On the Path of Selling Homes, Volunteering, and Community Involvement

Working with individuals or families has long been a strength for Amanda Rogers.  Within the last few years she has become involved in the real estate world and continues to seek more knowledge within the profession, challenge herself and help others all while serving the Lowell community in a variety of ways.

The Road to Real Estate

Rogers has been working in real estate for nearly three years and has been a realtor for the past two.  Her career path following college graduation from Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse, with a legal assisting degree, led to a full-time position as a Probate Court Clerk.  In this role she enjoyed keeping files accurate, ensuring hearings were on time, and occasionally worked alongside individuals contained within the files she managed.

Rogers moved to Lowell in 2004 after marrying her husband, Bob, who is from the area.  After working for a friend for a short time and a brief stint at the Ada Township Assessor’s Office, she began, what would amount to six years, working with the Kent County Court system as a Circuit Court Clerk in the family division.  There she handled neglect and delinquent files. While the job was something she could do, there was something missing. Rogers never got to work with individuals involved in the files she handled.

As with other couples who begin to start a family, it was more advantageous for family and financial reasons for Rogers to become a stay-at-home-mom.  But this didn’t mean she would stay at home and do nothing, especially once her two daughters were both in school. She took up volunteering everywhere she found an interest, typically where kids were involved, and usually incorporated her administrative assistance into the roles she found.  As her children have gotten older, it has been easier to look for a job which would bring in an income and it was time for Rogers to return to the workforce.

Rogers showed interest in an assistant position at a real estate company three years ago which turned out to be owned by her husband’s uncle.  “Once I got to learn the business, see how much it spoke to my previous desire to help others through sometimes complicated contracts in high stakes environments AND get to work directly with the people themselves, I was hooked.” she says of the lure of a career in real estate.  The job also comes with enough flexibility to allow her to continue volunteering and being involved with numerous organizations within the Lowell community.

Passing the Tests

In order to become a real estate agent, a 40 hour pre-licensure course along with a state exam.  Passing the exam on the first try, Rogers began a new career path. There is some discussion among those in the real estate world as to whether the testing should be more strict.  Rogers falls in the camp in support of making it harder to obtain the qualifications needed to be involved in buying and selling homes.

Additionally, realtors are required to take continuing education credits totaling 18 hours every three years.  Six of these credits must be composed of legal update classes. There are also extra designations and certificates which can be taken above and beyond the minimum required to be an agent.  Rogers has earned The National Association of Realtors – Pricing Strategy Advisor designation (PSA) and her local board’s designation of International Real Estate Practitioner (IREP). “I felt that the PSA designation was especially critical to just getting started, and after having several clients in the Kentwood area that were first and second generation immigrants, I wanted to earn the IREP designation.   I plan on working on the Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE) designation and earning my broker’s license next.” she says of the additional training she has taken and what she’s planning for the future.

Aiming to learn more and challenge herself, Rogers will also look to become a Real Estate Broker.  In order to achieve this title, one must be a salesperson for at least three years, take a 90 hour pre-licensure course, and pass a state exam.  Committed to a career in real estate and loving it will drive Rogers to begin preparation for becoming a broker. According to Rogers, as of March, there were 646 brokers, and 2435 sales persons in active membership in the greater Grand Rapids area.  

Life as a Real Estate Agent

Rogers enjoys being the go-to person when people are looking for a “reliable and trusted source of knowledge and professional care”.  While no two files for clients are the same, she finds this both challenging and rewarding.

Those who follow Amanda Rogers’ business Facebook page will find home buying and selling tips as well as data on current market trends and developments.  Rogers’ website contains information about properties she has listed, a section for buyers and a separate area for sellers with guides and strategies as well as other links to help potential and current clients along their individual paths.  

Looking for a quick tip on selling a home?  Rogers says, “Clean sells. Period.” And those looking to buy, her words of wisdom are, “Get pre-approved AND look past the paint color.”

Rogers feels location is a “huge and personal choice for every homeowner”, therefore she has active clients in Lake Odessa, Clarksvills, Hudsonville, relocating from Colorado back to west Michigan, Belding, and of course Lowell.  She learns about any community where homes are located in so she is able to share that information with clients who may be unfamiliar the area.

Daphne, Amanda, Bob, and Katie Rogers (l to r).

Life Outside of Real Estate

Outside of her role as a Real Estate Agent, Rogers has been the Girl Scout Service Unit Director for Lowell for several years.  She also leads two troops in Lowell. Continuing her volunteer work with organizations involving kids, she helps with the Bushnell/CCE PTO and Construct Lowell Area Youth (CLAY).  Rogers is also a new member of the Lowell Rotary Club which “speaks to me and of me” she summarizes. There are other organizations within the community with Rogers is involved, all of which look to make the people and community of Lowell a better place.  

Rogers also enjoys a variety of crafting activities, running, and spending time with her family.  Some of Rogers’ involvement within the community is alongside her husband, who is also service oriented.  The pair are the parents of two daughters. Katie is currently a 7th grade student at Lowell Middle School and Daphne is in 4th grade at Cherry Creek Elementary School.  

Although she is involved with numerous organizations, often juggling multiple tasks at the same time, Amanda treats each one as a professional.  Her real estate clients are given her full attention as she uses her expertise in the field to help them buy or sell a home in west Michigan. Those looking to buy, sell, or merely ask questions are welcome to reach out and have a conversation.  

Photos courtesy of Amanda Rogers and used with permission.

1 Comment

  1. I’ve known Amanda to be a person of great insight, high integrity, and a champion of Family values.

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