Professional Biography

1978 - 1986: I took the Wisconsin real estate exam April 1, 1978 and began my new career on May 2, 1978. I was sales associate of the month for that first month, picking up five listings and writing a "double-bump" listing and accepted offer on a For Sale By Owner. In June, the double-bump offer went south. It didn't appraise and the well didn't pass inspection. I learned about the clause in the offer that said "if the buyer can't get financing of his choice the seller has the right to offer financing on the same terms" and then a learned even more. I learned that when the property doesn't appraise and the buyer doesn't want it any more, things can get ugly. And, I learned how to respond to the Department of Regulation & Licensing when they respond to the seller, complaining about me and their perception of my ineptitude. The seller's brother was an attorney. Several pages of explanation later I was relieved of responsibility in the mess; and relieved that my first transaction was behind me. Lessons learned came early - and 33 years later, those lessons are still the first ones I recall when I watch new agents think they know how to "do real estate" because they have a license.

My career took off quite nicely. I sold $1,000,000 that first five months, from May - November and ended up being $2 out of 25 or 30 agents. At an average sale price usually in the $40s, I was a busy girl, but found out I had found a niche I enjoyed. Lots of plaques on my wall later, In December of 1986, I moved on to a 100% company, Realty Executives; named Execu-Systems at the time.

1986 - 1993: Execu-Systems became Realty Executives. Business was challenging, but the move proved to be a good one. Tom Verette, the broker-owner, became my friend and my teacher. The lessons kept coming, and my professional resume' and education continued to grow.

1993 - 2007: I purchased the rights to the Realty Executive franchise for the western half of my county and named my venture Realty Executives, Lake & Country. Most of those years were excellent years to be selling real estate. I built a staff that included anywhere from one to eight agents. It was an adventure and many more learning experiences. There was a day in August, 1997, that a specific incident became "the last straw." I called an office meeting, and gave my agents 30 days to find another place to work. Being unable to find quality, experienced agents from my territory, I took on new licensees with no experience in selling and no idea what it took to become successful. Realty Executives was designed for veteran agents, but my rural area didn't offer the privilege of bringing in successful agents - so new licensees it was. With no experience with a 50/50 company that kept half of the company's commission fee to pay their expenses, rather than the 100% program at Realty Executives, the agents rebelled when I asked for an additional $10 a month, on top of their monthly $250 a month fee to help pay for extra ads in the yellow pages. The fees from the few transactions they brought to the closing table were woefully short of the expenses. My personal contribution to the business was five-figures. Going back to selling real estate was the new plan. One of my agents was NOT part of the problem. She and I continued to work together for many years.

1997 - 2007: Our little office of just the two of us selling real estate passed the records of even the biggest companies. The two of us and the agent who had begun as my assistant and was now an independent owner-broker regularly traded places between which of us was the first, second, or third producing agents in our region. Life was good. The market was good. Our community was growing and progressing.

2007 - 2010: February, 2007, it became apparent that "right-sizing" would be necessary to stay in business. The economy was showing signs of shifting. Difficult location and staff decisions ensued and changes were made. I merged my franchise territory with the territory to my north, and returned to being a broker-associate with Realty Executives - Elite, along with Lu, the agent who had been with me since 1993.

2011 - present: Here began a new direction to my 33+ year real estate career. For decades I thought about the things I would like to do when I got older. One day I looked, in the mirror and - knowing I wasn't OLD yet - but accepting the fact that I was, in reality, definitely "older", I stepped forward on to a new pathway. Writing and teaching about the things I had learned in this incredible industry has been my plan for a very long time. Already a published author, and with 14 years in elementary and high school education, I launched Verna Acker Professional Real Estate Services in March of 2011. The new plan is to concentrate on consulting, referral, and teaching new agents, veteran agents, and continuing education. The rest of my professional story is yet to be written.