Does Anyone Really Know the Northwest Metro Area’s ‘Homes by Ash’ Real Estate Team?
You may be surprised to learn who is handling a vast number of sales of one of the biggest financial assets a person can lay claim to today… their real estate property; their home.
With all the real estate professionals in the marketplace today, how do you trust your decision to work with one REALTOR® versus another? It comes down to trust; often received through reassurances of past clients, friends and family, but many times it comes down to your gut! And, your gut will have an easier time making a blind decision if you knew a little more about the situation.
In this month’s featured article from the Homes by Ash Real Estate blog team, we want to introduce you to two key players of our Homes by Ash real estate team at Keller Williams Integrity NW; the team lead and decorated REALTOR®; Lisa Ash, and the team’s Transaction Coordinator, Sandy Rauscher.
Let’s begin with one of the cornerstones of this team, our amazing Transaction Coordinator and Marketing Project Manager… Sandy Rauscher.
Sandy Rauscher was born in the state of Minnesota and calls the northwest communities of the Twin Cities area her home today. As a young child Sandy’s family moved to Iowa and she spent most of her young childhood there. When she was a junior in high school, Sandy’s family moved back to Minnesota where she completed her high school career and graduated and continued on to a secondary education; earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Business. After a long, successful career in the medical device industry as a buyer, Sandy decided it was time for a change and joined the Homes by Ash real estate team in 2016 as a transaction coordinator where she strives to learn all the ins-and-outs of today’s real estate market and increase customer satisfaction while growing the team’s business.
Sandy has a pure passion to help people in any way she can, whether in her professional or personal life. She sincerely enjoys the interaction with people and the vast variety of activities of a real estate transaction she tackles as part of her daily goals and tasks. In just a short amount of time, Sandy has been able to streamline the process of individually unique real estate transactions; from the time they initiate a working agreement and contract to the day they complete the transaction through closing. Sandy is also involved in the day-to-day marketing goals of the team and routinely contributes to the management of those marketing projects in the pipeline for our home sellers.
On a personal note…
Sandy, along with her long-time husband, have two (2) wonderful teenage boys. Her passion is her family and it’s the driving force behind every decision she makes. She is actively involved in her children’s extracurricular activities and is a big fan of everything they do. You could say she’s their number one cheerleader. Incidentally, she’s the same cheerleading fanatic for our team and our clients. Every buyer or seller goal completed is another small victory celebrated by Sandy in some form; even if it’s just a little “Whoop Whoop” under her breath, she’s authentically happy for their success.
When Sandy’s not dedicating her time to our team she loves to spend needed down time with her family and friends, and you can tell a lot about a person by the quality of friends they keep... Sandy has some of the most sincere and dedicated friends a girl could ask for.
It’s time for a dive into the life of the lady behind the main stage curtain; the foundation of our team… Lisa Ash.
Lisa has been a licensed REALTOR® since 2002. During that time she has earned a large number of various production and service recognition awards, and has earned her certifications and credentials as a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS); the highest credential awarded to residential sales agents, managers and brokers in the industry today, a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), and the Senior Real Estate Specialist Designation (SRES); a designation awarded to REALTORS® who are able to demonstrate their ability to meet the special needs of maturing Americans when selling, buying, relocating, or refinancing residential or investment properties.
But, enough about her many professional accolades and achievements…
Who is Lisa Ash, really?
Lisa is a strong, faith-based woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a leader, a mentor, and so much more! Together, Lisa and her husband Rick raised four individually amazing children in the Anoka County (Blaine) area. She and her family continue to live and work in the area today which has given her a unique perspective of the communities and neighborhood markets she serves today.
Lisa familiarizes herself with the businesses, schools, parks, and churches in the area by attending events and patronizing these places routinely with her family.
Her family attends Epiphany Catholic Church and has been known to volunteer her time and talents to its missions and community goals in the past.
Lisa believes in giving back whenever she can and does this in a variety of ways. Outside of the real estate industry, Lisa has volunteered to work Epiphany Catholic Church’s Springfest event and has volunteered her time and talents as vacation bible school (VBS) teacher. In a previous lifetime, Lisa often helped at the church Dining Hall operating at the State Fair; (no longer in operation) and was seated as a member of Women’s Circle.
Her husband, Rick, had also extended a helping hand at the church with a cleaning rotation of the church property or providing meals during funeral ceremonies.
Today the Ash Family can be found regularly volunteering at Hope 4 Youth in Anoka or making financial contributions to local organizations supporting the development of young minds.
Professionally growing
Lisa continues to hit personal records in her real estate career, and although it’s not part of her goals, her current team of one Licensed real estate agent often outsells experienced larger teams in her office. With offices located in both Blaine and Otsego, Lisa and the Homes by Ash real estate team provide services to both buyers and sellers across the entire Twin Cities region, but really shine in those Northwest Metro communities stretching between Elk River and Blaine including, but not limited to, Andover, Champlin, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove and Otsego.
Incidentally, Lisa was one of three original members who started a local small business owner networking group over 14 years ago of which she is still a member and continues to meet along with about 15 other local business owners every Wednesday. The Referral Link Networking group has been an essential part of Lisa’s ability to reach outside the tight real estate industry sphere to help bring additional options and solutions to the buyers and sellers she represents.
In the spirit of growth and giving back, Lisa is currently mentoring a small handful of newer real estate agents in her Keller Williams Realty Integrity NW office in Otsego and is seeking to expand the Homes by Ash team to include another licensed Buyer’s Agent & REALTOR®.
On the softer side
When Lisa is not working with clients you might find her spending an evening floating in the pool with her husband or sitting on their deck and just soaking up the outdoor spaces and gardens. Lisa loves to garden and cannot wait to get back to this summer, but a recent round of knee surgeries has slowed her down (a little bit). She also loves planning family activities and events, in fact, the Ash family just celebrated their 20th anniversary with a trip to Mexico together… a tradition of memories Lisa looks forward to year-after-year.
Lisa is VERY family oriented and is committed to supporting their individual endeavors. She is an active grandma to five (5) grandkids who range in age from 9 to 16; supporting their various camps, sporting and school activities. You will often find Lisa attending events hosted by children’s organizations such as the Talon Robotics club through Eden Prairie High School, traveling basketball games, traveling baseball games, tennis, archery, volleyball or soccer matches, and drama, theatre performances, and band.
She makes time to regenerate herself and her mind by keeping active in a woman’s wine club (14 year member), and a woman’s book club she’s been a member of for more than 20 years with the same 11 women who started meeting with each other all those years ago.
Reading is such an important part of Lisa’s life for a variety of reasons and she feels this activity is even more important for young minds today who are saturated with digital resources bombarding their eyes and minds. So, (again in her mission of giving back) Lisa started a book club for past client’s children. She encourages and rewards children for putting down the electronics and picking up a book or newspaper. If they read any one age-appropriate book a month, then submit a short report about the book, Lisa will send the child a gift card to use at any local Barnes & Noble. In one swoop, she’s taking on the promotion of children’s literacy, writing skills, and the promotion of local businesses all at the same time. And, this is just one example of how Lisa gives back to her clients while supporting local businesses. She also organizes a number of Client Appreciation events and local business discounts for her clients and fans throughout the year. In fact, if you follow Lisa on Instagram or Facebook you’ll see a variety of these special promotions and events pop-up each month. Her current promotions include discounts at local restaurants AND a CHANCE to WIN PRE-SEASON Tickets to TWO hometown VIKINGS games this August!
She works hard, plays hard and gives more. A true professional committed to family and community!
