The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
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The Alimond Show
Shari Morgan Carroll - Finding Home Isn't About Location—It's About Quality of Life
Discover the remarkable journey of Shari Morgan Carroll, a Compass realtor whose path to real estate began with a teenage dream documented in her high school journal. As a military spouse who's lived from coast to coast, Shari brings a uniquely qualified perspective to helping clients navigate the Maryland and Virginia real estate markets.
What sets Shari apart is her commitment to treating each community as a local would, fully immersing herself in diverse neighborhoods across America. This approach has given her an extraordinary ability to connect with clients from all backgrounds and truly understand their needs. When Shari describes the real estate process as "creating a quilt" – thoughtfully bringing together all the necessary pieces – you get a glimpse of her holistic approach to serving clients.
Transparency and calm guidance define Shari's client relationships. Rather than simply directing decisions, she presents options and empowers clients to make choices aligned with their goals. Her extensive network of trusted professionals – from lenders to inspectors – ensures a seamless experience from search to settlement. Most fascinating is her observation of today's market trends: homeowners increasingly willing to trade low interest rates for enhanced quality of life, choosing homes that better suit their lifestyle needs over financial considerations that once dominated decision-making.
Ready to work with someone who values building genuine connections over transactions? Connect with Shari Carroll to experience how her unique background and approach can transform your home buying or selling journey. Her nationwide "tribe" of relationships is a testament to the lasting impact she makes beyond just closing deals.
My name is Sherry Carroll. I'm a realtor with Compass and I serve those who live work in both Maryland and Virginia. So thanks again for inviting me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, we love our DMV area realtors. They're incredible and they always have some awesome insight to share with us. Take me back. What kind of drew you to real estate? Give me a quick overview of your journey from the start.
Speaker 1:A part of a military family and during one of our processes of moving I had a chance to look back on some journals that I had written actually while I was in high school and I noticed, out of all of the things that you would write in a high school journal, I also noticed that I had chosen as a goal to be a real estate agent then and I decided when I moved again I would actually get licensed. So I started my real estate career actually in Pennsylvania and then it's been going since then.
Speaker 2:My gosh. Well, congratulations on keeping that kind of promise that you made to yourself. That's so beautiful that you saw that through. So congratulations, and that's great that you really followed through. A lot of people, don't you know their high school dreams and things they write in their diaries. Very inspiring that you did. You mentioned your military spouse. How has your experience as a military spouse kind of shaped the way that you serve clients who are relocating?
Speaker 1:Sure, well, one of the things early on in my husband's career, we decided everywhere we would live, we would actually operate ourselves as locals in the local community, so we would connect with maybe some of our co-workers and neighbors and we would actually assimilate into the local culture. And I think one of the great things about being able to live from coast to coast is that I've had the opportunity to experience multiple diverse communities and now that I'm a real estate agent, I'm able to connect with a diverse group of clients just by my personal experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we all are looking for that connection and we feel more comfortable with realtors right, who have that experience and are able to kind of relate on maybe one little thing or give some advice or some suggestions. So that's awesome. I kind of feel the same when I talk to people in here because I've lived, you know, in Boston, I lived abroad, in Bogota, colombia, I lived in Michigan. So I meet people and I always find some way that I can relate to, either like Midwest stuff or like Latin America. So it's super fun and it does build that trust. So that's amazing. What does building a community together mean to you as a realtor?
Speaker 1:Sure, one of the things as a military family we like to know, understand what's going on in the local community. So building a community means that I'm here and my clientele can rely on me to share some information about communities that they may be just getting to know or not as familiar with, and so it helps to know what's going on in the local community, what's happening, know what's going on in the local community what's happening?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and that helps people envision themselves too. Within that community. How do you keep the home buying or selling process stress-free for your clients?
Speaker 1:Yes, that's one of my primary goals, and I believe the primary way of keeping it stress-free is being transparent in my communications and giving them an opportunity to make the decisions, sharing with them what their options are and then allowing them to make the best decision for themselves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome, and we all need less stress especially when it comes to, you know, big purchases like this, that's really great. What's one thing you do differently to ensure your clients feel heard and understood?
Speaker 1:That's a great question. So help them to be heard and understood. Certainly I like to. I believe listening is one of my strongest strengths and so just maybe repeating back to them or asking some additional questions like, do you really need new construction, or is that a goal, or is that a requirement, or do you, are you willing to, you know, do a little bit of the work that's required to make the house your own home.
Speaker 2:Just listening and asking questions, I think yeah, I like that you ask those questions, because I feel like a lot of people don't kind of do that extra work to get to the root of things and to kind of dive in and see why maybe they're saying something Because maybe it's not really that they need new construction. They just have set that goal for themselves and if you break it down and kind of get to what's behind that, you're able to find something that maybe better suits what they're really looking for. So that's amazing. How do you use your network of partners to create a smooth real estate?
Speaker 1:experience, and that's another great question. I really look for opportunities to make new connections and I do that just staying in touch with my colleagues and just hanging around the office and to understand what's going on. One of the things I like to describe the real estate process it's almost like creating a quilt, so you're bringing multiple pieces into the puzzle and then bringing them all together, so facilitating both the title connections. Obviously we're facilitating access to the homes, but lenders we have a complete list of needs a homeowner may need, like home inspector appraisers. We have access to all of those vendors. We'll call them that can help.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great and that's certainly an advantage to working with you. It sounds like you're not about really the transactional relationships. You really make sure that you're plugging into your network and assisting people with. You know vetted professionals that you've worked with in the past, and I really loved your quilt analogy too. It's helpful to think about it in that way. Sure, absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's really awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it appeals to the creative side. Right, wonderful, yeah. What core values would you say drive your business and how do you live them every day?
Speaker 1:Sure, absolutely. Integrity, transparency, honesty are just who I am as an individual, a calm demeanor someone has mentioned to me. So those are actual traits or characteristics that I live out every single day in my business or actually in my personal life as well. So it just easily translates to my business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have a very reassuring presence, which I'm sure is very helpful in your real estate career, because I mean, just talking to you right now, I feel very calm and reassured and I'm not even trying to buy a home. So yeah, it's great.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:Of course. How do you stay motivated and inspired in such a competitive market?
Speaker 1:It is. It certainly can be a competitive market, and I believe that's another one of my strengths is to fully understand both what's going on for the buyers as well as sellers, and I basically and I basically, or I genuinely try to focus on a couple of areas, particularly when I'm helping sellers I try to talk to them about is actual access to the property and certainly the condition. So access price access as well as condition so those are the things that I focus on when I'm speaking with clients that are sellers working with clients that are sellers and then for the buyers. I like working with buyers simply because it helps me understand how to counsel my seller clients. So what's going on in the buyer market helps me with my sellers also.
Speaker 2:I like that. What is one success story from your career that perfectly reflects your mission as an agent? One success story.
Speaker 1:These are hard questions, I know, yes, this is a tough one, but I have many, I'm grateful to say. But most of all, when I meet a homeowner or a new homeowner at the door just before settlement or I meet a seller at the settlement table, every time that I have that experience I feel like I've just won the lottery. So it's just an amazing feeling to help someone reach their real estate goals.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really beautiful. Well, how is the market? I know this is a basic question for realtors, but how is the market? And is it a buyer or seller market right now?
Speaker 1:Sure, and is it a buyer or seller market right now? Sure, I think the quick answer is it depends. It depends on neighborhood, it depends on location. But one particular trend that I'm seeing in my business is I've seen a lot of current homeowners actually abandoning the low interest rate that they've had and the low mortgage balance and moving more toward a quality of life. So if someone has been maybe considering, oh, giving up the low interest rate because on their townhome they have decided that living in a single family home would give them a better quality of life or in some cases I've had the experience of single family homeowners deciding to downside and moving into other communities I feel like that's the latest trend that people are abandoning the low interest rate, which happened to be one of the greatest reasons to buy a few years ago.
Speaker 2:That's so interesting how things are always shifting like that. Wow, what advice would you give to someone buying a home in Maryland for the first time right now? Sure?
Speaker 1:Wow, that's it. I like to think about Maryland in some areas or I'd like to advise my clients. Maryland, to me, has a more laid-back presence. If you're interested in maybe moving, you know going into the city to work but want a place to get away after you get home, maryland might be for you. Get away after you get home, maryland might be for you, versus in some areas of Virginia close into the city that you have access to the WMATA stations.
Speaker 2:So it really depends on what your primary goal is staying close or time to relax? Is staying close or time to relax? I think for me it'd be time to relax, but I live in Ashford. Indeed, that's amazing. I love that. I love how you put that Kind of back to your experience living in different regions of the country. You've lived in all four regions of the country, which is amazing. How has that shaped your perspective on finding the right?
Speaker 1:Certainly, california is certainly different from Virginia and Maryland. California is the predominantly area where I've lived most of my early adult life, so going to the beach, you know, just a short drive away, it's something we did often there. So different, I believe. It seems that are more focused on more of an established neighborhood here. That just may be my perspective, though, versus in California, it seemed that I was focused more on homeownership as a commodity rather than an established place to live. That's my experience. I'll say that that's been my experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's interesting to think about. I mean, it sort of makes sense if you think about kind of you know California culture sometimes and like I don't know. Yeah, that makes sense in my mind. That's interesting Outside of real estate. How do your hobbies, like sports, cooking or playing the piano, influence the way you connect with clients?
Speaker 1:piano influence the way you connect with clients. Certainly, cooking I'm the primary chef in my place, so I don't generally don't share my cooking with anyone outside of my family. So I think it's pretty good, but I'm not sure. And certainly playing the piano is just simply a hobby that I just like to use as a stress reliever. I have been to a couple of basketball games with clients and vendors, so that's been fun.
Speaker 2:I love that. Yeah, I was curious about the piano because I am a musician. So I always love to connect with people on that. That's really beautiful that you play, and I would love to get a video or something or hear you play a little. But yeah, is there anything else that I didn't touch on in regards to like your real estate journey or anything else that you'd like to share with us today?
Speaker 1:estate journey or anything else that you'd like to share with us today. One other thing that I realized I overheard a conversation a few weeks ago and they talked about their village or their tribe and how they shared, you know, these important moments with individuals in their local community, and it made me think about my own tribe. And when I thought about it in depth, I realized that I have a tribe throughout the nation because I've lived both in the Northeast West and the South, and it made me think about how grateful I am for living the life that I've enjoyed so far. So my tribe may not be very big here, but it certainly spreads across the nation.
Speaker 2:And it's only expanding too, because you're not about those transactional relationships, You're really maintaining and nurturing these incredible connections. So I have no doubt that your tribe will continue to grow here and continue to expand and everyone will connect in with each other. And yeah, I feel the same. I've kind of lived all over the place.
Speaker 2:So, thank you for sharing that. Yeah Well, thank you, Sherry, so much for coming in and making the time to talk to me on the show about real estate and your journey. This has been such a unique and awesome conversation. I.