Last year, Amanda Rogers faced a dilemma. Her growing real estate business – Rogers Neighborhood Realty – desperately needed more office space, but options in Lowell are few and far between. So rather than simply moving to a bigger office, Rogers ended up with an entire building instead.
“I was given the golden opportunity to buy a building,” she says. That building is 317 E. Main Street and sits almost directly across from her business’s former location in the Big Boiler Brewing building.
She spent weeks renovating the space to level the floor, add carpeting and adjust lighting fixtures. Then, on Jan. 3, she and her staff held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome Rogers Neighborhood Realty to its new location.
“Hyper Local,” Homegrown Business
While Rogers has been selling real estate since 2017, she didn’t strike out on her own until late 2020. It also wasn’t her initial career path.
“I started out in college in legal assisting,” Rogers explains. While she enjoyed that work, it became difficult to sustain once she started a family. “The 9 to 5 did not work for young kids.”
For more flexibility, she took a position as an assistant in a real estate office and found that the work suited her. Soon, she was selling houses herself, and by 2020, she had enough experience and expertise to start her own firm. While that may have been a tough year for many businesses, the real estate market boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One way Rogers Neighborhood Realty has distinguished itself from the competition is by being “hyper local,” according to Rogers. “All our staff lives, works and volunteers in Lowell,” she says.
Over the years, the business has grown from Rogers working alone to a staff of four. “I never actively recruited agents, but I had people who wanted to be agents come to me,” she says.
Looking Forward to New Building, New Year
When asked what she likes best about her new building, Rogers is quick to point to the sheer amount of space it provides.
“There’s room to breathe and expand,” she says. Her staff no longer need to share desks, and for the first time, they have a conference table to facilitate meetings. Plus, there is plenty of space for storage and other needs.
The upstairs of the building hasn’t been renovated yet, and Rogers says it is a project for the future. While she is still mulling over her options, she envisions that perhaps the second floor could be converted into apartments.
As for the state of real estate in Lowell, Rogers says the market is cooling but there continues to be a shortage of inventory. “People still need to move and there are not a lot of options out there for them,” she notes.
Whether people are buying or selling, they can always stop by 317 E. Main Street to chat with Rogers or another agent. The sign out front will let you know if an agent is in.
For more information about Rogers Neighborhood Realty, visit their website or Facebook page.
All photos courtesy of Rogers Neighborhood Realty.
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