Stacy King has earned her wings in real estate many times over. Her multiple nominations for a 2013 Women of FIRE Award cite her high level of expertise, her ability to personally connect with her clients, and her willingness to work tirelessly to achieve great results. Next year, she will serve as president of the Mid-State Association of Realtors, of which she has been a board member since 2009.

Achieving great results in today’s real estate market is not an easy job. Would-be sellers in Connecticut who are underwater in their properties and behind in their mortgages suffer stress that can lead to a cascade of other problems. But that’s where Realtors can help.

King has plunged into the realm of short sales, which she sees as the future of real estate for the next few years. Short sales, and less frequently, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, remove the borrower’s debt obligation and avoid the stigma of a foreclosure, but often to the detriment of the borrower’s credit rating. However, King, as a registered agent for the government-sponsored Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives short sale program, can help qualified borrowers navigate the process a bit easier, without damage to their credit rating.

“In the end, I am happy to have helped,” she said, and noted the great satisfaction of being able to bring relief and an enhanced quality of life to the seller.

King’s uncle was a Realtor. She was 9, she recalls, when he showed her two properties under construction. She was intrigued that such open-frame, as-yet doorless structures would someday be someone’s home. “I was bitten by the bug back then,” she said. She spent 10 years in restaurant management, a few years with marketing and advertising, and then returned to her love of real estate.

A Connecticut native, she has also lived in Rhode Island, Florida, Boston and other places – about 39 moves in all, she estimates, and has met people from all walks of life. “I truly can put myself in the shoes of many of my clients,” she said. “I don’t see geography in real estate; I see people and properties and relationship building.”

She has served on the board of the Connecticut Association of Realtors since 2012, and participated in the 2013 Professional Standards Program of the Connecticut Association of Realtors. Also this year, she received a Five Star Professional Award for outstanding customer service.