BROKER-OWNER · LISTING SPECIALIST
About Keith Byrd
I came to San Luis Obispo in 1978 to attend Cal Poly. More than four decades later, the Central Coast is still the place I consider home.
HOW I GOT HERE
From Cal Poly to Silicon Valley — and Back
I grew up in Pleasant Hill in the Bay Area. At Cal Poly, I met my future wife, Stacy, in Spanish class. Our first date was a mariachi concert at Cuesta College on Cinco de Mayo, followed by potato skins at Spike’s.
After Cal Poly, my career took me to Silicon Valley. I worked for technology companies including Cisco Systems and 3Com and later served as Vice President of Marketing for several startup companies. Stacy became a teacher, and while we were living in Northern California, we continued making trips back to the Central Coast with our three daughters.
Eventually, we decided we wanted those trips to become permanent.
In 2002, I left Silicon Valley and moved my family back to the Central Coast.
REAL ESTATE + TECHNOLOGY
I Started SLOCountyHomes.com in 2002
My own experience selling one home and buying another helped lead me into real estate. But I also brought something unusual to the business at the time: a background in technology and the Internet.
I created SLOCountyHomes.com, which became one of the early online home-search websites on the Central Coast. My work with real estate technology eventually made me a finalist for the National Association of REALTORS® Technology Achievement Award, and I served on the board of directors of the local MLS association.
Technology should make useful real estate information easier for people to get and help me do a better job representing my sellers.
Technology has changed dramatically since then, but that philosophy is still behind SLOCountyHomes.com today.
WHY I FOCUS ON SELLERS
Today, SLO County Homes Is Focused on Listings
Over the years, I came to realize that the part of real estate I most enjoy is representing homeowners when they sell.
When I take a listing, the seller is my client. I don’t also represent the buyer in the transaction.
That lets me keep my attention where I think it belongs: presenting the property as strongly as I can, creating buyer interest, evaluating offers carefully, negotiating for the strongest price and terms the market will support, and helping my seller get successfully through closing.
I don’t believe a listing service should simply consist of putting a property in the MLS and waiting for buyers to find it.
Every home gives me something different to work with. Sometimes that means professional and twilight photography. Sometimes it’s Matterport, floor plans or a dedicated property website. For one golf-course home I sold at Trilogy in Nipomo, it meant creating a sunrise-to-evening time-lapse video so buyers could experience what it would be like to sit in the backyard as the sun went down and the landscape lighting came on.
The home should determine the marketing — not a checklist.
See how I approach a listing →INFORMATION WITHOUT THE SALES PITCH
You Shouldn’t Have to Register Just to Research the Market
SLOCountyHomes.com has always reflected another belief of mine: you shouldn’t have to give a real estate agent your name, phone number and email address just to get useful information.
There is no forced registration and no mailing list you have to join. Use the information for as long as it’s useful to you. If the day comes when you’re considering selling, I’d be happy to talk with you.
A FAMILY BUSINESS, TOO
After an Offer Is Accepted, Tanya Helps Keep Everything Moving
My daughter, Tanya Knowles, has worked with me in real estate since 2008. She is also a California real estate broker and owns an independent transaction coordination company that manages real estate transactions for agents and brokers.
When one of my listings goes into escrow, Tanya and her team help manage the disclosures, documents, signatures, deadlines and many other details required to get the transaction successfully to closing.
I remain the seller’s broker and handle the real estate decisions, negotiations and issues that require my involvement. Having an experienced transaction team behind me allows me to stay focused on representing my seller.
I’VE BEEN AROUND SLO FOR A WHILE
Long Before Real Estate, I Was a Cal Poly Student and KCPR DJ
I’ve watched San Luis Obispo County change considerably since I first arrived in 1978. I’ve also accumulated a lot of photographs, stories and memories along the way.
That’s why there’s a SLO Memories section on a real estate website.
It may not help me sell a house.
But I think it’s fun — and I think some of it is worth preserving.
Explore SLO Memories →IF YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT SELLING
You Don’t Need to Be Ready to List Your Home to Contact Me
If you’re starting to think about selling, I’m happy to look at the property, talk about its value, discuss what I think would help before it goes on the market, and explain how I would approach selling it.
Then you can decide whether I’m the right broker for you.
Keith Byrd
Broker-Owner | Listing Specialist
SLO County Homes
DRE #01351187