Amy Ager
CALL: 205-915-3944
EMAIL: amyager@lahrealestate.com
Amy Ager is a graduate of Hollins College with a B.A. in business and economics. She has three children and five grandchildren with one more on the way. She enjoys playing golf, and is very active at her church, Cathedral Church of the Advent. She also volunteers with the Red Mountain Garden Club and the Linly Heflin Unit. She lives in Crestline.
Bea Healey
CALL: 205-533-3329
EMAIL: beahealey@lahrealestate.com
Bea Healey and her husband, Tim, have three daughters. She graduated from The University of Mississippi with a degree in education. Her favorite hobby is knitting, and she volunteers with The Friends of O’Neal Library, including the group’s annual book sale. She lives in Crestline.
When Amy Ager and Bea Healey began working together at LAH Real Estate in Mountain Brook, they adopted the slogan, “It takes two to make a dream come true.”
And over their careers, they have certainly made a lot of dreams come true for clients.
The two Mountain Brook natives blend their unique styles, backgrounds and personalities to help their clients get what they need and want from the often-difficult process of buying or selling a home — especially in a turbulent market.
The women have been friends for 35 years and have worked as a team at LAH for more than 15 years.
Becoming friends
The women met in 1988, Healey says. They were both young mothers living on Clarendon Road in the Colonial Hills neighborhood in Mountain Brook.
“We had kids the same age and were part of a strolling group,” Ager says. “We spent every afternoon with the kids playing or strolling or taking them to the zoo or the park.”
They quickly formed a strong bond.
“Amy is one of the kindest people I know,” Healey says. “ I have never heard her say a bad thing about anybody.”
“Bea has a very outgoing personality,” Ager says. “She is very loyal, and she is funny, too. She is just fun to be around.”
A new career
The origin of the women’s careers in real estate came one night when they went out to dinner with some of the other mothers in their group.
Healey recalls the moment their unique partnership was born.
“I was sitting next to Amy and she said, ‘I'm thinking about going to real estate school.’ Before it got out of her mouth I said, ‘I’ll do it too.’”
The women completed their real estate training and began working for LAH in 2007, Healey says.
“We went into it as a fun thing, and then we realized we could make a career out of it,” Ager says.
The women almost always share listings and work as a team.
“It’s like you get two agents for the price of one, and we can bounce ideas off each other,” Ager says.
“Occasionally we will do something without the other, but we really like working together,” Healey says.
Working together
Ager and Healey both believe that honesty and transparency are the keys to working with their clients successfully.
For example, the women tell sellers the best strategies for selling their houses quickly, even if it might not be what the sellers want to hear.
They also help buyers see both the strong points and drawbacks of each house they visit.
The women’s different personalities work together well in this process, they say.
“Bea and I really complement each other,” Ager says. “I'm more of an emotional person and maybe more of a people pleaser, but I don't like to have any kind of confrontation. Bea has a great personality, but she can be more direct. She can say the tougher things because sometimes tough things have to be said.”
For example, in helping a seller, “Somebody has to tell them to take that tacky picture off the wall or we won’t sell their house,” Healey says, laughing.
“Our personalities are so different,” Ager says. “You get both sides of the equation.”
Both women are very dedicated and detail oriented, Healey says.
“Amy goes over every detail with clients and makes them feel comfortable with her,” she says.
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions one of their clients will make in their lifetime, so Ager and Healey work to de-stress the process and make it a positive experience.
“You sit down with someone and explain what is going to happen, what you expect and how we will deal with all these situations,” Ager says.
The women also remain in close touch with clients throughout the process.
“We are always available for them to call us, and we answer our phone and emails,” Ager says.
Coping with a hot market
It has certainly been important for Ager and Healey to help reduce stress for clients — especially prospective buyers — in the red-hot real estate market in Mountain Brook and other communities the last couple of years.
There were multiple offers on most houses, and the houses were usually sold very quickly.
“It was crazy because you had to go in with your best, cleanest offer you could make,” Ager says. “It usually went to a cash buyer with no contingency so they could close quickly.”
In most cases, buyers couldn’t ask for an inspection or they could lose the house they wanted.
“Buyers had to make a huge decision with a lot of unknowns,” Ager says. The market has slowed down some “but it’s still very competitive, and buyers have to be really ready to make a decision.”
“There is not a lot of inventory so when something comes on the market it is kind of a feeding frenzy,” Healey says. “I try to encourage people to put their best offer out there. Don't regret not offering $2,000 more to buy something.”
Buyers should also know what they can afford to pay and have a general idea of what their monthly payment will be, she says.
A satisfying career
Both women say that they continue to enjoy what they do for a living.
“I think it’s the satisfaction of helping somebody with such a big, important, life-changing decision,” Ager says. “I feel like we make a difference in their lives.”
“This was a very natural fit for me,” Healey says. “I love to meet people. I love helping people. I really love the interaction with people and finding out what they like and digging around and finding something they didn’t know they would want and they say, ‘Oh my gosh. How did you know this?’”
Both women say they have often made good, long-lasting friends through helping clients.
Home at LAH
The women are very happy working at LAH, Ager says.
“I know it seems like a cliche, but it does seem like family,” she says. “I think the agents all want to help each other. There's a lot of comradery.”
They also receive great support from the company.
“They give the agents a lot of support,” Ager says. “We have a marketing dept that is very helpful. Our brokers are always available to help us.”
