Mary Ann Hebert
Title: Broker/Partner, Better Homes and Gardens Bannon & Hebert
Age: 57
Experience: 30 years

Mary Ann Hebert was pregnant and less than thrilled with her homebuying experience, so she decided to get her real estate sales license and help other people have a better experience. She has won several awards and served in many positions in the local and state board of Realtors, opened her own brokerage with a partner 20 years ago, and though her three children are all adults, she’s still going strong.

Q: What first drew you to real estate?

A: I got into it because my husband and I had just purchased our first home. We were young and unsure and I thought the agent could have been done better. There were a lot of unknowns and questions. I didn’t even know the right questions to ask. During the process – actually before we closed – I decided to take the real estate course. Prior to that, I worked in the finance department at Peter Paul Cadbury. I was still working full time during the day. I sold real estate nights and weekends. It was different than it is today. Back then, it was pretty much jumping in to the deep end. If a client wanted to know about a house, they had to call the office.

I had a great manager. The real reason for the manager was to work with the agents and help them. I asked them questions every night. There were also other agents who were willing to help me. I remember my first deal – I was very excited and got along very well with my clients. The disclosure on the house listed something called UFFI. I had never heard of UFFI insulation or the problems associated with it. Thankfully, my manager caught it. For the first 10 transactions, there was always something to learn. In fact, I’m still learning today.

Q: Having started in 1985, you’ve seen a lot of change in how real estate is sold. What is the same today as it was then?

A: When fax machines first came out, all of the agents in our office chipped in to buy one. We’re still an advocate for our clients. We know the inventory and the answers to questions that clients don’t know to ask. Even with the Internet, it appears you can figure everything out, the value of the Realtor is knowing the ins and outs. For example, vermiculite is a big deal today. Ten years ago that wasn’t an issue. It’s important to know which questions to ask.

Q: Better Homes & Gardens is a big company, but some of your competition is huge. How do you compete?

A: For 20 years we had a boutique agency. We have always dominated the market in Middlebury. I spent a lot of time making sure we had the most updated tools for our agents. When I realized it was hard to remain current, I started looking around and saw that Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) was a good fit for us. I didn’t want to sell out to a large corporation. I wanted to have the tools and national brand BHG offers, but still be able to run it the way we wanted to. This is the only brand we thought matched our brand, so we joined forces last September.

This is a competitive business and reputation is what is ultimately going to make you successful. We’re careful about the agents that we hire. We don’t want to be the office with the biggest body count. We’re interested in quality and people who have similar values and treat the client with the utmost care.

Q: Have buyers changed over the years?

A: Oh, absolutely. Today the problem is they spend a lot of time online looking at pictures. We have to be sure to get the online pictures right or they won’t ever bother to see the house [in person]. That’s where 90 percent of buyers start. Buyers’ expectations have changed, too. Because interest rates are so low, they’re not willing to do sweat equity. They’d rather roll the cost of improvements into the mortgage and not spend their savings. Move-up buyers have lost a lot of equity since the crash. They’re very careful about the amount of work that needs to be done. I find people are taking much longer to buy now than they used to.

Q: How does the Middlebury market compare to the rest of the state?

A: In Connecticut, the market is not as hot as the rest of the country. We’re seeing good, well-priced properties moving quickly. We get a lot of families wanting to live in Middlebury because of the school system. Prices here are a little higher than in Waterbury. We used to have people commuting to New York City, but when gas prices went crazy after the crash, people started re-evaluating their time. People made lifestyle decisions and commuting time was part of that.

Q: What kind of a year do you expect 2016 to be?

A: I think it’s going to be a good year. Connecticut still has some short sales and foreclosures, but not as many as a few years ago. As much as you hear people say that people don’t want to own homes, that’s not true. People want to own their own homes. It’s much easier to buy a home than find a place you can rent with a pet. I am optimistic. I don’t think we’re going to see a bubble, just good moderate growth and people staying in their homes until they have a lifestyle change and they buy a larger home. That’s what it was like before we had these crazy bubbles. It’s where you live and where you come home to every night and even if it sounds corny, that’s still a very important part of the American Dream.

Q: What kinds of things do you do when you’re not working?

A: I love yoga. I’m a big family person – I have five brothers and sisters who are my closest friends and our families get together often. We do a lot of family vacations on Cape Cod, like gathering 27 people in three houses. I love to read and I’m involved in a book club. I’m a big walker. I walked in the Avon 39 walk in honor of a friend of mine who had cancer. It was wonderful because I did a lot of walking with my sister to train for it and it reminded me of what a beautiful area we live in.

Hebert’s Five Favorite Books:

1. “The Dove Keepers” by Alice Hoffman – loved the book, hated the mini-series
2. “John Adams” by David McCullough – best biography of my favorite president
3. “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo – beautiful story; also my favorite musical
4. “Good Night Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown – favorite book to read to my children and now my grandchildren
5. The Bible – favorite book to reread; I never get tired of it