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

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

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to your Colorado Springs life and home,
where real estate meets realtalk and maybe a little too much
coffee.
Hosted by REMAX Properties,licensed realtor, broker and top
producer Lori Thompson, a locallegend who's been helping
military families and civiliansbuy and sell homes for over 40
years.
Whether you're PCSing, upsizing, downsizing or just daydreaming

(00:28):
, lori's got you covered.
Why?
Because she's your lifetimerealtor and she actually answers
her phone.
Imagine that.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hello everyone.
I'm Millie M, co-host slashproducer here in the studio with
licensed realtor and broker,Lori Thompson of Remax.
Properties.
How's it going, Lori?

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Oh, it's going pretty good.
How's it going with you?

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Quite well, so glad to hear that Over the years you
have grown a remarkablefollowing.
However, some listeners mightnot be familiar with your full
journey.
Let's take it from the top.
Could you please share a littlebackground about your company
and what you do?

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Okay, well, I have been a realtor now for 40 years.
I got my license in 1985.
For perspective because I'veheard a lot of people talking
about interest rates theinterest rate was 13.5% when I
first got my license.
All things being kind ofequalized, the average price of

(01:33):
a home back then was about$78,000.
So a lot has shifted in thelast 40 years.
I grew up in Colorado Springsand my family briefly moved to
Las Vegas, nevada, with my dad'sjob.
When I was a teenager it wasreally heartbroken to have to
leave Colorado.

(01:53):
But one thing that really madean impression on me when I was
14 was how nice the realtor wasto me, in particular in Las
Vegas, where she talked to me asa teenager and asked me what I
was hoping for in a house and Iwas just really shocked and she

(02:13):
just made me feel good about ajourney I did not necessarily
want to take.
But it kind of made animpression on me that I thought,
you know, someday I'd like tohave her job, I would like to do
that kind of job and that kindof got shelved along the way.
You go through high school, youget into college, you try out

(02:34):
different career fields and thenout of the blue, one day I was
working at a restaurant and Ihad been offered a job in a
orthodontic medical office.
It was a pretty decent job.
But a gentleman walked in and Iwas actually trying to sell an
old slot machine that the ownerhad told me hey, give me this
amount of money, you keepanything beyond that.

(02:54):
So I had padded it for by about$400.
And while I was talking to thisgentleman out of the blue, he
said have you ever thought aboutgoing into real estate?
And I said yes, I have.
And so he asked me to come talkto him at his company and they
hired me on the spot to be aweekend hostess at a new

(03:16):
construction site while I wentthrough real estate school and
it's like all of the differentpieces kind of fell into place.
And it's like all of thedifferent pieces kind of fell
into place.
Now I do have to share that.
I had an old friend from highschool and he told me oh, I got
into real estate.
He goes, you'll starve.
I told him I would starve, andevery time I see this particular

(03:36):
gentleman I always like to kindof turn around and pat my
backside and said I am notstarving.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Eating very well.
That's amazing.
I don't think people realizehow they can make an impact on
someone, and just kudos to thatreal estate agent who included
you in that process and made youfeel like you were a part of
that decision-making process ora part of that move for sure.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Well, and ever since then that's one thing that's
brought me a lot of joy isgetting to know my clients' kids
.
Yes, and it's kind of excitingbecause over the years those
kids have grown up and they'vebought houses from me.
You're part of the family, ohyeah, that's that's always.
Speaking of family, I just soldmy granddaughter and her

(04:26):
husband a home just about twomonths ago, and my second great
grandchild is, so it's reallyexciting, I mean, that's that is
such a wonderful feeling is towatch a little girl grow up to
become a woman and now a motherof her own.
So now I'm selling homes to myown grandchild, so yeah, a lot

(04:49):
of changes along the way.

Speaker 2 (04:51):
That is so precious, because your home is the place
where you make memories andwhere you have Thanksgiving
dinners and thoseheart-to-hearts with your family
, and so, having a realtor as apart of that process and finding
you that perfect place to makeall those memories, you are a
special person in thosefamilies' lives for sure.
So when you're not busy runningyour business, what do you do

(05:13):
for fun?

Speaker 3 (05:15):
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 domore often was I used to go
hiking on trails, and so that'ssomething that's kind of
entabled the last few years thatI would like to get back into.
I also enjoy just time in myneighborhood.

(05:36):
I have a couple of pets that Ienjoy spending time with and my
husband, but we do like totravel and take trips.
So I either drive to New Mexicowhere my mother's family's from
I try not to get any moretickets from the state trooper,
and so did I yesterday myself.
You guys go down Well, I wasn'tgoing that fast, but sometimes

(06:00):
I wonder if they don't spot theout-of-state plates, but I don't
want to get too paranoid hereAnyway and so we like to travel
Periodically.
I've gone with my mother toHawaii, and she turns 90 later
this year, so I really enjoythose trips with her, and I
think my husband enjoys stayinghome and having the remote

(06:22):
control to himself.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Well, you know I'm not going to.
I guess that's my key to a, toa great marriage, is you need
that time apart every once in awhile.
So sounds like you live a veryactive life with work and with
play.
So we know marketing is key toany business's success.
How do you market your business?

Speaker 3 (06:43):
Well, a lot of mine is word of mouth.
I get a lot of referral businessand then the key to success, I
think, with a lot of thelistings that I take, is both
word of mouth, both within myown company and within Peak
Producers, another organizationthat I'm part of but it's
helping people properly preptheir home, getting high quality

(07:04):
photos I work with some reallygood photographers and just
helping them present it in thebest possible light.
The key to, I think, part of mysuccess with buyers is number
one I answer by phone.
Number two I kind of do alittle roadmap up front of this
is what you need to prepare for.

(07:26):
This is what earnest money isfor.
This is the importance of ahome inspection.
We're going to look at a bunchof homes.
We could run some payments foryou and I give them things to
watch out for.
So I like to think and thismight sound kind of boastful,
but I really like to think thatI do a great job of educating my
buyers and my sellers on whatto expect, and I think all of

(07:50):
that preparation makes adifference in that there are
very few surprises.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
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 thebeginning of a whole nother
journey, and so I'm sure thatyour clients really appreciate
knowing what to expect as itcomes.
So, laura, you're a very busyperson.
We've heard all about it inyour own words.

(08:16):
Why are you doing this?

Speaker 3 (08:23):
it in your own words why are you doing this?
You know, I love, I love what Ido and I mean I really love it.
Like with every job, with everyprofession, there's good times
and there's bad times.
For sure, there are days whereyou say things like why am I
doing this?
You know, I I do believesometimes that you kind of pull
in what you put out there and Iwould say that I have some
really incredible clients, butevery now and then you get one

(08:46):
that's maybe not so great andthat can really kind of drag you
down or difficult situations.
But if I look at a career thatI love and if it is 85 to 90%
wonderful, and if it is 85 to90% wonderful and 10 to 15% not

(09:07):
so wonderful, I think those arereally really good ratios.
And so, you know, I've alsopicked up a few investment
properties along the way, and soI've really just I've loved
what I've done and I want tokeep doing it as long as I'm
able.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
You have to love it in order to do it.
Since 1985, when interest rateswere 13 percent, you get a
house for seventy eight thousanddollars.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Oh yes.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
And it's such a blessing to be able to love what
you do.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
It really is.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
It really is.
We'll catch you on the nextepisode.
Thank you so much for sharingyour story with you, and we'll
dive into some frequently askedquestions.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
All right, thanks, millie.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
That's a wrap for this episode of your Colorado
Springs Life and Home.
Got questions, need advice?
Just want to talk aboutinterest rates and granite
countertops?
Call or text Lori at719-332-1807.
Yes, she'll really respond.
Or visit lorithompsonremaxcomto get started with your

(10:16):
lifetime realtor, because whenit comes to Colorado real estate
, lori doesn't just know themarket, she is the market.