Meet A Realtor – Ashley Barrett

Meet Ashley Barrett, Mom to  Lucy, Walker and Tate (12, 9, & 7) and your local Realtor. Ashley and her family currently reside in Peachtree City. In our Q&A with Ashley, she shares how leaving her “salary” job to become a Realtor was somewhat daunting but worth it, along with her favorite “Mom Hack”!

I grew up in Fayetteville, GA and graduated from Fayette County High School in 2001.  I attended 4 years at Auburn University and graduated with a BA in Psychology.  After graduation, I worked in Pharmaceutical/Medical sales and marketing for about 12 years.  While working a full time job, with 3 young children, I pursued my long time dream of obtaining my real estate license in 2018.  I was blessed to be brought on to one of the number one real estate teams in the South Atlanta area.  I absorbed as much information and learned as much as I could, taking every class I had time for, and any lead thrown my way.  After 5 years with the team and winning multiple awards within my brokerage as a top agent, I felt it was time to go out on my own.  I left the brokerage at the end of 2022 and joined Dwelli.  I have been an individual agent for almost a year and a half now.  In 2023 I had the 2nd highest sales volume in my brokerage.  

It was multiple things really, but I have to say it was mostly my mother-in-law.  She had been a realtor in Peachtree City for many years.  I was always so impressed and elated to hear her stories.  It definitely never sounded boring! She was one of those people that was liked by everyone and formed relationships with people without even trying.  I could seriously ‏talk, or listen, to her for hours! When I first started dating my husband, she was helping him purchase his first home.  I spent a lot of time with them driving around, looking at houses, and listening to her dealings with the challenging market of 2009.  I remember being excited to go!  We were looking at little $150K tiny starter homes that really could use some love, so it wasn’t like I was excited to go look at big pretty houses all day!  There was something about it that just felt fitting and I really fell in love with the whole process.  She also helped us purchase our first home together in Peachtree City, as a short sale (which actually took about 6 months), in 2012! Real Estate had been on my mind for years before I actually took the plunge and went for it.  I’d always worked a “normal” job that paid me every 2 weeks, and contributed to half our family’s expenses.  So the idea of going from stability to not knowing when, and if I will get paid again, scared the daylights out of me!  My husband was always super supportive.  We decided to save as much as we could while I was taking the course, so we had some cushion.  Thankfully it all worked out, but it was a scary and stressful time, to say the least!

I love the hunt.  One of my favorite things is getting a new client, and coming up with the plan to get them what they want, whether it’s a certain price for their home so they can purchase their dream home, or hearing exactly what type of property they need and doing whatever I can to find it for them.  There is not always a list of homes that match a buyer’s criteria, especially not in this market!  Sometimes buyers want a specific neighborhood, school district, or feature, such as on the lake, which requires some serious out of box thinking.  I love that part!  

You CANNOT do it all, and definitely rely on your army.  My children are all in travel sports, therefore some weekends, we are torn in 3 different directions!  4 if I am working that weekend, which happens quite often in this industry.  Thankfully I have a huge army that loves my children, which is one of the many reasons my husband and I moved back to Peachtree City!  My mom (Gnana) usually has at least one of our kiddos.  She’ll help us drop off, pick up, or attend games when needed! Thank GOD for her! I also have my stepdad, my dad and stepmom, and my sister-in-law, all close by, that have helped us multiple times!  It’s easy to feel guilty for not being able to be at every game, event, or practice.  I still do feel guilty, and I don’t think that will ever go away, but I have accepted that we do the best we can, and I think our children see that.

It’s not really a “hack”, but I would say… wake up early!  I am usually trying to wake up an hour before the kids, especially for school days, early activities, or if we just have a lot going on that day (which is most days! :)).  I feel like I can get a better hold of the day if I get my coffee and plan together, before they wake up and start firing questions at me! 

I love the community!  I love that when you’re driving the golf cart, people usually smile, nodd, or give a wave just for being there.   People here are typically very friendly, good people in my experience.  I love coming home and being home in Peachtree City.  The schools have been amazing and I feel like my kids are growing up in a generally safe environment.  

Right now I am re-watching The Walking Dead.  It came on Netflix, plus I have a listing in The Gin Property, which is Alexandria in the show, so I was interested in seeing it again!  Typically, I really like Dateline type documentaries, and I am kind of a sucker for lifetime movies.