Buying or selling in San Antonio

Megan Shannon, Realtor with eXp Realty in San Antonio

Megan Shannon · Realtor, eXp Realty · San Antonio, Texas

A bit about me

The short version

First and foremost I'm a proud military wife. Which means I've moved across the country. I've packed up a house I loved on somebody else's timeline. And I've bought a home sight unseen, off photos and a video walkthrough and a stranger telling me the neighborhood was fine.

I remember sitting there trying to decide where my family was going to live, from a screen, on a deadline I didn't pick, feeling like I was guessing at the biggest thing we'd ever done.

So when you tell me this feels like a lot, I'm not being polite when I say I know. I've sat exactly where you are.

Before this I spent fifteen years in banking, ending up processing government-backed loans. Then eight years running the business side for people building brands online, which mostly meant marketing. At the time those felt like two careers with nothing to do with each other. One taught me the money. The other taught me how to make a house look like somewhere you'd want to live. It turns out that's the job.

The part I actually love is the moment somebody realizes it's happening. My favorite client was a friend from my banking days who opened a spa. I got to watch her pick out fixtures and argue about paint and slowly work out that the thing she'd been carrying around for years was real. That is the best seat in the house and I don't take it lightly.

If you're selling, know that I take your equity personally. That money is yours, you earned it, sometimes over twenty years, and I'd rather tell you the honest number than the flattering one and then go and get it for you.

And I'd like this to be fun, if I can manage it. Buying a house is supposed to be one of the good ones. Somewhere along the way it turned into a thing people brace for. I'd like to give you the other version of it.

Whatever you're trying to do, I'd love to be the person you call.

Megan

The part that makes me different

I'll break it down so none of it feels scary

I have fifteen years in finance under my belt. I'm not telling you that to impress you with it. I'm telling you because it means I can explain this process to you properly, in order, in words that make sense, instead of leaving you to work it out from a stack of paperwork at ten o'clock at night.

Most of what makes this stressful is the unknown, the not knowing what to expect. And it's likely the biggest investment of your life. Let's keep your money and your sanity safe.

The reason I do it this way

So I'll walk you through what's happening and what comes next, every time, for as long as you need me to. What a payment actually looks like once taxes and insurance are in it. Why somebody is asking you for one more document and whether that's a problem or just a Tuesday. Ask me the same question four times if you want to, I genuinely do not mind.

You'll never be caught off guard. If something changes I'll tell you the moment I know, not once it has turned into a problem. I'd much rather have the honest conversation early, while it's still useful, than hand you a surprise on a Friday.

And I'll be with you every step of the way. I know everybody says that, so let me be specific about what I mean: the boring parts too. The waiting, the chasing, the bit where nothing seems to be happening and you're not sure whether that's normal. You won't be sitting there wondering on your own.

Three things, properly

What I specialize in

I'd rather be genuinely good at three things than pretend to be good at everything. These are the three, and they're the ones where the banking years actually earn their keep.

Relocating

Military relocation and PCS

Send me your base and your report date and I'll tell you what's realistically in range, and where you actually want to be. Lackland, Randolph and Fort Sam are three different sides of this city. Picking wrong is forty minutes of your morning, every morning, for three years. I've done this move myself, including buying sight unseen, so I know which questions actually matter and which ones only feel urgent.

First home

First-time buyers

This is my favorite one, honestly. I'll explain the money in plain English as many times as you need it, and I'll never once make you feel silly for asking again. You're allowed to not know this yet. Nobody teaches it to you.

Selling

Selling your house

What your house is worth, what it will take to get there, and the honest number rather than the flattering one. I have a decorating and staging eye and I'll use it on your house, which is more fun for both of us than it sounds.

Why I like this job

People doing something brave with money

Years ago, a friend from my banking days left to open a spa. I watched her pick out fixtures and worry about paint colors and slowly realize she was actually doing the thing she had been carrying around in her head for years. It grew into a franchise. That was the best part of that entire job for me and I never forgot it.

Buying your first house is the same shape of brave. So is selling the house you raised kids in. So is moving your whole family to a city you've never lived in because the military said so.

I take that seriously, and I also try to make it fun, because it shouldn't feel like a root canal with paperwork. Most of my clients end up as friends. That's not a marketing line, it's just what tends to happen when you spend four months texting somebody about their life.

What it's actually like

Megan Shannon going through a listing presentation with two clients at a kitchen table

Sitting down with the numbers, before anybody falls in love with a house.

Four steps, and the first one is the one most people skip. We start with your situation, not a price range, because the number that comes out of a real conversation is the one you can actually live with.

After that it's mostly me doing the parts that would otherwise eat your evenings.

We start with the situation, not the price range

Tell me what you're trying to do and why now. Who is moving, what's driving the timing, what would make this a win. The number comes out of that conversation, not the other way around, and starting at the number is how people end up in the wrong house.

I tell you the truth about the money, early

What you can comfortably do, not what you technically qualify for. Those are two different numbers and only one of them lets you still go on holiday. If the answer is "not this year," I'll say so, and then I'll tell you exactly what would change it.

I do the parts that eat your evenings

Lining up showings, the paperwork, staying on top of the lender, staying on top of title. You have a job already. This one is mine.

You always know where things stand

You'll never wonder whether you should have heard from me. If there's nothing to report, I'll tell you there's nothing to report. Silence is the thing that makes people anxious and it's completely avoidable.

Where I spend my time

I'm not going to pretend to know every corner of a city this size equally well. These are the ones I actually know.

Helotes

Hill Country feel without leaving the metro. Government Canyon on your doorstep, Old Town on a Saturday, Floore's on a Friday night. I know this one street by street.

Alamo Ranch

Master planned and newer, with the pools and splash pads and trails that make a difference when you've got small kids. Everything you need is at the Town Center.

Stone Oak

Far north and established, hilly and green, with the whole 1604 corridor of shopping and restaurants right there. A completely different feel from the northwest side.

Alamo Heights

Inside 410, walkable, mature trees and older housing stock with real character. The top of the price range and worth understanding properly before you shop it.

Fair Oaks Ranch & Boerne

If you want more room and more quiet and you don't mind the drive. Ask me about the trade-off honestly before you commit to it.

Somewhere else in the metro? Ask anyway. If it's not somewhere I know well I'll tell you that plainly rather than wing it.

The questions people are too polite to ask

Am I even ready to be talking to an agent?

Almost certainly yes, and earlier is better than later. Talking to me doesn't commit you to anything and it doesn't start a clock. Honestly, the best time to call me is about six months before you think you should, because that's when there's still time to fix anything that needs fixing.

What does this cost me?

We will talk about it plainly, up front, before you sign anything. Who pays what's negotiable and it goes in writing, and I'll walk you through that agreement line by line. You won't sign a thing you don't understand, and if something in it doesn't sit right with you, say so and we will talk about it.

Do I have to sign something just to talk to you?

Not to talk, no. A first conversation is just a conversation, and you can ask me anything without it costing you a thing.

Before I can actually show you homes, that changes. There has to be a buyer representation agreement in place, and that's the rule everywhere now rather than something I've decided. Here's the part most people don't know though: it doesn't have to be a long commitment. I can write it for a single day, or even a single house, so you can see how we work together before you agree to anything longer. Plenty of people start that way and I'd never talk you out of it.

Texas also requires me to give you a form called Information About Brokerage Services, which explains who I represent and what that means for you. It's linked at the bottom of this page. That one's a disclosure, not a contract, and it's worth two minutes of your time.

I'm not in San Antonio yet

Most of my relocation clients aren't. We do it on video, on the phone and over text, and I'll walk houses for you with my camera on and tell you what the photos are hiding. Send me your report date or your start date and we will work backwards from it.

Come and say hello

Text is fastest and it's me on the other end, not an assistant and not a call center. Tell me roughly what you're trying to do and I'll come back to you.

Fastest

210-873-0073

Text me. Even a one line "we're thinking about moving next spring" is a perfectly good place to start.

Book fifteen minutes

Pick a time that suits you. No pitch and no pressure, just your questions and honest answers.

If you're somewhere in the middle of a move and it's all a bit much right now, that's exactly when to get in touch. Let me know what's going on and we will take it one piece at a time.

Hi, I'm Megan.Let's talk about your future.