The young real estate team is taking over Columbia neighborhoods.
Megan Walters was only 22 when she started her real estate journey. Four years later, she is the owner of her own, quickly-expanding team in Columbia. The Walters Team — previously known as Homes by Megan — aims to help buyers and sellers transition smoothly from one home to the next.
The Walters Team
Megan’s real estate career had a unique beginning.
“When I went to college at Mizzou, I got my psych degree,” she says. “I wanted to work with people and for people, but I didn’t quite know how.”
After graduating, she decided real estate was the best avenue to achieve that goal, while still being able to create something of her own.
Taking her chance with Veterans United Home Loans, Megan failed the loan officer’s exam three times, each by a single point. (She concedes that school wasn’t her strong suit.)
“I knew I wanted to be a real estate agent, but commission, with all the student loan debt and everything I had, I was like, ‘That makes no sense. Who’s going to buy a house from a 22-year-old?’” she recalls.
But Megan was determined to forge ahead.
“I was so stubborn; I just went and took the real estate exam and passed on my first try,” she says. “It was kind of one of those things where the stars aligned.”
Megan started her journey with House of Brokers, who she had been working with until going out on her own. Homes by Megan started in 2017 and as she got further along in her career, Megan hired her first agent, Autumn Lear, and realized it was time to rebrand.
“I didn’t feel quite right hearing her say, ‘Homes by Megan,’ when her name is Autumn,” Megan explains. “It made me feel like I was stripping her of her identity, and I didn’t like that. I knew I wanted to grow a team … so it was time to evolve and change.”
Meet the team
The team consists of four people: Megan, her husband and business partner, Jesse Walters; one licensed salesperson, Autumn Lear; and marketing manager Brittney Stone.
When it comes to selecting team members, Megan likes to build a relationship with someone first. It’s the same approach she took when growing her real estate career into a family business. Megan and Jesse have been business partners for years. In addition to The Walters Team, they co-own Camacho Coffee.
Megan jokes about how seriously she invests herself in getting to know each team member.
“That’s what I always say with anyone that comes up to the team: ‘I’m going to have to date you before I marry you,’ because I want to make sure that we get along,” she says.
Megan has built friendships with her team members and hired most of them for similar reasons. She looks for fresh ideas, creativity, and personalities that stand out. That helps create the necessary dynamic to carry out the team’s approach, as described on their website: “Whether you’re buying and/or selling your home, looking for land, or wanting to build, we can help you price properties, land, negotiate deals, qualify buyers, acquire financing, interview builders, contractors, and more!”
The Walters Team also sells a wide variety of homes in the Columbia area.
“I’ve sold homes from 600 square feet to 8,000 square feet” and vacant lots to commercial sites, she says. “I would say if it’s real estate, we’re here to help.”
Homebase
Rebranding Homes by Megan also meant a new brokerage and new office space.
While transitioning from Homes by Megan to The Walters Team, Megan made the switch from House of Brokers to eXp. Megan also opened a new office next to the Tiger Hotel in December 2022 for all local eXp agents.
Although The Walters Team has expanded a lot over the past year or so, Megan doesn’t see herself leaving Columbia anytime soon. The relationships and knowledge she has gained from the community are crucial aspects of her career.
“The thing with real estate — it’s similar to a hairdresser,” she says. “You can’t just up and go. All my clientele is here. I’m from here. I was raised here. So I was very blessed going into real estate already having a plethora of contacts.” She adds, “Columbia is what I know, I know this town better than most, so I’m an expert in this area. If I went somewhere else, I’d have to pretty much start all over.”
Megan wants to continue to foster relationships with the community. She says eXp is just beginning to expand across mid-Missouri, and she is hoping to grow that name along with The Walters Team.
“With The Walters Team, my goal is just to continue to grow, not to be the biggest team by any means,” she explains. “More just to be a well-rounded group of individuals who are just there for each other to help each other grow and live their best life. Whether that’s work, spiritually, even physically like working out together — just really creating a family that wants to help each other succeed.”
The Walters Team
717 Cherry St Suite C
573-808-6457
waltersteamrealty.com
