Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Dochen.
Hi Carol, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started in 1981 – I had a family friend who invited me to work for her and said she would teach me. I worked for Irene Smith for my first 10 years and as a tribute to her and me and our relationship, she asked me to sell the home she just moved out of. She has been a mentor to me over the last 43 years. I graduated from UT with a public relations and advertising degree, and I worked in that industry in Houston and Washington, DC before I moved to Austin in 1981. I was going to continue that career but came back to Austin due to Sandy’s mother’s illness, and I nursed her until her death. It changed me and made me think about a career in nursing, but that involved chemistry which was an impossibility for me, so Irene told me I should work in real estate. Irene asking me to work for her came at the perfect time because it gave me a career and profession that helps people.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Over 43 years, there have been lots of bumps and times where I have questioned my sanity. I struggled with balancing family, work, and volunteer time, which was never balanced. Too often, I put work before everything as I feel very compelled to care for my clients. I think I’ve done a pretty fair job. As the years went by – transactions have become more prickly; people are not as forgiving as they were 20-30 years ago. Over the years, I’ve gone through many of the economic cycles that have occurred in our country. I started in 1981 when interest rates were 16-18 percent, and I still sold houses. In 1986, we had a bust, and it lasted until 1991. Then the market was up until about 2000 when the dot com bust happened. Again, we had a run-up to 2008 and then another economic drop. The market recovered and we had a run-up, then things went crazy during the COVID-19 year. For about 3 months, starting in March of 2020, everyone went home, and everything got quiet. Then suddenly, people wanted out of apartments and condos in New York and started pouring into Austin, where they could, for less money, have a huge house and a great backyard, and suddenly, our market went crazy. I was selling multi-million dollar houses over Zoom. Prices went up, doubled, and tripled; it was crazy. I sold one listing for a million over the asking price. In 2023 and 2024, things settled back down to an average pace and regular pricing. Just today, I sold something for 50k over asking, so there are glimpses of an improving market.
As you know, we’re big fans of Dochen Realty Group, Bramlett Residential. To help our readers become more familiar with the brand, what can you tell them?
For ten years, I worked for Irene Smith. Then, for 32 years, I have had my own business – Dochen Realtors – last year, I merged it into a larger group, Bramlett Residential, to give my agents, clients, and customers more significant advantages with software and marketing prowess. We have a boutique company – there are ten of us, and we have always been noncompetitive with each other. We boost each other up, collaborate, and help each other price and stage homes. We use a family team approach, which is how we care for our clients—in a very family, caring, supportive way. Sometimes, I’ll talk people out of homes before I sell them because I want them to be correct for them. I want to run into them in the grocery store and know I’ve done well. My repeat client list is robust. I’ve sold to three generations of families and I’ve sold to once married and now divorced couples and their kids. For one family, I’ve sold 12 properties to the multiple generations and to the children as they grew up. It’s satisfying to watch and be a part of people’s lives and know I can make a difference for them.
What do you do, specialize in, and what are you known for?
I am a residential real estate broker. I sell homes for owners and assist buyers with purchasing real estate. I’m known as the Jewish mother. I love helping anyone on their real estate journey, whether a first-time homebuyer or a family retiring and selling a big house and entering into the next phase of life. I have a calm head on my shoulders; sometimes I’m a counselor, cab driver, therapist, or project manager helping get a home ready for sale or making improvements. I wear every hat you can imagine.
What sets you apart from others?
I don’t know how anyone else runs their business, but I know I put the needs of my clients first, and I treat them as if they were my family. I make sure I give the advice I’d give myself or my kids, and it haunts me if I make a mistake.
What are you most proud of brand-wise?
I’m most proud of people saying that with Dochen Realty Group, they know they have someone with an excellent reputation. I’m also proud of the company we have built, the colleagues who associate with me, and how we care for people. And I am so proud that my daughter thought enough of me that she joined my company – that speaks volumes.
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
We are a boutique agency. We handle selling and buying homes soup to nuts, helping people, serving as a project manager where I bring in all the experts and all the professionals I need to help with staging, decluttering, and fixing up a house, whether it’s putting it on the market or buying a new one – paint, electric, plumbing, carpeting – we are full service, helping clients in every capacity.
Before we go, can you tell us how people can collaborate with or support you?
My team works collaboratively. We support each other by looking at houses and helping with placement, guiding each other on color selection and marketing ideas, and having office meetings to discuss clients and listings and problem-solving and price strategies. It works well; we also bring in experts to our office meetings to learn new things about all facets of title work and legal work, plumbing, insurance, everything related to buying and selling a home. We want to be knowledgeable and stay current on laws, building codes, zoning, etc. We want to ensure we are the best professionals we can be.
Contact Info:
- Email: carol@dochenrealtors.com
