Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Lloyd.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a family of real-estate professionals – four generations before me worked as real estate brokers in Southern CA, my father was a builder, and my grandfather was a real estate developer. As a kid, I hated being dragged around to my mom’s open houses and can remember sitting on the floor of a model home in Palm Springs, waiting for my grandfather to finish work and come swim with my sister and me.
I moved from Orange County to San Diego after college, and worked in the non-profit industry, which satisfied my passion for helping and giving back to the community, but was living paycheck to paycheck. A few years later, I took a position working in business development for a not-for-profit credit union, where I became a certified financial literacy instructor and created partnerships with local non-profits and the people who relied on those non-profits for guidance and support.
My favorite parts of that job were teaching people how to make their money work for them, not against them, and to protect themselves from predatory lending and wasting money on high-interest, unnecessary fees. I remember the first time someone told me they had renegotiated their interest rate on their car loan from 11% down to 3% – I was so proud I cried. I had struggled with a lot of debt in my 20’s and made so many mistakes.
My goal was to try to prevent people from making those same mistakes because when you are already on a tight budget, small mistakes can be so damaging. In 2009, my boyfriend at the time (now husband) who is a structural engineer and general contractor, began flipping houses. He knew my family history and encouraged me to get my real estate license to partner up with him.
I resisted for a while and then finally got my license just to represent our own projects. The business and negotiations came very naturally for me, having been raised in the industry, and I found myself enjoying the process a lot more than I had anticipated. In 2014, after our second child was born, I found myself needing more flexibility in my schedule, so I went into real estate full time.
And in 2016, I got my real estate broker’s license (with a four year old and two year old at home) and started my boutique brokerage, because none of the other brokerages seemed to fit my vision of what this business could and should be – there might have been a little anti-authority attitude in there too, I was tired of working for people who didn’t work as hard as me.
By 2017, I recruited a small team of realtors who work with me in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles, and share my passion for helping others. We now are a team of 6, and do business from San Diego up to Ventura County. We have partnered with a few incredible lenders who share our vision of ethics and doing the right thing by our clients no matter what.
I have been honored to be an award winner at the San Diego Association of Realtor’s Circle of Excellence 2016-2018, which highlights the top 5% of realtors in San Diego, and in 2018 I was chosen as a recipient of the “Top 40 Under 40” award.
Has it been a smooth road?
The struggles I experience have more to do with the fact that real estate is such a dog-eat-dog industry, and a lot of this business can be so dirty and unethical. That can bring you down, especially when your client is so deserving of a wonderful experience and you have no control over the other side’s behavior. I always try to take the high road, and fight battles worth fighting, but play nice as often as possible since teamwork makes the dream work.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lloyd Realty Group story. Tell us more about the business.
When I first started my company, I created a mission statement that I would continue to give back to the non-profit community, and help people who needed it as much as possible. My life motto has always been “If you CAN help, you SHOULD help.”
Lloyd Realty Group proudly supports about 12 local non-profits with sponsorships and through volunteerism, and I give money towards closing costs to all my first-time home buyer and military clients. I am particularly grateful to be a mentor with the Guardian Scholars program at Promises 2 Kids, a non-profit which supports foster youth who go on to higher education.
I have a commitment to all Guardian Scholars graduates that if they buy a house through me, I will contribute 50% of my commission to their closing costs. Being part of that process has been one of the greatest joys of my life, and I am so proud of their tenacity and ability to overcome so many obstacles to make it happen.
I have had the honor to have worked with senior clients buying their first home at 67 years old, first time home buyers who never thought this dream could be possible, military veterans establishing roots after multiple tours around the world.
I genuinely love all of my clients, and I love my job, and I appreciate the opportunity to support them as they make the biggest purchase of their lives.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Oh boy… this one is a doozie! Real estate has changed so drastically over the past 20 years, it will surely evolve further. I think we are lying to ourselves if we say it won’t, there are constantly companies looking to disrupt our business.
For some people, an automated approach may be just fine, but I find that most people still prefer the more hands-on approach that a realtor provides. My team and I take on a more “concierge” like role, and try to streamline the whole process, so our clients don’t feel stress.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9157 Ronda Ave San Diego CA 92123
- Website: LloydRealtyGroup.com
- Phone: 619-757-8619
- Email: stephanie@lloydrealtygroup.com
- Instagram: team_steza
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Stephapalooza619
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lloyd-realty-group-san-diego-2
- Other: https://www.zillow.com/profile/LloydRealtyGroup/
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