When you're looking for a real estate team, it's rare to find one with lifetimes of industry experience, lived-in local expertise, a network of trusted specialists, magnetic personalities and dedicated professionalism, which is why Bernadette Augello & The Augello Team at Berkshire Hathaway are so in demand.

Augello, a lifelong Washington Township resident, grew up both locally and in the industry. She warmly recalls her uncle owning Scarduzio Realtors on the Black Horse Pike, as well as countless early lessons about treating every client like her only client and embracing her natural gifts to stand out in a crowded field.

"I know the area very well, and especially after growing up in and then being in the industry for almost 30 years, I know just about every aspect of the real estate field," she explains. "It's satisfying when the children of clients of 20 or so years contact me to look for their first home. Many of my clients have become good friends. The best part of my job is seeing how happy my clients are after closing."

Starting her career in 1996, where she attended the Weichert Real Estate School, Augello recalls working hard to get her business started. Her husband, both a native of and police officer in Washington Township, had helped to get the business started, connecting Augello with many police officers, friends and family in need of some help buying and selling.

While her team of hand-picked realtors is fiercely dedicated to delivering above-and-beyond client experiences, they also benefit from the thoroughness of two professional partners, loan originator Jill Granato of AnnieMac Home Mortgage and title-company expert Jaimie Walton of City Abstract.

Granato, whose realtor father Augello cites as a treasured mentor, also brings a lifetime of industry experience to her role. Her professional background began at 19 and includes working as a loan processor and getting her own real estate license. But it was the financial side of the business that appealed to her the most, satisfying a desire to dig into complex matters while also drawing on her drive to help others.

"I was more interested in the numbers and figuring out how to get people to qualify, and I just took to that," begins Granato. "I love that I can connect with people, I love the challenges of doing all kinds of financing, whether it's a first-time homebuyer or someone who needs credit repair. I'm very responsive and very transparent. I'm an optimist, but at the same time, I give everybody realistic expectations."

Walton, who's also a licensed realtor with a family entrenched in real estate, describes herself a triple threat, bringing a unique value to every transaction with 20 years of title-insurance industry expertise that includes being an account executive, closing agent, office manager, sales representative and recruiter, and mortgage loan officer.

She is known as one of the top closers in her area: Being a passionate person who puts 100% into what she does, along with a bubbly nature, are strong assets in a people-driven industry.

"I really enjoy bringing people together, making people happy and using my gifts to make people feel comfortable and feel like they had a successful transaction," Walton says. "I understand each part of the transaction, so I can really help people at every stage of it—and I love being able to do that."

Augello, Granato and Walton all have their fingers on the pulse of industry, helping them determine how today's trends guide each client experience.

"It is a challenging time with the lack of inventory: With interest rates being high, people don't want to move or sell their properties when they have a great interest rate," explains Walton. "We have to get creative in the ways we draw in business, and we have to be at the most professional level that we can to really help people navigate through this tough market."

"There's buyers now, but it is a little slower than normal," adds Granato. "But as far as the [interest] rates go, that's just temporary: Everything ebbs and flows and changes. But I'm thinking that within the next year, we're going to see some positives."

And as Augello notes, that there are always opportunities if you know where to look.

"Buyers are still out there," she says. "When I started in this industry in 1996, interest rates were at 7, 8 and 9%—and people were still buying then. Obviously, the price of houses has increased, but it doesn't seem like it's slowing us down any: I'm still getting multiple offers on listings, there's a lot of cash buyers, and a lot of people are still making offers over the asking price."

Transparency, accessibility and immersive industry knowledge are all why clients both loyally return and refer loved ones to The Bernadette Augello Team. All three women readily note how so many clients have become like family, as a team of personable, trustworthy professionals has a way of leading with an authenticity that clients recognize and appreciate.

"I'm always in communication with my clients, and I get referrals a lot because I'm very attentive and responsive," Augello says. "People don't want to be a number or just a sale: They want to feel that warmth and know that I really have their back. They trust me, and they know their happiness is important to me."

Berkshire Hathaway: The Bernadette Augello Team
Serving South Jersey and the Jersey Shore
(609) 929-7500
BernadetteAugello.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 24, Issue 1 (November/December 2023)
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