Introducing Kenny Plourde

De-cluttering Let’s Shop Moving with 101 Consignment Pets Celebrating the Region’s Most Influential Real Estate Professionals Because Home Matters Kenny Plourde REALTOR® Helping you reach your real estate goals and make great relationships and friends along the way!

DID YOU KNOW?A FEW FUN REAL ESTATE FACTS In Scotland, Warren Buffet Monica’s A couple sold apartment homeowners paint is one of the richest an acre of land in their front door red men in the world from “Friends” is North Carolina to when they pay off and he still lives in estimated to cost Apple for $1.7 their mortgage. the same house he $3,500,000. million. They paid bought for $31,500 $6,000 for it. 1 in 1958. The White House Aspen, Colorado The landmark is valued at $110 “Hollywood” sign million. has such high real estate prices that in originally read 2011, the cheapest “Hollywoodland” listing was a and was constructed $559,000 trailer. in 1923 as a publicity stunt to Builders in China sell real estate. are able to build a 30 story skyscraper in only 15 days!

Rainmakers are selected based on their Kenny Plourde sales accomplishments earning them a spot among the top 20% of Liz Moore & REALTOR® Associates’ top performers. FAVORITE OUTDOOR In addition to sales volume standards, ACTIVITY Rainmakers share client-centric philosophies, a dedication to being masters Anything that involves time with of their craft, and a commitment to giving my family such as; playing sports, back to the communities they serve. camping, walking to our community pier/beach, or swimming. I am thrilled to have been selected as the featured Rainmaker for the month! BIGGEST MOTIVATOR Kenny Plourde My family, my faith, and love for travel. HOBBY I love to watch sports like baseball and hockey. More rewarding however, I love to volunteer at my local church and food pantry. HOW I START MY DAY With a cup of coffee of course! Followed by some reading and calling some of my favorite people! FAVORITE DESTINATION The Caribbean! This is my 10 year anniversary trip coming up to replace a honeymoon my wife and I never had! Kenny was the most proactive, practical and personable agent we have ever had. Lynne Freeman

Rainmaker Spotlight: KPELONUNRYDE REALTOR Because H me Ma ers Kenny Plourde has a 10-year medical background in x-ray and CT scan to his credit and feels that his lifelong drive to help people led to that career. “I’d wanted to do that from the time I was 12 and I have no regrets about it at all. I successfully chased my childhood dream, and now I’m chasing my adult dream of helping people buy and sell real estate,” Kenny says. Kenny spent the first 28 years of his life in Maine and then moved to the peninsula in 2015. “My wife Stephanie’s family lives here, so every summer we’d come for vacation and stay with them. I kind of fell in love with the area,” Kenny remembers. When they relocated, Kenny was still working in the medical field, but grew more frustrated as the years went by. He found that the unfortunate reality was that there was no time to get to know the patients with whom he was working. “It was like an assembly line; get them in and out quickly, with no chance for any meaningful relationship in that ten minutes.” Kenny craved more depth in his interpersonal relationships, and soon settled on real estate as a career that would allow, even encourage, that level of intimacy. “It’s exciting to guide people who “My best friend in Maine, Joe McNally, had moved to thought they couldn’t afford to Michigan and become a very successful Realtor there,” he says. “He encouraged me to give it a try here in Virginia. Luckily, buy through the process of home I have a very supportive wife. Stephanie works in the medical ownership.” field as a nurse but wanted me to be happy, too, so together we decided that this would be a better fit for me.” That decision paid off handsomely when in his third year in the real estate business he became one of Liz Moore & Associates’ top earners, a Rainmaker.

“I’m so fortunate that I can still be really successful in Kenny is a man who truly appreciates the opportunity to my career and also be at home most of the time with my connect with his community. At the time of their move children,” Kenny says. The couple currently have two from Maine, Kenny told his own agent, Toby Jordan, daughters, Trista, 9, and Charlie, 7. Career flexibility that he was looking for civilization. “Where I came also makes a huge difference for another reason; the from in a rural part of the state, you could almost toss a family has been united in chasing a very special goal rock and hit Canada. I joked that I wanted neighbors, for three years. “We’ve been in the process of trying to not potatoes, in my backyard,” Kenny says. “I wanted adopt another child, a son, and we have been matched sidewalks!” The family knew they wanted to live near the with someone who is perfect for us. We’re so excited!” waterfront, but without the premium price, so they settled he says with a huge smile. They knew they wanted an happily in a Gloucester Point community with plenty of older child from the very first, and everyone agreed wide sidewalks and not a potato in sight. “Toby, who is a boy would balance the family. They learned of this also with Liz Moore & Associates, became a friend and particular boy a year ago, but it took eight months eventually one of my mentors, too,” Kenny remembers. just to have an initial phone conversation with him. Kenny met Liz Moore and Donna Moyer, who is the “Adoption is a slow system,” Kenny says, “but we are broker heading Liz’s Newport News office, at a 2018 trusting God and praying, expecting our son can come industry event and they hit it off immediately. “I home permanently soon.” considered myself blessed when I joined Liz’ organization. I went from one sale my first year to seven, then the next The family will be ready and eager to enfold this boy it jumped to 19. I’m so happy applying Biblical principles into all of their regular activities such as attending and putting clients first by building a relationship with church. Both girls have been active in the AWANA them and providing value,” Kenny says. He especially program there, and Kenny and Stephanie have always enjoys helping first time buyers realize the benefits of had a heart for working with youth. When they began owning a home, and just how obtainable that could their adoption journey they were hoping to connect be.“It’s exciting to guide people who thought they with other families in similar circumstances, but they couldn’t afford to buy through the process of home discovered there was nothing in the way of support ownership. I’m not sure which of us is more delighted groups in the Gloucester community where they live. when I hand them the keys to their very own home!” “We are now slowly building a program through our As much as Kenny Plourde enjoys his work, he is church that reaches out to foster parents and adoptive also looking forward to their next family vacation. parents. We’ve fostered several different times ourselves, “Stephanie and I have always enjoyed traveling in so we know what that’s like, too. It’s tough to get the the U.S. to see relatives, and love to cruise in the word out and start the ball rolling and still be sensitive Caribbean,” he says. “We took the kids one year, and to the privacy of other families, but it’s just like real can’t wait to go again. My ultimate goal is to explore the estate, right?” he says with a laugh. “It’s all about world with Stephanie and our kids…all three of them!” networking!”

DECLUTT1ER0IN1G HOME STAGING Home staging is one of the most powerful ways to help buyers imagine IS ONE OF THE themselves in your home and make them want to buy it. Decluttering is MOST POWERFUL the first, and most important step, in home staging. Removing clutter WAYS TO BOOST allows buyers to see the structure and space of your home. YOUR SELLING Sentimentality can be a powerful disincentive to declutter. You might feel guilty packing away your grandmother's china, or your ADVANTAGE budding Picasso’s finger paintings, but doing so allows your home to really be seen. Buyers need to be able to picture themselves living in your home, with their furniture and their belongings, and if too many of your things fill their field of vision, they might not be able to see their life there and they might walk away. Decluttering can be overwhelming, so we’ve broken it down and provided some helpful tips. Study your entire house. Go room-by-room, starting with the entryway. Try and view each room for the first time with a stranger’s eyes. Notice anything that sticks out? Try and make each room resemble a neatly organized, clean hotel. Taking it little by little makes the task more manageable rather than trying to tackle the entire house at once. 5

Making piles is very helpful. shine. A few well-placed home décor items can add sparkle to the space. Home stagers follow a “rule of As you go through each room, make a stack of items three” for clustering items into small groups to create to keep, one to donate, one to sell, and one to pack visual interest but not distract from the room. away. Evaluate the value, need, use, and sentimentality of every item, place it in one of the Purge attics, basements, and garages piles, and move on. This organized approach can make the task easier. of clutter. These storage spaces often don’t get much attention and quickly become cluttered, unorganized Creating a spreadsheet can also help. and untidy. Arranging items by type or holiday into clear, labeled tubs can help keep the space looking Each room will have different needs. Upon nice and neat while keeping you organized. It also evaluation, you might find one room needs new helps potential buyers see all of the storage space your paint, while another needs shelving for organization, home offers. and another needs boxes to pack excess items away. Organizing these tasks and needs into a spreadsheet Make sure your bathrooms are spotless. can help prioritize expenses and improvements. Not every house has a luxurious spa, but by cleaning Emptying closets makes a difference. your grout, tile, toilets and showers you can help your bathroom shine. Clearing off vanities and cleaning out Closets often become catchalls and graveyards; drawers, cabinets, and medicine cabinets can help when homeowners don't know what to do with buyers see the storage your bathroom offers and help something they often stash it in a closet and it them imagine their toothbrush by your sink. becomes forgotten with the out-of-sight out-of- mind mentality. A good rule of thumb is discarding Unfortunately, our homes can become cluttered on the anything you haven’t worn in the last year. Studies outside as well as the inside. Check around your show we only really wear about 20 percent of our home’s exterior for outdoor toys, decorations, and clothes and that extra space will make your closets natural clutter like leaves, branches, etc. This is also a look bigger and more attractive to buyers. great time to evaluate your home's overall curb appeal and make sure your home is making a good first Clearing off countertops impression. Lawns, shrubs, trees, and flower gardens should all be kept trimmed and tidy. and bookcases creates clean, visual lines and neutral style, allowing your home, and not your stuff, to You have loved your home and worked hard to maintain it, you want that care and maintenance to show. By removing unnecessary items, you allow your home to shine and make the great first impression needed to impress buyers. Don’t forget your 6 bathrooms! Clean and clutter free is your goal.









Congratulations, Kenny!