Rebecca Woodard

Ask Rebecca, and she will tell you founding a real estate firm is an exciting proposition especially if you ignore the terrifying fear of failure.  It's no time to ask WHAT IF. 

• What if the market cools off? 
• What if there really is a housing bubble?
• What if it bursts? 
• What if the foreclosure rate skyrockets? 
• What if unemployment surges? 
• What if local businesses layoff or relocate employees out of Vermont? 

These questions have been answered in the last two years but they were only becoming real questions in June 2007 when Rebecca took the plunge into independent real estate sales.  Shortly thereafter, in January 2008, she co-founded Blue Ridge Real Estate with Betsy Franzoni.  They had sold real estate together with a large national franchise and wanted more control over decisions and options for their customers and clients.  In spite of the economy when they made the move,  the Rutland Community has been very good to them and Blue Ridge Real Estate is now positioned perfectly to provide quality real estate services.  

Rebecca obtained her salesperson license in 2000 and then her Broker license about a year later.  Licenses make you legal to practice real estate sales, but Rebecca knew she also needed to become a REALTOR®.  This is an option to any licensed agent but not a requirement of any licensing authority.  One becomes a REALTOR® by joining the National Association of REALTORS® and the state and local chapters.  Through it, she pledged to obey and support the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and became part of a support system offering a huge network of sales associates, a wide variety of educational programs, updates on ever-changing regulations, local networking, advocacy  - the list goes on and on.  This network was a very comforting security blanket when making the decision to leave a large national franchise for independent real estate sales.  

On the local level of the REALTOR® organization, she is Secretary and Treasurer of the Rutland County Board of REALTORS® and routinely serves on various subcommittees.  She was named the local chapter REALTOR®-of-the-Year in 2006. 

Her background provided a solid basis for real estate sales with banking experience, small business administration, 5 years volunteer service on a local town Planning Commission and 5 years direct marketing experience.  She has been a landlord since 1997 which provides her with hands-on knowledge to help buyers and sellers of residential rental properties and it caused her to become certified in the essential maintenance practices required by state regulations to deal safely with lead paint in older buildings. 

Rebecca keeps current on changes within the real estate industry with seminars and courses.  She has recently attended:  Code of Ethics and Professional Standards Training, Agency Law and Practice, Marketing with MS Office, Innovative Marketing, Residential Water Wells and Water, Conflict Resolution Skills, Vt Real Estate Statutes, Fair Housing and Standards, Accredited Buyer Representation, Environmental Issues and Risk Management.  She holds the e-Pro designation, issued by NAR after completion of an online study program designed to build internet marketing skills. 

Rebecca grew up in the small town of Chittenden, spent 14 years on Lake Bomoseen, 10 years in Rutland City and now resides in Rutland Town.