Lori Wade easily rattles off the awards and accolades she’s earned in the nearly two decades she’s spent as a realtor. But, as she quickly notes, it’s not the Circle of Excellence wins or SuperStar Awards that define her as a real estate expert.
“It's more important to provide my clients the very best service that they deserve and should expect from a professional, seasoned full-time real estate agent,” she says. “I often hear other agents' clients … express frustration that their transaction was very stressful and they felt they were in the dark during the transaction. In return, my clients have mentioned at the closing table that I was very responsive and how they were constantly on the phone with me every day leading up to the closing. And that I wasn't just their agent but their therapist, too!”
That constant communication, accessibility and presence define the kind of client relationship she strives for, going so far as to connect new homeowners to trusted contractors.
“I don’t stop after closing,” Wade affirms. “I continue to be a reference and support or whatever they need even after closing. If it takes a year to get a project done, I will work with them for a year. I’ve had clients who have said to me, ‘Lor, we didn’t do the bathrooms to save money but now we’re ready to do them. Can you recommend someone to us?’ I get texts every day from a lot of my clients asking for referrals.”
The authentic warmth Wade brings to those who trust their home-buying and -selling journeys more often than not deepens into something much more lasting than a realtor/client relationship.
“My clients know when they work with me, they will get my full attention and the professionalism that they deserve,” she beams. “We share memories together, they invite me to their happy hours, they invite me to their social events—as do I. My clients, they really become close to me.”
For Wade, the reward of real estate is both the challenge of helping South Jersey’s and Pennsylvania's long-timers and newcomers find their perfect home and the journey of clients becoming friends, which is the quality of those relationships is more important than her quantity of work.
“If I did 50 closings a month, I wouldn't be able to provide every client with my personalized attention that they deserve and expect,” she explains.
The kind of attention and guidance befitting a dedicated real estate agent aren’t all that clients get when they work with Wade, though. She’s developed a keen eye for interior design and staging homes in her nearly two decades of experience, both of which are skills she is more than happy to bring to every home in her hands.
“I’m not a certified interior decorator, but I’ve been doing this since right after graduating high school,” Wade explains. “I have worked with new-home buyers to help them with flooring selections, which has turned into great relationships with builders down the Shore and in this area, who trust me to take their clients on. I have a showroom so I take them to the showroom, we make all the selections there, then after that comes paint and if they want help with furniture, I’ll do that, too. When it comes to my real estate clients, I’ll go into their house and rearrange their furniture, I’ll take pictures off the wall, I’ll clear things out. I’m very hands-on with that with my clients because, as I’ll tell them, you only get one chance at a first impression.”
Given the time and energy she devotes to everyone she works with, Wade does take care in determining who she’ll work with.
“My clients have to be realistic,” she says. “When I take on a new client, it’s very important for me to be able to educate them. I know it’s going to be a huge commitment and I need to give them everything I can, but I have to be a professional and I have to give them the truth. I’m not just going to tell them what they want to hear just to sign a contract.”
And those clients she does take on are eager to spread the word that Wade unfailingly stands by and sits down with her clients whenever they need her explanations, support and advice.
“I strive for a smooth, professional transaction with the least amount of stress to each and every one of my clients,” she affirms. “One of my biggest joys is to see excitement and happiness at the closing table: happy clients, happy life!”
Lori Wade—Weichert Realtors
Moorestown
Lori.Wade@hotmail.com | (856) 904-2958
