The WIRE Team Is Transforming Real Estate with Girl Power

An all-female real estate coalition in Houston, Texas, The WIRE Team is one to watch. This exclusive squad is barely a year old and has already made waves in Houston’s real estate industry. “WIRE” stands for Women In Real Estate, and this concept alone was the catalyst for two women to pave a different feel for the entire buying and selling process – this has quickly created a buzz among colleagues and clients alike.

Kiki Baker and Kim Luague, long time friends, came from prior corporate backgrounds – retail marketing, and aviation sales, respectively – and were with different brokerages as Realtors but would commiserate about shortcomings: In the deals, in the process, in the office, in the broker. Even in this century, Kiki would sigh at slanted comments coming from male brokers. Kim felt some teams were more about appearances than ethics and effective negotiation. They often noted, “Much bigger idiots are making much bigger deals” and were grasping to make the leap to the next level. But how?

In late July 2016, when a mutual friend became a mutual client, Kim and Kiki fired up the burners and formed The WIRE Team practically overnight to be able to get his deal done. It was time to sink or swim. They soared. Their laid-back but high-energy friendship set the tone for not only that transaction, but also going forward with how they would handle clients and structure their team. Instead of fitting into a predictable, boxed-in, decades-old method, the duo was ready to bring fun and a more relaxed vibe to the industry which can be frustratingly stuck in the 70s. (Who is still faxing anything?) There are a few points the ladies seem to play on repeat:

• Real estate doesn’t have to suck (anymore)
• Almost anyone can buy a house, we just need to create a plan for you
• It doesn’t cost a Buyer anything to use the full services of a Realtor
• You’ve got one shot to hire an agent who cares about you as a person!

Kiki and Kim are stepping in to redefine the expectation of how a Realtor works. “We want our clients to feel they have a true friend on their side. We want to blow the dust off people’s perceptions of an Old Timey real estate experience” said Kim Luague, the left brain of The WIRE Team. “We will text you back on a Saturday night. This is 2017. We are accessible.”

The WIRE Team is currently taking on buyers and sellers in the greater Houston area, and has developed quite a niche with investors preparing their “flips” for the retail market as well. With spin-off branding as “Hot Destination Homes”, they have also just debuted high-fashion multi-family listings in Playa Del Carmen and Tulum, Mexico – and yeah, they’ll even take your calls and text you back from Mexico, too. Kim and Kiki are excited to announce even more exciting destinations to come for those getaway ownership opportunities as well!

As the “right brain” of the pair, Kiki has a strong background in retail marketing which was originally rooted in ink-on-paper ads, but with her degree in multimedia programming, she has steered The WIRE Team away from print advertising entirely. “That was the 90s. This is now. Everyone has a phone in their face, so The WIRE Team needs to pop up on those phones to capture the audience,” Kim agrees. Why waste money on prints for folks to throw away? This pair of power-players is focused on the horizon, not the rear-view mirror, of how we communicate. Social media is the backbone of their marketing presence. It allows better precision for targeting a demographic, as well as tracking their interaction with the information they’re viewing. It also adds that personal connection.

“We have to embrace and evolve. It’s so important to bring the transaction and the terminology down to Earth,” said Kiki Baker. “We do this every day for a living, but for many clients, this is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone. We want them to understand what’s going on, and for the whole process to feel great, too. We try to absorb most of the stress on the front lines. Our success is a happy client at the closing table.”

Even the team’s Facebook page boasts a list of unblemished five-star reviews. It’s evident The WIRE Team lives by their words of being “Your BFF in real estate”. They de-mystify the process and develop a strategy for each client. Plus, the founding partners work better together by springboarding off each other’s strengths, so the client gets access to two agents instead of just one! Kiki’s creative side sets a fun and inviting tone, and Kim is swift like an arrow to negotiate and close. “She’s my work wife,” Kiki jokes. “We are the two halves to a whole, and neither one of us would be WIRE without the other.”

To preserve the personal and friendly feel, The WIRE Team will cap at just one dozen agents. Instead of training sessions in a carpeted conference room, Kiki and Kim bring the ladies together for camaraderie, mimosas, and pool time. “We don’t have drama or cattiness on our team. It’s more of a sisterhood. Like a real estate sorority,” the partners say. Even most of their client meetings are done either walking through a property, or over a glass of wine at happy hour. “Nobody wants to sit in an office. Let’s make it enjoyable from the jump!” say the friends.

The spirit of sisterhood extends beyond The WIRE Team as well. Kiki and Kim aim to support, empower, and employ other female professionals in, around, and beyond the real estate industry. From lenders to escrow officers, attorneys to photographers, and even their virtual assistant who works remotely from The Philippines.

The team is thriving from “WIRE Frequent Flyer” investor clients, as well as referrals from residential buyers and sellers. These women are clearly onto something by moving the real estate business into another realm, making it fun, and building relationships which benefit the client. Kim and Kiki’s “set-and-spike” partnership offers the clientele the best of both worlds.

For more information, please check them out on Facebook @WIRETeamTx. You are the only missing piece!