Get to Know Erica's Approach to Buying & Selling

Erica Deane moved to Warrenton as a middle schooler in 1996, and when her real estate journey began upon her licensure in 2009, it was the beginning of what can only be described as a family affair.

After graduating from Fauquier High School in 2002 and then from Lynchburg College, Deane was a middle school math teacher when she first became an agent as a way to earn some supplemental income. What she expected to be a temporary hobby turned into a blossoming second career, however; Deane continues to dedicate her time to both real estate and education as the Director of Academic Technology at Highland School in Warrenton.

“I've been doing this a long time and I've seen lots of different ups and downs in the market. We've had great times and we've had some rough times and knowing how to navigate through each of those, how to work your offers in each of those ways as a buyer or a seller to match where the market is, makes it really important to have somebody with experience behind you.”

Deane, a mother of one who lives in Amissville with her husband and son, came to Ross Real Estate in 2022 in large part due to its reputation for a family-like atmosphere as well as its more central location - as opposed to her former brokerage in Leesburg.

“I wanted to keep doing [real estate], but I really wanted a family around me, a group of people that were going to also build me up, support me and that I could have the chance to do the same for them, and that just wasn't the case proximity wise for me,” she said in a recent interview. “I've known Tyler for a while, his wife was one of my son’s teachers when he was in kindergarten and I would talk to him, would see him at friends, kids, birthday parties and things. And we started talking and from his reputation, the reputation of this office, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.”

With her experience as a teacher and a Master's degree in education from the University of Virginia, Deane relishes the opportunity to explain the real estate process to her clients and establish a personal relationship with them to help maximize their return as either buyer or seller. “I love people, and the teacher in me really likes to guide people through the process and being able to break things down into manageable chunks for them,” she said. “The fun for me is getting to know the people, getting to know my clients so well that I can say ‘based on what I've noticed about you, I think something like this’ and then they'll say, ‘oh, I never realized that.’

“My husband's family has also been in construction for a long time, so I have a unique take. Being around it and having done so many home remodeling pieces that being able to look prior to inspection and say hey, something like this might come up is helpful to people as well.”

Deane advises potential buyers to start working with an agent early for their ability to get you to the right lender after getting pre-qualified, along with establishing non-negotiables like a garage, basement, or screened-in porch in order to quickly identify those houses which are not in line with your requirements or wants.

“There are so many programs out there for people at different stages of their lives and different occupations that knowing how to shop around and look at that stuff ahead of time can really set you up for success,” she said. “What are the things that you have to have? Make sure you share that with your agent because a lot of times, when things and houses pop up, we need to be able to jump on them. But if I can point out that this [house] doesn't have these three non-negotiables, that gives them a little bit of ability to use their time just that better within that process.”

While certainly not alone among Ross agents for her experience and knowledge of the market in and around Fauquier County, Deane's expertise and approach is one that her clients can trust when they arrive at perhaps the most critical financial decision of their lives. “We are frequently talking with other Realtors at the association level, looking out for things that can help our clients."