The new leader of local Realtors teaches truisms – or, more accurately, Faye-isms – and is excited to steer the fast-growing organization
Faye Humphrey is a font of truisms, passed down in the Deep South from her Irish immigrant mother who was illiterate yet full of common-sense quotations.
“I grew up hearing, ‘You can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution,'” Faye related during a recent interview.
So it’s no wonder Faye will be the Prescott Area Association of Realtors’ (PAAR) new president for 2023, following a decade of service on the PAAR board of directors.
The knowledge Faye accumulated over four decades of buying, selling, and teaching will surely benefit PAAR’s multifaceted mission. She worked at a variety of real estate companies before opening her own KMF Real Estate with her son and granddaughter a few years ago. As an Arizona School of Real Estate and Business instructor for more than two decades, she’s accredited in more than 50 courses.
It’s fitting that PAAR will start constructing new headquarters in 2023 during Faye’s tenure. PAAR purchased its current office in 1998 when it had only 600 members, and now it’s reached 2,625. The new building, near the airport, will be twice as large to accommodate more classrooms and meeting space.
“When you walk into someone’s house, it’s a reflection of them,” Faye said. “So PAAR’s new home will be a place that members will be proud to use and bring clients.”
An affiliate of the Arizona and National Associations of Realtors, PAAR started with 10 members back in 1944. PAAR provides invaluable Multiple Listing Service (MLS) real estate listings for the local region – and much more. Alongside advocating for property owners, PAAR committees focus on everything from community service to education to political issues such as fair housing practices.
Faye personally experienced an unfair housing situation when she tried to get her first home loan in the 1970s and was told her husband would have to do it instead. She balked at the banker and convinced the seller to finance her, instead.
“My Mom said, ‘Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something,'” she related.
Faye now teaches other Realtors how seller carrybacks help sellers get the best price and save on capital gains taxes, while helping buyers get their dream home despite rising interest rates.
In her role as president, Faye will help make sure PAAR’s Prescott Area School of Real Estate continues to offer quality education, too. The school’s award-winning instructors lead continuing education courses Realtors need to maintain their accreditation and achieve success.
Faye may be a teacher, but she’s always learning something new – hence her company’s name, KMF, for Keep Moving Forward. Which prompts another Faye-ism…
“If I’m the smartest person in the room, I’m in the wrong room.”