Making the most of land and home in Sisters

By Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Both Sandy Goodsell and Jonathan Hicks found their way into real estate by a circuitous route. They found that the career suited them down to the ground — and for the past several years it’s been enhanced by a partnership that brings out the best in both.

Goodsell and Hicks operate RE/MAX Land & Home in Sisters, offering their clients — buyers and sellers — a full range of services and every kind of property, from a small home in town to a house on acreage out in the country.

Goodsell has been in the real estate field since 2001. For many years, starting in 1994, she operated Something Special by Sandy, one of Sisters’ signature retail stores. She learned everything there was to learn about the joys and travails of retail in Sisters. In 2001, a friend convinced her to give real estate a shot.

Peter Storton was one of the most prominent brokers in that era in Sisters, and full of enthusiasm for the trade.

“Peter and (his wife) Janet and I were friends,” Goodsell recalled.

Not only did Storton encourage her to go into real estate, he served as a mentor at RE/Max Town & Country. Sandy is adamant that she owes her success to Storton’s mentorship. It hasn’t always been easy. “It’s a great business,” Goodsell said. “But you have to work hard and it is certainly not for the faint of heart.”

The recession, which began to bite in real estate in 2007 and hurtled toward the bottom after the financial crisis of 2008, washed a lot of agents and brokers out of the business. Goodsell stuck it out, by becoming an expert in short sales. The experience was intense, but she gained something deeper than mere survival from it.

“I learned that there is always a personal story for everybody,” she said. “I heard many, many heartthrobbing stories from people how they got into that position. Helping people through that was rewarding.”

Helping people is at the center of Goodsell’s — and RE/MAX Land & Home’s — mission. She and Hicks are intensely focused on making transactions go as smoothly as possible.

“I really enjoy the listing side — working with sellers,” Goodsell mused.

She loves working the details of a sale.

“I like getting all my ducks in a row,” she said with a smile.

One of the biggest developments in her career, though, came out of the buyer’s side.

“Jonathan was my client,” she said. “I sold them a house at The Village at Cold Springs.”

Jonathan was managing a Boys & Girls Club in Lane County, but the family was spending every spare moment of free time in Central Oregon. When Jonathan’s dentist wife found a job here, they pulled up stakes and bought a place — through Sandy Goodsell.

Hicks enjoyed the transaction and thought he might go into business fixing up homes and selling them. Goodsell had a different idea. As often happens, she’s become friends with her client, and she several times encouraged him to think about going into real estate as a profession. She even tapped him to accompany her on an effort to locate a remote property, which Hicks enjoyed.

“It had never occurred to me for that to be my job,” he confessed. “It had honestly never occurred to me. It sounds ridiculous saying it out loud.”

But the last time Goodsell brought it up, Hicks told her he’d already scheduled his test — which he’d been studying for for some time. Now he’s a Principal Broker with the RE/MAX Land & Homes franchise. He and Goodsell consider RE/MAX Land & Home to be an excellent fit.

Hicks’ values and approach mesh with Goodsell’s — and it’s always about helping clients. Hicks has a particular strength in framing the right questions to ask of a client to determine what their needs and desires really are. That helps make transactions more straightforward and smooth.

And he’s tech savvy in a way that continually impresses his partner.

“The tech piece is I think a huge push,” Hicks said. “Involving it in the everyday work.”

An example is devising immersive 3D walkthroughs that can be viewed on a phone or other device. It can also show a floor plan. The tours are thorough enough that a client can determine whether or not a property meets the need.

“You can see the grain in the pine,” Hicks said. “You can truly see the fit and finish of a house without setting foot in it.”

Tech savvy comes as naturally as breathing to Hicks.

“I grew up with it, right?” he said. “It’s just a progression along the way.”

Hicks and Goodsell devised a partnership agreement that is agreeable to both.

“That partnership works with all of our listings and all of our buyers,” Goodsell said.

Whoever brings in a lead takes the lead — but clients get the benefit of both brokers’ expertise.

The pair think highly of each other.

“She is a fully knowledgeable advocate for her client,” Hicks says of Goodsell.

For her part, Sandy says “It’s very fun. He’s phenomenal. He’s just an amazing wealth of knowledge.”

The partnership allows Goodsell to be comfortable that she has a succession plan. She wants to know that when she retires her clients will be in the hands of someone who treats them with the same care that she does.

Sandy and her husband, Vern, are building a home in Kettle Falls, Washington, with an eye toward eventual retirement, but Sandy notes, “I don’t have a timeline.”

Goodsell and Hicks enjoy the work, and take great satisfaction in filling the needs of clients.

Hicks sums up the satisfaction of setting and meeting goals for client satisfaction:

“You accomplish those goals through your work. It’s not the easiest thing to do at times. But you do the work and you end up with a happy client. And they come back.”