You see it often in East Cobb: “#1 REALTOR” claims. To make this kind of statement, a Realtor needs proof. KELLY+CO truly is THE #1 Real Estate Team in East Cobb, and ranks among the top teams in the Southeast for Keller Williams. Their Sellers also make more money — an average of 2% more than the typical East Cobb Seller. With 150 local families helped last year, the numbers demonstrate it, and their websites, LiveLoveEastCobb.com and KellyCoHomes.com, show you how they do it.

The climb to East Cobb’s #1 status has its beginnings in 1999 with Kelly Allen, Co-Founder and Senior Real Estate Consultant, working as a solo real estate agent in Atlanta using KellySellsAtlanta as her brand. In 2006 her husband, Aaron, left his IT position to join Kelly in founding KELLY+CO and developing that team-of-specialists approach.

KELLY+CO’s start-up years weathered the real estate market crash by focusing on first-time buyers and relying on real estate market data. “The recession placed first-time buyers in a good position to purchase a home for a reduced price,” Aaron explains. “So we educated consumers on how to take advantage of this. With focused marketing data, we were also able to target those areas where properties were still moving despite the recession. For our sellers, we offered free professional home staging, which was just catching on. That proved to work so well in getting our sellers max value in the shortest amount of time that we continue to offer that service to all our clients today.”

Affiliated with Keller Williams Realty, KELLY+CO adheres to a team approach to market their listings and help their homebuyers. While most Realtors are a one-person operation that buys, sells, markets and handles contracts, KELLY+CO has a specialist for each facet of the transaction. With twelve members, each with a different specialty, there are agents who represent Sellers only, agents who represent Buyers only, and specialists in logistics, marketing and contracts.

“We focus on five-star service,” says Kelly Allen. “And the beauty of it all is that each client has only two points of contact within our group – one agent and one assistant. Everyone else is behind the scenes working for that client. That’s how we can offer the level of service that we do.”

As Kelly puts it, KELLY+CO strives to stir up the inventory to find the perfect home for their clients, sometimes even before that home goes on the market. Innovative in their marketing strategy, all team members prospect for to find homes for their buyers and buyers for their sellers. In fact, two members focus full-time on this task. In addition, using tools such as LiveLoveEastCobb. com, they are able to assess which buyers are looking for potential properties in the area and target those buyers. They use social media marketing to locate prospects as well.

The close of a deal is just the beginning of the client relationship with KELLY+CO. Team members like to have fun and find ways to treat their past clients to free movies, Braves tailgates and Fall Festivals each year.

When Kelly and Aaron moved to East Cobb in the early days of KELLY+CO, they made this community their home as well as their real estate market niche. Today, with their 2 children, they are active members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and volunteer at Sope Creek Elementary where their son is a 1st grader and daughter is a 4th grader. On any given Saturday, you can find them at Fullers Park coaching and cheering on Eastside Baseball. Giving back to the community they call home is important to Kelly and Aaron. That’s why proceeds from the business go to fund local charities, such as Mt. Bethel UMC’s Backpack Blessings, Cobb County Animal Shelter, and Wounded Warriors. Once a house is sold, their client picks the charity from their list, and KELLY+CO happily writes the check. “We live here, work here and raise our children here,” says Kelly. “No one cares more about East Cobb home values than we do!”

If you’re looking to buy or sell your home, KELLY+CO gives you five-star service. Their office is located at 3730 Roswell Road, Suite 150, in Marietta/East Cobb. For more information, visit both websites: LiveLoveEastCobb.com or KellyCoHomes. com, or call 404-606-2219.

This article originally appeared in the April issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on page 6. Click HERE to access the digital edition.