Love of horses leads Meg Titus to a successful real estate career

Riding horses is not an unusual pastime. Millions of people in the United States ride every year. Most of them, however, will never ride their horses where Meg Titus has ridden hers -- to success as a real estate agent for Dallas-based Keller Williams Realty.

Meg has been an owner and breeder of Peruvian Paso horses since 1979. "Riding horses and being in the country are my passion," Meg says. "I knew right away that I wanted to specialize in country properties. I thought that it was more fun. I didn't really appreciate how my interest in horses would affect my real estate business; but it has brought me continuing customers and clients because many of these `horse people' now come to me when they want to buy or sell rural properties."

Early on, Keller Williams and Meg discovered that "country properties" is a market segment that hadn't been fully addressed by most agents and real estate companies. Many are unable or unwilling to make the significant up-front investment of time necessary to familiarize themselves completely with a large property that is miles away from potential customers. Others may be daunted by the special problems and needs presented by buyers and sellers of country properties.

"Meg has learned there are a number of unique challenges related to buying or selling rural properties."  "What is the water supply to the property? What is the source of electricity? What kind of condition is the septic tank in? Is school bus service available? Is the property accessible by county-maintained roads or private roads? Who owns the water and mineral rights? The list goes on. Most agents aren't familiar enough with these questions to handle them quickly and efficiently. Meg is."

Besides an unparalleled network of agents and glowing references from clients, Meg has benefited from the current technological advances that are changing the way we all do business.  "There is no question that technology is enabling many professionals to move away from the city and into the country, using computers to connect them to their jobs," Meg says. ``I'm seeing more and more families moving to the country who do not necessarily want to be farmers or ranchers, but who have been freed from the city by new technologies."

Meg has earned the designation  "Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)," an honor bestowed on the top 3 percent of agents nationwide by the National Association of Realtors. In addition, the Realtors Land Institute awarded her the "Accredited Land Consultant (ALC)" designation, establishing her expertise and experience in the area of land brokerage. She is licensed to broker properties in both Texas and Oklahoma.