By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Anyone in the age group that is north of 50 will remember 2008-2009, when the real estate market went completely off the rails. NINJA loans (“No-Job-No-Income? Approved!”) were the relative order of the day, and there was no place on earth that was worse to try one’s hand at the real estate business than Las Vegas. That is where Scott Robinson cut his “realtor teeth” and not only lived to tell the tale but literally learned how to thrive in chaos with integrity.
Scott was trained in the ‘80s as a printer, and it was printing fliers for Las Vegas realtors that got him interested in becoming a real estate agent himself. For several years he did both and enjoyed it. At the time there were close to 30,000 real estate agents in Nevada, so being bi-vocational was completely common. He chuckled as he said, “Everybody and their brother was a real estate agent.” Scott has experience as a business broker as well, and sold businesses with commercial property before he focused on residential real estate. Scott was also licensed as a realtor in Arizona, and then family needs brought him to Athens in 2021.
Scott was brought here to support his wife’s family during a hard time during covid, and being able to bring literal decades of experience as a realtor and the relative flexibility with his schedule as an agent makes it possible to do both. He is what I call a S.A.F.E. real estate agent, and the acronym stands for Servant-hearted, Available, Flexible and Experienced. The term “safe” came up several times during our interview time. It’s something that is one of Scott’s core values, and his commitment is to be “safe” for buyers, sellers, builders, mortgage officers and other agents runs deep. He had to be “on-duty” and take phone calls while we chatted, and I watched him deal with challenges well. “I am not someone who is going to ruin someone’s deal, and I will be a willing and able partner that is as an advocate.
Scott absolutely loves Athens. He joined the Chamber and a week later his community had a grand opening and ribbon-cutting sponsored by the Chamber. Scott has also been impressed with the collaborative spirit amongst realtors here in Athens.he“It’s just different here,” he said, and we spent a chunk of time talking about adopting Athens as our hometown as well as being adopted. “I wouldn’t want to be anyplace else,” I said. For a while, Scott worked for Zillow and 47 five-star reviews. “People want to hire me away,” he said. I then asked, “Why is that? Why should I come to you?” “I’ll ask the right questions in order to get the right answers that will meet the needs of the person asking,” he said. That includes buyers, sellers and agents, he added
Scott has worked for more than one developer in our area, and has kept abreast of all that goes with rapid growth. The company for which he works in Athens started in 1954 in Florida, is nationwide, and has become the largest residential developer in America. Gone are the days when developers just built “spec” houses and hoped for the best. Over the years developers who want to remain in business have come to realize that they need to be a “one-stop shop.” They build, they market, they finance, they have the wherewithal to offer powerful incentives, and they provide insurance. Scott is a “product of the product” and he himself bought and lives in a house that is built by his developer. He made a real point of letting me know that his company exceeds building to code in all that they do.
Housing needs vary widely, especially in a volatile market, and Scott has access to solutions that include endless expendable energy to find the perfect fit. There are also planned communities, coastal homes that are designed for the storms in our state, starter homes all the way to architectural and design masterpieces, homes for the real estate investor; just about anything a buyer could consider.
They are interested in educating all their clients; from buyers, to sellers, to agents, to suggesting seasonal DIY projects and staging tips. If you are interested in working with a real estate agent who has a true love for the real estate industry as well as the people who need to meet their housing needs, give Scott Robinson a call today at 256 321-0789.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
