All Roads Lead Home

BY SUSAN HARRISON, SR. VP

Nearly a decade of real estate experience, two other international franchise brands later, and coming to find the grass is “tealer” where you were first planted.

At 20 years old, Betty Manrique dreamed of becoming a real estate agent, but life’s circumstances pushed that dream to the back burner for 30 years. After becoming licensed and interviewing with a company known for real estate development, she was still looking for the right fit to call home. A friend mentioned knowing a real estate broker who was also a customer at her store, and that’s how Betty met Broker/Owner, Shawn Sorensen of EXIT Alliance Realty.

“Even during my first meeting with Shawn, I knew I was in the right place with the right person,” Betty recalled. “She told me all the good things EXIT does, how they give back, and how she runs her business. I signed up that day. Shawn took me under her wing and was such a good person to me,” she said of the trial and effort it took to gain traction in her new career with a sphere two hours from her home. “Before coming to EXIT, I lost both my parents within a four-month period, and I was missing that family connection. That’s what EXIT was – it was my family at that time.”

In typical industry fashion, the competition came knocking three years later, offering a signing bonus for Betty to leave EXIT and she took it, saying, "I needed the money, and I thought it would help me get my business going. It was a very tough decision, and I should have thought it out more. It was very hard to tell Shawn I was leaving.”

She spent the next six years at two different international franchise brands. A revolving door of managers spurred her exodus from the first, and she then joined a brokerage that grew from one location to 14 through the pandemic. She realized that for all the systems, tech, and free coaching they had, she just wanted to be seen amongst hundreds of agents.

“They were telling me they were helping me, but honestly they were just focused on growing their offices... They were focused on the top producers and the new agents. They would promise them the world while I felt left out. I didn’t require much and when I did have a need with a transaction it was hard to get any attention," she explained, but over the years, she still had one shoulder to lean on. “Shawn was always taking care of her agents with the right information. You need a broker who’s accessible and who protects you, right?”

In early 2023, Betty approached Shawn about returning to EXIT and was welcomed with open arms. She feels great, but was admittedly scared coming back. Shawn reassures her, it’s like she never left, and for Betty she finally feels like she’s where she needs to be saying, “All roads lead to home.”