Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 314: Real Estate by Referral: How Sheila Bonn Built a Career Helping People Through Life Changes

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Sheila Bonn with Keller Williams a Good Neighbor?

The real estate journey begins with connection. Sheila Bonn, a high-performing realtor with Keller Williams in South Lake, Texas since 2010, shares the authentic story behind her success on this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast.

Driven by her daughter's needs following a divorce, Sheila transitioned from graphic design to real estate seeking greater flexibility and income. This personal motivation transformed into a thriving career built almost entirely on referrals—a testament to her relationship-first approach. "My business is 100% by referral... it's people that know me and like me and trust me," she explains.

Sheila expertly dismantles common misconceptions that keep potential homebuyers on the sidelines. Contrary to popular belief, buyers don't need 20% down payment—options exist for as little as 3.5% down, with zero-down financing available through certain programs. She also cautions against over-reliance on Zillow's "Zestimates," particularly valuable insight since Texas is a non-disclosure state where sale prices aren't publicly reported.

Beyond transactions, Sheila embodies community connection through neighborhood food drives, personalized marketing, and consistent client communication. Her target clients? People navigating life transitions—marriages, divorces, growing families, empty nests—moments when housing needs fundamentally shift. She maintains these relationships through 25 weekly phone calls and handwritten notes, positioning herself as a "realtor for life" who provides value long after closing day.

Sheila's philosophy extends to her personal life where she balances Pilates, dog walking, and managing four Airbnbs with her husband. Her mantra—"activity breeds activity"—fuels both her business approach and personal well-being.

To learn more about Keller Williams Realty go to:
 🌐 https://kw.com/ 

Keller Williams Realty
📞  (817) 999-6270
 

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a realtor? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Sheila Bond, with Lone Star Properties. Sheila, how are you this morning? I'm doing wonderful. How are you doing? I'm also doing wonderful this morning, and we are so excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you start off by telling our listeners just a little bit about your company?

Speaker 3:

Yes, I work for Keller Williams in South Lake Texas. I've been selling with them since 2010 at a pretty high level. I really focus on the people I know to help grow my business. My business is 100% by referral, is how I work and I enjoy doing it that way. You know, it's people that know me and like me and trust me and they, you know, help me grow my business by sending me their friends and family.

Speaker 2:

Amazing, wow. So you certainly have some skin in the game than it sounds like. How did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

Well, I was, in 2009, going through a divorce and I knew that I needed more time, because my daughter was about seven years old and I just needed time and I knew I needed more money. So I thought I'm going to get my real estate license. I was a graphic designer at the time. I'd been married for 17 years and I just was going through a life change and that's the one way I thought this is how I can get more time and I can get some more money. So my daughter really was my big why in real estate and it allowed me to to be able to get to go to her school events, her field days, you know, cheer, just different things as she moved up through the ranks in school and graduated, and now she is a sophomore no, she's a junior at OU right now.

Speaker 2:

But she was my big why? That's really awesome and being on the other side of it now, Sheila, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across in the day to day in your industry?

Speaker 3:

I would say a huge myth that I feel people have is they feel like they have to have 20 percent down to buy a house, and that's not true. We can do a minimum of three and a half percent. If you go FHA and some of them if you can even go to the outlying areas of the Metroplex you can do a USDA loan and put zero percent down, and even veterans can put zero percent down and do 100 percent financing. Some of the other myths are Zestimates. So many people rely on Zillow to find out their true value of their home and you know most people don't realize that Texas is a non-disclosure state. We're not required to disclose what we paid for a home. So really the only way for somebody to find out that is for a realtor to go in there and pull the comparables to see what homes have been selling for, because we're going to be able to see that data on our end.

Speaker 3:

And a lot of times you think spring too, they're like spring's the only time to buy and sell, and that's not true. People go through life changes all the time and that's what really drives our business is people's. They're getting married, they're getting divorces, their families are growing. Sometimes their families are shrinking because you know kids are going off to college, they're empty nesters. So a lot of different myths out there that people think about when they think of real estate.

Speaker 2:

So, sheila, getting into more of the heart of the business in terms of marketing, is it true that you just do referrals? Do you do anything else for marketing? Is it true?

Speaker 3:

that you just do referrals. Do you do anything else for marketing? I do do a lot of referrals, but I also do other things for marketing. You know I'm on my social media. I do open houses, things like that, and sometimes I'll door knock and I try to do events within my neighborhood. I'll do food drives for people where I'll leave a bag with my contact information on there for Grace Food Pantry. There's a Grace Food Pantry up here in Grapevine and so I'll put a list of what Grace is really needing in their pantry. So I'll do food drives in the neighborhood At Halloween. Sometimes I'll market myself, hand out flashlights with my contact information engraved on them. It's pretty cool when the kids are making their way back around, everybody's using their flashlights.

Speaker 2:

And who are your target clients or customers or families that you like to help?

Speaker 3:

My target people really are people that are going through life changes. You know I'm I constantly reach out to my database pretty regularly, just reaching out, catching up, talking with people, seeing how they've been, and, you know, a lot of times the conversation naturally goes to what's going on in their lives, what's going on in their family's lives, If somebody is going through a life change, if they're going through a new marriage or sometimes, unfortunately, a divorce, like I went through myself. So it's really people that are going through life-changing events in their world and it's going to cause them to either buy or sell. Real estate is really my target. But you know, if I hear people moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, because I have friends all over the country, you know, because I grew up in New Mexico and people are just everywhere. So I try to just constantly stay in contact with them and just find out what's going on in their world.

Speaker 3:

How can I help? You know I'm here to serve and even my past clients. You know I want to be your realtor for life. I want you to come to me if you need a painter. I want you to come to me if you need an electrician, because I have those people, too, in my life that I trust I refer business to regularly. So you know, just staying in touch with my people is my um biggest thing because they help me find my target people to to help them with their real estate needs so.

Speaker 2:

So, sheila, have you ever thought about having your very own podcast?

Speaker 3:

You know I've thought about it, but I thought, gosh, would I run out of subjects? Would I find people that would want to be on my podcast?

Speaker 2:

And outside of work. What do you like to do for fun with your daughter?

Speaker 3:

We go up there. Well, they do parent weekend twice a year, one in the spring, one in the fall. So we go up there and visit her. She's pretty independent and she's loving life. But you know, every morning I get up. Well, monday through Friday I get up and I go to Pilates and I have my group of friends there and you know, when anybody's on vacation we always miss each other.

Speaker 3:

But then after that I'll come home and I'll walk the dog and I try to stay fit, try to stay active in what I do. And my husband and I also run and own four different Airbnbs We've got three down in Granbury and we've got one in Destin that we manage ourselves. We don't have a company do it for us. So you know, that keeps us busy and keeps us going and I really feel that a body in motion stays in motion and activity breeds activity. So if you're really like when I'm reaching out to my friends and my family and talking to them, like when I'm reaching out to my friends and my family and talking to them, I try to make I think I do 25 phone calls a week and try to do handwritten note cards to them, also staying in touch.

Speaker 2:

So it's just the activity, breathing activity and constantly staying active. Amen to that. And please tell our listeners one thing they should remember today about Lone Star Properties.

Speaker 3:

Lone Star Properties, I am clients first. I will always my fiduciary duty to my clients is to look out for their interests first, not my own. I will always put my clients first, every single time, and I do want to be your trusted realtor for life. And if anybody wants to read my reviews, they can look up Sheila Bond Realtor. You can look me up on Google, Zillowrealtorcom, and read my reviews. I'm very proud of my reviews. In fact, I've even had other agents give me reviews on there on how it was to work with me. So I know those. You know reviews are very important. People want to know who they're working with and so, yeah, I just want to be your trusted realtor for life. Whatever I can do, I'm here to serve you.

Speaker 2:

And where can our listeners go to learn more about Lone Star Properties?

Speaker 3:

You guys can look me up on Facebook, lone Star Properties, my real estate page. I'm also on Instagram under Shishi Realtor, and Shishi stands for S-H-E S-H-E part of my first name, and that's also what my grandson calls me, is Shishi.

Speaker 2:

Well, sheila, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward. Thank you, I appreciate you having me the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, I appreciate you having me. It was great talking with you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPFriscocom. That's GNPFriscocom, or call 469-221-9345.