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About
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Paula Lydon
My BackgroundOne of the most frequently asked questions I get is: "How long have you been in real estate?" That generally requires a very long answer, because it depends on what you consider "in real estate"... I guess the best short answer would be "From about age two." That is when my parents bought their first home. They bought a fixer-upper so they could move into a great neighborhood with wonderful schools and parks. I distinctly remember JUST getting that house completely fixed up when we moved. We moved across the street and three doors up to a larger home. Also a fixer-upper. How great was the neighborhood? Well, my parents are still in the same house nearly 30 years later, my mom's sister bought the house two doors down, and my second home was a short two blocks away. We still have great friends in the neighborhood and would have stayed their ourselves had we not found the incredible opportunity of our current home - yes, a fixer upper. While most of my friends found their first jobs delivering newspapers or flipping burgers, I went to work for my Uncle Bobby. He owned an architectural drafting company that grew into custom and semi-custom residential construction. I took a hiatus from real estate while I completed my Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Immediately after completing my undergraduate work, I went to work for the City of Colorado Springs Office of Economic Development. We helped local businesses expand and relocate. A great experience to learn how the corporate side of real estate procurement and development worked! What was supposed to be a three-month summer job turned into a 6 ½ year stint. At the ripe old age of 22, I bought my first house. It was a 2-year old home, custom construction. Nothing needed repair. After living in fixer uppers my whole life, I thought it would be a nice change. That lasted less than 6 months, when I decided to revamp the one and only bathroom, redo the two decks, add landscaping, etc. That's when I knew fixing up was in my blood. In 1996, I completed my MBA with a focus in Market Strategy and I was off to a career with my two newfound passions - marketing and parks / open space. But life has a funny way of redirecting you... In 1997, I met my husband-to-be. He was living in a fixer upper that became my next "project." In April 1998, my Uncle Bill past away. He left me his house. It became our next fixer upper. Before we finished the rehab work, we were approached about selling the house. The buyer worked for a local title company, who walked me through the required steps to sell it "for sale by owner." That house was the first of three FSBO's we sold over the next three years. My uncle also left my parents and I a piece of vacant ranch land in another part of Colorado. In August 2000, we decided the time was right to sell it. We did our research and tried as hard as we could to hire the right real estate agent to sell it for us. After less than two weeks on the market we had it under contract and couldn't be happier. But as it turned out, the real estate agent wasn't a good fit for us. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. I ended up working directly with the buyer - a real estate attorney and agent from another state. We completed the deal and the entire process lead me to start thinking about becoming a real estate agent myself. I found myself working for the El Paso County Parks Department. But I quickly learned about a sister department known as the Public Trustee's Office. The Public Trustee handles the majority of foreclosures in the County. In 2003, bought my first property from the Public Trustee auction - well before foreclosures and the foreclosure process were as commonly known as they are today. Since then, I've bid on about 30 properties at the auction, been the successful bidder about half the time, and actually gotten the title to 5 or 6 properties, which we fixed up, and rented and/or sold. Friends and neighbors were seeing what I was doing in real estate and started asking for my help. But the State of Colorado requires that you are a licensed real estate agent in order to sell someone else's property. So I decided to go back to school to get my license. In 2005, I attended the pre-licensing course at Pikes Peak Community College. Immediately after passing the State Real Estate Exam, I joined a local real estate firm that specialized in foreclosures. About a year later, I joined a family member at the local Prudential office. That office chose to drop the Prudential affiliation in March 2009. When another well established real estate firm was named the new Prudential affiliate, I joined them immediately, making the move October 1, 2009. Why Prudential? National name recognition, national referrals, a national relocation program, and tools for both me as the agent, and for my clients, that are second to none. Little did I know I wasn't done with Pikes Peak Community College's real estate education program. In 2007, I was approached about becoming an adjunct professor (one of four) within the program. I began by teaching the "Closings" module of the course. Over I time, I also taught the modules of "Current Legal Issues," and "Practical Applications." I've also substituted in the "Contracts" and "Exam Review" modules. I can't to tell you how rewarding teaching is! And nothing keeps you on your toes with the changes to the State contracts, legal issues, and other real estate topics like teaching it does! When the Department Chair retired in May 2009, I was honored to be asked to head up the real estate education program. In 2008, I added in another portion of real estate into my portfolio - a vacation rental. Looking for a great ski getaway? I have a wonderful one-bedroom townhome-style condo at the Keystone Ski Resort in Summit County, Colorado. Click on Soda Spring #1917 for more information. So here I am today, happily an agent with Prudential Rocky Mountain, REALTORS, working with the Pikes Peak Community College real estate education program, still buying, rehabbing, renting, and selling investment properties, and enjoying my family and the Colorado Springs lifestyle! Safe to say that real estate is in my blood. Certifications and Designations: GRI, SFR, e-Certified 2.0, Prudential Relocation Specialist. Employing Brokers License
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