HAMLET — Alicia Krout never intended to start a new career by taking the Real Estate Broker Pre-licensing class at Richmond Community College. She was only trying to be more knowledgeable about real estate because two of her sons were in the process of selling and purchasing new homes.
But when you have a knack for something, you go for it. Krout sailed through the class, passed the state licensing exam, landed a position with Realty World Graham/Grubbs & Associates a month later, and qualified for the Million Dollar Club her first full year as a real estate broker.
“When I told anyone that I was taking the class, they would mention how good I would be at it,” Krout said. “It has worked out really well for me. I strive to represent my clients to the best of my ability.”
One aspect of the real estate profession she has really enjoyed is the ability to work from home.
“You have the ability to work from anywhere using all of the new technology,” she said.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Krout moved to Scotland County in 1996. She was cheer coach at Scotland High School, Sycamore Lane and Spring Hill middle schools, and she was over the Scotland County Parks and Recreation Cheer Program for 10 years.
Krout has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and a minor in Psychology from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. She has taught workforce preparation classes for RichmondCC that coach people through the employment application and interview process.
“I also worked with local industries, teaching leadership programs to employees that were moving up from line workers to supervisors,” she said. “I was teaching them skills to help them with the transition so that they could be more effective leaders.”
Krout is somewhat of a “Jill-of-all trades.” She even worked for 10 years as a professional photographer.
“Now I take pictures of homes and happy homeowners,” she said. “It has been a natural transition from coaching kids to coaching adults looking for jobs, advancing in their careers to coaching home buyers and sellers through the process.”
In Richmond County, there are 170 homes for sale; in Scotland County, there are 224 homes listed for sale. According to the career exploration tool Career Coach, there are 570 annual job openings for real estate brokers within a 100-mile radius of Hamlet.
The Real Estate Broker Pre-licensing class at RichmondCC is an introductory level course with heavy emphasis on real estate brokerage law, principles and practice. Students must be at least 18 years old to take the class; no college degree is required.
The next class is Aug. 22–Nov. 30. Class will meet 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as one Saturday per month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To sign up, call 910=410-1706 or email ambutler979@richmondcc.edu.
