Shay Baillargeon is a Colorado native with extensive knowledge of the various cities and neighborhoods ranging from north Denver down into Colorado Springs. Her love for Real Estate, market knowledge, and perfect combination of technological expertise and people-centric approach has landed her appearances on TV shows such as Bigger Pockets and American Dream TV. Educating people on one of the most important financial decisions of their lives is Shay’s passion. People continuously entrust her with their Real Estate needs because their success very evidently becomes her number one priority, and she will be there to ease each step along the way.
After graduating from Colorado State University, Shay was offered an opportunity to lead cutting-edge training pertaining to marketing strategy, negotiation, problem solving, and much more. Those proficiencies, along with her tenacity and positivity, have effectively led to Shay’s success in Real Estate. She has a proven track record, earning the Denver Metro Excellence award in sales during 2020! Rated the #1 agent on social media in Colorado Springs, she continuously stacks impressive wins for her clients in the buying, selling, military relocation, and investing processes. In an effort to minimize stress and increase efficiency during transactions, she utilizes a team of professional service providers including handymen, painters, inspectors, stagers, and designers. Fun fact: Shay has been sought after to design homes so often that she has started her own organize and design company! She loves the ability to wear many hats, taking stress off the client even after their transaction is complete.
An outdoor enthusiast, snowboarder, and foodie, Shay offers such invaluable insight into the lifestyle afforded by Colorado living. She feels very fortunate to be raising her daughter in a state that is not only breathtaking, but also offers infinite opportunities. As a mother, she is working hard daily to show her daughter what it means to be successful, both personally and professionally. Shay’s motto is to live in a way that when her daughter thinks of integrity, hard-work, and enthusiasm…her mom comes to mind. Here is her success journey!
How did you get into the real estate market?
Before ever thinking of becoming a real estate agent, I was working in property management. I was basically already in the industry, just wearing a different hat. But once I got pregnant with my daughter, I knew that a nine to five was not for meg, and I didn’t want anybody else raising my baby either. I knew that I needed to figure something out. My goal has always been to get my real estate license. My whole mindset changed the moment I found out I was pregnant.
So I went on maternity leave from my current job for the regular three months that, and I went back to work for a couple months after that. I wanted to try it one more time to see if it’s for me, because, you know, taking a risk and going to commission based only is so scary, especially that I have this human to take care of. I quit my job and jumped into real estate, and I’m going into my third year now, with the gaol this year of having 30 transactions.
I just found such a passion for helping people and just being part of the story of their biggest asset purchase for the most part. Making that processes seamless as possible is the motto I take with me every day to work.
How did you manage to pull all this off and have a young child at the same time?
So unfortunately, I became a single mom very early in my daughter’s life. But I also have a very strong and supportive family, which we call our girl tribe, because we have my mom who’s, like, super meaty, and, and she’s like, goes above and beyond for anybody and everybody, especially when it comes to her own daughters and now her granddaughter, and then I have a sister who moved back from Hawaii, that helps us out. And then I also have my grandma. So when they say it takes a tribe to raise a baby, that statement is so true. To be honest, it’s a juggling act every single day, but I’m also a very structured person, with a routine, which makes things more simple and helps a ton.
I wake up at five o’clock in the morning, every single day. On the weekends, I wake up at seven. But I do it for me, it’s important because my daughter doesn’t wake up until about seven thirty or eight. So I think just from my mental state, I need to have time to myself. My mornings consist mostly of working out every morning, doing pilates and then this climbing class that I love . I also love the fact that in the morning you surround yourself with like minded people and it jumpstarts mthey day. And then I typically get back to my place and I checked all of my emails, I have a cup of coffee, I read for 30 minutes all before she wakes up in the morning. So I think to have that morning routine is the most helpful thing that anybody can ever do.
What was one of the reasons you decided to with to Compass?
They just understand people and truly give us the tools to succeed. We have this class in the morning that’s called 6am’ers. It’s basically brokers from all over the United States that work for compass that get together and set goals and discuss about making the brand better and motivate each other to succeed. When you’re around like minded people, it helps you grow and blossom. I advise anyone who can to get with compass.
Did you have anyone mentor you?
Absolutely! I think it is really important to have a mentor when you’re first getting into real estate, to be around them and trying to get all that you can from them and absorb it. what an email looks like going out for first time homebuyers or companies makes it really easy to we have a lot of marketing material that’s pre made for us. My mentor, Athena, is one of the top producing agents in Denver. I would go with her to showings, and help her with a lot of her buyers, and she would help me get co-sales with her. All within like, the first six months, unfortunately, she’s had a lot of health issues. There where a lot of things she couldn’t do.due to to health issues so I had to cover her which in turn, helped me grow.
What type of real estate are investors looking for?
Denver is hard, I won’t lie to you. So my primary focus in real estate is monument in Colorado Springs. So I’m actually south of Denver. I’ve gotten a lot of investors that used to invest in Denver, but because of the high price point everything is changing. It started, in the mountains and in Boulder, and then people couldn’t afford to live there anymore, so they moved to Denver, and now people can’t afford to live in Denver, So they are migrating south to Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and so forth.
I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of investors down in the springs. If you were investing, as a regular home buyer for a primary residence, Denver and Colorado, are great locations to invest your money. And there’s only been two times in history where we had depreciation. Going more South right now is typically about one to two hundred thousand dollars less than the Denver market. You definitely get more bang for your buck down in Colorado Springs.
What was one of the biggest challenges you had to surmount?
I would say biggest challenge, is that every deal is completely different. You have to be able to adapt to your environment. You’re dealing with people’s emotions and every land or house is different. Some people have a lot more expectations than other and you need to know how to juggle all of it, while providing the best quality service.
What advice would you give your younger self looking back now?
My advice to myself would be to not get comfortable and to always get out of my comfort zone. I would tell myself to take risks and sink or swim. I would also tell myself, to find my why like what’s what’s my wine, what makes this so important to me and tp find that motivation and that structure. I always try and push my boundaries because I’m eventually just gonna get comfortable in what I’m doing and to constantly up my goals, up my my fitness and everything else that is very important to me. I want for my daughter lot see her mother achieve everything she ever wanted with discipline and determination so that she may one day to conquer her the world and herself.
Where do you see yourself in the next years to come?
I’d love to start growing my own personal real estate portfolio. I would also love to build a structure and a marketing plan to set my gaols in motion. I’m on a team right now, and I’d love to grow that team or even have people under me to help mentor. I would love to make a name for myself in the Colorado Springs market and just be somebody that has a reputation of getting things done. And even though I may look nice and sweet, I am definitely a go getter and a shark. I always want to be genuine and true to myself.
What inspires and motivates you?
To always be a better person each and every single day. My daughter is so important for me and I want to be the best role model that I can. I’m always trying to be stronger physically, emotionally, mentally and to pave a blueprint that she can walk by.