Meet Deborah Vahle | Realtor/Partner with The CityLiving Group at PARKS

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deborah Vahle and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Deborah, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
From the outside looking in, a lot of times, Realtors look like they are all about the Benjamins. We usually drive nice cars, have some nice accessories, and dress well. The reality of the industry is that all of that stuff is just the icing on the cake. The real life experience is long hours, constantly missing events with friends and family, and never getting a day off. I’m not complaining, but it is a ton of work. Yes, we get large paychecks at the end of the day, but for each closing, that agent (and all the support staff they pay) has probably put in a minimum of 200+ hours of work.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I think the saying is: “You can’t throw a rock in Nashville without hitting a Realtor,” or something like that. There are a lot of us out here, and I can imagine that from an outsider’s point of view, it can be daunting to know who to trust with what, for most people, is the largest transaction they’ll ever do in their lifetime. So, here are a few questions to ask a Realtor when you’re interviewing someone to work with as a Buyer or a Seller (yes–you should interview a few!): 1. Are you a full-time agent or is this a side hustle? You don’t want to be anyone’s side hustle when there are contract deadlines involved.
2. How many transactions have you done in the last 12 months? If an agent isn’t doing at least 1 transaction a month, that is a red flag. You want to work with someone with experience and that’s tough to get if you’re only doing a few transactions a year.
3. Have you worked in this price point and before? You want an agent who knows the market you’re targeting.
And finally–do you get along with them? Did the agent leave you with the warm fuzzies and get you the data you asked for or did they miss the mark? Everyone works differently, and you’re going to be spending a lot of time communicating with this person. You want that to be a positive experience, so you need to know you can trust that the Realtor you choose is going to get you to the closing table with a good deal at the end of the day.
My first career was in Global Sourcing. I have traveled the world and negotiated contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars with people of all different backgrounds. At the end of the day, no matter who is at the table and what is being negotiated, if the people on each side respect each other and have a win-win-win attitude, the deal will get done. And when that isn’t the case, you want to make sure the person representing your side has the experience and know-how to get the deal done anyway.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh my goodness–Nashville has so much to offer! If someone was planning a week long trip, I’d probably focus on a neighborhood at a time. We have so many fun neighborhoods with unique things to offer. I’d probably start with the required downtown Broadway experience to kind of get that out of our system and then show them 12 South, East Nashville, Midtown, Germantown, Jefferson, and The Gulch. We’d do all the best food and shopping in each area and fit some spa visits in there too.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am extremely lucky as an agent to get to work alongside one of the legends of our industry, Mark Deutschmann. Mark’s book, “One Mile Radius,” was my first introduction to him and when I met him and his amazing wife, Sherry, at a holiday party one year, I was so happy to learn that he (and Sherry) are as inspiring in real life as they are in print. I joined Village as an agent when I got my license and joined the CityLiving Group team about a year later. Learning from Mark and getting to see how much he truly cares for Nashville and integrates that passion for our city and its Greenways into his business was a great example for me to see firsthand. It has really helped me build my own business with intention and take a broader look at the impact one person can have.
Website: askdeborah.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborah_vahle_/
Image Credits
Lisa Rhea Robert Looper