Your Colorado Springs Life & Home

Real Estate and Real Talk with RE/MAX Properties' Lori Thompson

• Lori Thompson • Episode 1

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Meet The Host:  RE/MAX Properties' Licensed Realtor And Broker, Lori Thompson

From teenage inspiration to Colorado Springs real estate legend, Lori Thompson's 40-year journey captures the essence of dedication and genuine client care. When Lori was just 14, forced to leave her beloved Colorado for Las Vegas, a compassionate realtor made her feel valued by including her in the house-hunting conversation. That small act planted a seed that would eventually grow into a remarkable career spanning four decades.

Remember 1985? Interest rates soared at 13.5% and the average home cost about $78,000. That's when Lori earned her license, despite warnings from friends that she would "starve" in the business. Today, she's not only thriving but selling homes to the grown children of former clients and even her own granddaughter. There's something profoundly meaningful about helping multiple generations of families find the spaces where they'll create their most precious memories.

What sets Lori apart in an industry often criticized for poor communication? "I answer my phone," she says simply. That accessibility combined with meticulous preparation for both buyers and sellers minimizes surprises throughout the transaction. For sellers, she focuses on proper home prep and high-quality photography. For buyers, she creates a roadmap explaining earnest money, inspection importance, and what to expect at each step. This thorough education process transforms potentially stressful situations into smoother experiences.

When not matching families with their perfect homes, Lori embraces Colorado's natural beauty through hiking, enjoys quiet time with her pets, and travels with her 90-year-old mother. After four decades in real estate, her enthusiasm remains undiminished. "I love what I do," she explains, noting that despite inevitable challenges, about 85-90% of her experiences are wonderful—impressive odds that explain her longevity and success.

Need a realtor who combines decades of expertise with genuine care? Contact Lori at 719-332-1807 or visit LoriSellsHome.com to work with a lifetime realtor who's been helping Colorado Springs residents find home since 1985.

To learn more about RE/MAX Properties Inc. visit:
https://www.LoriThompson.REMAX.com
RE/MAX Properties Inc.
Colorado Springs
719-332-1807

Speaker 1:

Welcome to your Colorado Springs life and home, where real estate meets real talk and maybe a little too much coffee. Hosted by REMAX Properties, licensed realtor, broker and top producer Lori Thompson, a local legend who's been helping military families and civilians buy and sell homes for over 40 years. Whether you're PCSing, upsizing, downsizing or just daydreaming, lori's got you covered. Why? Because she's your lifetime realtor and she actually answers her phone. Imagine that.

Speaker 2:

Hello everyone. I'm Millie M, co-host slash producer here in the studio with licensed realtor and broker, Lori Thompson of Remax. Properties. How's it going, Lori?

Speaker 3:

Oh, it's going pretty good. How's it going with you?

Speaker 2:

Quite well, so glad to hear that Over the years you have grown a remarkable following. However, some listeners might not be familiar with your full journey. Let's take it from the top. Could you please share a little background about your company and what you do?

Speaker 3:

Okay, well, I have been a realtor now for 40 years. I got my license in 1985. For perspective because I've heard a lot of people talking about interest rates the interest rate was 13.5% when I first got my license. All things being kind of equalized, the average price of a home back then was about $78,000. So a lot has shifted in the last 40 years.

Speaker 3:

I grew up in Colorado Springs and my family briefly moved to Las Vegas, nevada, with my dad's job. When I was a teenager it was really heartbroken to have to leave Colorado. But one thing that really made an impression on me when I was 14 was how nice the realtor was to me, in particular in Las Vegas, where she talked to me as a teenager and asked me what I was hoping for in a house and I was just really shocked and she just made me feel good about a journey I did not necessarily want to take. But it kind of made an impression on me that I thought, you know, someday I'd like to have her job, I would like to do that kind of job and that kind of got shelved along the way.

Speaker 3:

You go through high school, you get into college, you try out different career fields and then out of the blue, one day I was working at a restaurant and I had been offered a job in a orthodontic medical office. It was a pretty decent job. But a gentleman walked in and I was actually trying to sell an old slot machine that the owner had told me hey, give me this amount of money, you keep anything beyond that. So I had padded it for by about $400. And while I was talking to this gentleman out of the blue, he said have you ever thought about going into real estate? And I said yes, I have.

Speaker 3:

And so he asked me to come talk to him at his company and they hired me on the spot to be a weekend hostess at a new construction site while I went through real estate school and it's like all of the different pieces kind of fell into place. And it's like all of the different pieces kind of fell into place. Now I do have to share that. I had an old friend from high school and he told me oh, I got into real estate. He goes, you'll starve. I told him I would starve, and every time I see this particular gentleman I always like to kind of turn around and pat my backside and said I am not starving.

Speaker 2:

Eating very well. That's amazing. I don't think people realize how they can make an impact on someone, and just kudos to that real estate agent who included you in that process and made you feel like you were a part of that decision-making process or a part of that move for sure.

Speaker 3:

Well, and ever since then that's one thing that's brought me a lot of joy is getting to know my clients' kids. Yes, and it's kind of exciting because over the years those kids have grown up and they've bought houses from me. You're part of the family, oh yeah, that's that's always. Speaking of family, I just sold my granddaughter and her husband a home just about two months ago, and my second great grandchild is, so it's really exciting, I mean, that's that is such a wonderful feeling is to watch a little girl grow up to become a woman and now a mother of her own. So now I'm selling homes to my own grandchild, so yeah, a lot of changes along the way.

Speaker 2:

That is so precious, because your home is the place where you make memories and where you have Thanksgiving dinners and those heart-to-hearts with your family, and so, having a realtor as a part of that process and finding you that perfect place to make all those memories, you are a special person in those families' lives for sure. So when you're not busy running your business, what do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

You know I love the Colorado mountains. I don't get enough time in them, and so one thing I want to pick back up that I used to do more often was I used to go hiking on trails, and so that's something that's kind of entabled the last few years that I would like to get back into. I also enjoy just time in my neighborhood. I have a couple of pets that I enjoy spending time with and my husband, but we do like to travel and take trips. So I either drive to New Mexico where my mother's family's from I try not to get any more tickets from the state trooper, and so did I yesterday myself. You guys go down Well, I wasn't going that fast, but sometimes I wonder if they don't spot the out-of-state plates, but I don't want to get too paranoid here Anyway and so we like to travel Periodically. I've gone with my mother to Hawaii, and she turns 90 later this year, so I really enjoy those trips with her, and I think my husband enjoys staying home and having the remote control to himself.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know I'm not going to. I guess that's my key to a, to a great marriage, is you need that time apart every once in a while. So sounds like you live a very active life with work and with play. So we know marketing is key to any business's success. How do you market your business?

Speaker 3:

Well, a lot of mine is word of mouth.

Speaker 3:

I get a lot of referral business and then the key to success, I think, with a lot of the listings that I take, is both word of mouth, both within my own company and within Peak Producers, another organization that I'm part of but it's helping people properly prep their home, getting high quality photos I work with some really good photographers and just helping them present it in the best possible light.

Speaker 3:

The key to, I think, part of my success with buyers is number one I answer by phone. Number two I kind of do a little roadmap up front of this is what you need to prepare for. This is what earnest money is for. This is the importance of a home inspection. We're going to look at a bunch of homes. We could run some payments for you and I give them things to watch out for. So I like to think and this might sound kind of boastful, but I really like to think that I do a great job of educating my buyers and my sellers on what to expect, and I think all of that preparation makes a difference in that there are very few surprises.

Speaker 2:

I can imagine there are a lot of details to the home buying and home selling process, and the offer and the offer acceptance is literally just the beginning of a whole nother journey, and so I'm sure that your clients really appreciate knowing what to expect as it comes. So, laura, you're a very busy person. We've heard all about it in your own words. Why are you doing this?

Speaker 3:

it in your own words why are you doing this? You know, I love, I love what I do and I mean I really love it. Like with every job, with every profession, there's good times and there's bad times. For sure, there are days where you say things like why am I doing this? You know, I I do believe sometimes that you kind of pull in what you put out there and I would say that I have some really incredible clients, but every now and then you get one that's maybe not so great and that can really kind of drag you down or difficult situations. But if I look at a career that I love and if it is 85 to 90% wonderful, and if it is 85 to 90% wonderful and 10 to 15% not so wonderful, I think those are really really good ratios. And so, you know, I've also picked up a few investment properties along the way, and so I've really just I've loved what I've done and I want to keep doing it as long as I'm able.

Speaker 2:

You have to love it in order to do it. Since 1985, when interest rates were 13 percent, you get a house for seventy eight thousand dollars.

Speaker 3:

Oh yes.

Speaker 2:

And it's such a blessing to be able to love what you do.

Speaker 3:

It really is.

Speaker 2:

It really is. We'll catch you on the next episode. Thank you so much for sharing your story with you, and we'll dive into some frequently asked questions. Have a fantastic rest of your day.

Speaker 3:

All right, thanks, millie.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap for this episode of your Colorado Springs Life and Home. Got questions, need advice? Just want to talk about interest rates and granite countertops? Call or text Lori at 719-332-1807. Yes, she'll really respond. Or visit lorithompsonremaxcom to get started with your lifetime realtor, because when it comes to Colorado real estate, lori doesn't just know the market, she is the market.