to be treated. Kelly has remembered this rule throughout her career, as Gigi can attest. “Kelly puts others ahead of herself always,” she says.
After graduating from Sam Houston State University, Kelly began her professional career at The Huntsville Item, and by 2010, she had spent 15 years in the newspaper industry. She had worked most of those years at The Courier in Conroe, first as the newspaper’s operations director and later as IT director, but she was contemplating a career change. When a friend, a real estate broker, suggested to Kelly that she should consider becoming a Realtor, her interest was aroused. When she left The Courier in 2010, Kelly took the required coursework and studied non-stop until she earned her real estate license.
As she embarked on her new career, Kelly was determined to develop her business through organic growth and client referrals. One of her top priorities was to make sure clients were able to reach her when they called. This remains true today. “If you are working with me, I will be with you throughout the process, from the start to the closing table,” she says. “You will not be handed off to a team member.”
Kelly joined a small brokerage company, where she was able to gain in-depth knowledge of the real estate business. As she had hoped, she got many referrals from satisfied customers. As her clientele grew, she worked with more agents at a larger brokerage. Before long, she was a top producer.
Today, Kelly is a top producer for Walzel Realty, a state-wide brokerage with 1,400-plus Realtors, with seven offices throughout Houston and others in San Antonio, Austin, and Bryan/College Station. She works with clients in the areas she became familiar with during her time in the newspaper industry, including Conroe, Huntsville, Katy, Cypress, Humble, Spring, Centerville and Bryan/College Station. She also assists clients who are relocating from our area to other Texas cities. For example, if a client sells a home in Conroe and wants to move to Austin, Kelly can refer them to a colleague at Walzel’s Austin office to help them find a home there.
Kelly is not boastful, so friends and acquaintances might not know she has earned several prestigious awards. Based on feedback from all her real estate transactions, Kelly has been a Houston Area Realtors (HAR) five-star Realtor every year she has been in the industry. She is also a 12-year recipient of the Five Star Professional Award, which is recognized by Texas Monthly. Realtors in 40 markets around the country are eligible, but only seven percent of agents in each market are selected.
Kelly still has the business cards she used before she became a Realtor, and she has often considered building a “house of cards” with them to show her clients how her previous jobs equipped her for a successful career in real estate. For example, her time in the newspaper industry taught her it is crucial to embrace changing technology to keep pace with current business trends. Meanwhile, her side job as a professional photographer showed her how to showcase homes through excellent photography. Her photographer’s eye helps her see things in a home that are out of place—“like a dishtowel on the kitchen counter or an empty toilet paper roll,” she says with a chuckle.
Kelly is quick to give credit to others, and she often compliments the remarkable supervisors she has had throughout her career. “They taught me to prioritize my clients’ needs and to provide exceptional customer service,” she says. “This has become the core principle of my professional approach.”
One way Kelly serves clients is by easing their concerns during the stressful time of buying or selling properties. Kelly’s friend and client Gigi knows this well. What started off as a smooth real estate transaction became complicated when the sale of Gigi’s home fell through shortly before closing. Fortunately, Kelly helped locate another buyer promptly. Meanwhile, Gigi lost out on the house she planned to purchase; however, with Kelly’s help, she was able to find a newly-listed home with the same floor plan. As an added bonus, it was in a location Gigi liked better. “Kelly stayed diligent and helped me through all the hiccups and hassles. She was patient to a fault. She went above and beyond at every turn,” Gigi says. “It was a very stressful, out-of-the-ordinary transaction, but Kelly helped me through that process. She never discounted my concerns, even if they sounded unreasonable. It spoke more than volumes. It spoke the whole library.”
‘Your preference is my preference’
For Kelly, a self-professed “people person,” the best part about her job is getting to know her clients well. One way she does this is by being a good listener. Over the years, she has learned to “listen” to her clients in a variety of ways, through in-person meetings, emails, text messages, and phone calls. “Your preference is my preference,” she says. Regardless of the form of communication, Kelly always strives to be responsive. Her goal is to answer every message within two hours.
The business of real estate has changed dramatically over the past few years, but Kelly is determined to change with the times. “I am open to integrating new tools and processes,” she says. She is also committed to the important job of keeping up with the fluctuations in the local real estate market. Twice in her career, she has seen home values change in a matter of hours. “And it is so important to stay on top of what is happening in the micro-markets. They truly differ from one end of Montgomery County to the other,” she says. “I am always focused on helping my clients achieve their goals.”
Interestingly, there has been an unexpected by-product of Kelly’s work. “Real estate has strengthened my faith,” she says. “I have seen things happen when I thought, ‘that was God’. I am not ashamed to tell people that He’s got a plan. If it doesn’t work out on this one, there’s something better.”
Follow Kelly on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram. Contact her by phone at 936-525-9589.
Postcards Magazine
936-293-1188
PO Box 690
Huntsville, TX 77342
