Paulette Blackwood Tate—RE/MAX Realty Center

An Accomplished Agent with an Unwavering Passion
By Woodie Stephenson

RE/MAX Hall of Fame agent Paulette Blackwood Tate, the daughter of early real estate entrepreneurs and a licensed agent since the age of 19, once retired from practicing real estate for an entire seven years to work for a national builder. Although the sabbatical was just what the family woman needed at the time being, she never lost her passion and dedication to one day return to her calling.

“I’ve always seen real estate as an opportunity to help people make a major decision in their life,” Paulette says, “My customers have always been like family to me. I love life; I love people; and I love taking care of them.”

The people close to Paulette, and those who have had the pleasure of being her clients, truly understand that Paulette’s real estate and service skills stem from her strong desire to bring a great passion to every task. Whether she is helping her clients buy, sell, or stage their homes, Paulette is willing to go the extra mile because of her passion for people and real estate. With a 27-year background in real estate, construction, and new-home building, the versatile agent feels she can offer a level of unparalleled representation in Houston’s diverse market.

Born in Fort Worth, Paulette was raised along with her younger sister, Beverly, in the Mid Cities/ HEB area of Texas where her parents worked hard in the home building and real estate business. Paulette, who never had to look far for her mentors or a reason to become involved in the business, remembers real estate being a way to spend extra time with her parents while growing up.

“My father and I would watch Dallas Cowboys football together,” Paulette recalls, “but if I wanted to spend more time with him I would have to help out with open houses.”

Paulette’s father, Charlie Davidson, a custom-home builder by trade, worked alongside his two daughters and wife Velma to establish a real estate dynasty after opening an office in the Colleyville/Grapevine area. Helping periodically with her parents’ business, Paulette was also an involved student and drum majorette in her school band. After graduating from Bell High School, she went on to study in business school; however, Paulette gives the biggest credit for her education to her mother and father’s “School of Hard Knocks”.

“My father wasn’t your typical businessman homebuilder,” Paulette shares, “He had a hammer and a nail gun strapped to his waist and he got out there and built homes. He came into the business with the handshake approach and the good-ol’-boy mentality way of doing things. The most valuable piece of advice he ever gave me was to never pre-judge people; he told me that if because a man walks through the door wearing coveralls and drives a beat-up pick-up truck, not to think that he doesn’t have money.”

Her father’s hands-on and personal approach along with her mother’s strength and compassion offered Paulette a unique learning environment to hone her skills.

“My parent were my mentors, equally,” Paulette shares, “I would sit in my father’s office and listen to him talk on the phone. That was how I learned my negotiation and people skills. Watching my mother work with buyers taught me the importance of listening and recognizing buyers’ signals.”

Paulette’s father recalls recognizing an immense passion in his daughter at an early age.

“Paulette has always been a high achiever,” Charlie says, “She has always felt the need to do more that what is expected of her.”

A quick learner to the business, Paulette had her skills put to the test at the age of 33 when her father listed an all-new home subdivision.

“My father put me out there as the on-site specialist and that’s where I cut my teeth in this business,” Paulette recalls, “I sold the lots to builders, and then, I turned around and sold the newly-built homes and sold them once again for the original buyers.”

Following her impressive introduction, Paulette continued to work with her parents producing incredible numbers and honing her service skills. It was during this time that Paulette’s father would see his daughter outsell all of her fellow agents combined, an impressive feat for a rookie.

Charlie Davidson recalls, “Paulette would routinely outsell all 16 of our other agents combined. The rest of the bunch—bless their hearts—were left with her scraps. It’s still a secret to me how she was able to manage this, but I have my ideas; Paulette has always had a great knowledge about her product and a great eye for design. She has the ability to walk into a home and tell you exactly what could be done to improve its value and marketability.”

While selling real estate in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, Paulette would quickly rise to Platinum status, selling and listing many homes and, eventually, finishing in the Top 10 of RE/MAX of Texas for three consecutive years (1989-91)!

“I just wore out one day,” Paulette recalls, “I had been a workaholic for way too long and I decided to retire from being an agent.”

In need of a change for her family, Paulette joined her sister in Houston at David Weekley Homes where she could still utilize her knowledge of the business while avoiding the long erratic hours that come with the territory of independent real estate.

In her new position, Paulette served in on-site sales and assisted Weekley in many aspects of his strong business for the next seven years. It was also during this time that Paulette met her husband Art and the happy couple joined families in 2004, giving them six successful children and a grandbaby.

Paulette, during her tenure at Weekley, was able to find a great friend in the business, Gayla Skates. Over an evening card game together with their husbands, Gayla and Paulette would have a conversation that would change Paulette’s life. As it turns out, both longtime friends had been thinking of returning to real estate. Paulette, who had always desired to resume practice herself when the time was right, jumped at the opportunity to join her good friend.

“Gayla and I had become friends while I was working at David Weekley,” Paulette says, “That night changed my whole life. Gayla told me she was thinking of leaving her position as office manager for a large real estate team to focus on sales and the opportunity to build her own business. I had recently had the same discussion with Art. It was the right time in my life because I knew I was ready to return to real estate and give 150%.”

Returning to the only place that seemed fitting—RE/MAX—Paulette resumed her practice in 2004 on the Northwest side of Houston—in and around Cypress—a place Paulette, her husband Art, and their six children, and their shitzu, Bailey, called home.

Starting at ground zero and returning to the business was a challenge for Paulette, who had accomplished so much so early on in her career, but the veteran agent had two great things going for her—her experience and the support of her husband Art.

Art, who serves as Corporate Merchandizing Manager for a national menswear clothier, was all for his wife’s return to the business and offered whatever support he could give her outside his own job.

“Art was so supportive of me right from the start,” Paulette shares, “Although he has his own full-time job with a lot of responsibility, he offered to help me on nights and weekends. It meant so much to me because he has so much retail and sales background. Art has offered me incredible support and a wealth of information.”

Primed for success, Paulette began working the market in Cypress, Northwest, The Woodlands, and Cole’s Crossing selling new and pre-owned homes. Eager to go the extra mile and develop relationships with her clients, Paulette found that her superlative experience and enthusiastic attitude were a perfect match for a busy Northwest market. Things were going great and would only get better; after just a short while back in practice, Paulette remembers being elated when Gayla shared her plans to open a new RE/MAX office right in Paulette’s neighborhood and market area.

“It was so exciting to share the experience of opening a new office with Gayla,” Paulette says, “I was with her right from the beginning of her amazing vision. Gayla’s RE/MAX Realty Center has come together to have an amazing synergy and camaraderie among our agents. We make it our goal not to just excel at real estate, but we work hard to make an impact in the community through our participation in various community projects.”

Now averaging anywhere from 75-100 transactions a year, Paulette prides herself in making herself available and accessible to her clients on a daily basis, despite the volume of her production.

“Although I am regularly a platinum level producer, I personally stay in touch with all of my buyers and sellers,” Paulette says, “I give them the same quality service that my parents instituted in me at the onset of my real estate career. I strive to provide an individual and personalized experience for each of my customers. It’s always been my understanding that my customers pay good money to sell their homes and whether it’s 7 in the morning or nine-thirty at night, they want someone available and I’m there.”

Paulette, who has always taken education serious, is a graduate of the Real Estate Institute and holds CRS, ABR, and CLHS designations, allowing her to assist any level of client.

In order to showcase her homes to the best of her ability, Paulette supplies her customers with impressive full-color brochures and a plethora of internet-based marketing. As well as keeping up with her own website, Paulette also employs an IT professional to help her stay on top of every possible internet resource to keep her listing updated and widely-publicized.

“The internet is such a strong tool in our business,” Paulette states, “It is well worth it for me to have my own IT professional working with us to make sure we are always at top speed.”

Although she spares no expense when it comes to marketing her homes and making herself available to her clients, Paulette feels her strongest points are her experience in the business and her strong negotiating skills. With a background in so many facets of the business, Paulette believes she truly has a leg up on the competition.

“I have a world of experience to offer my clients,” she says, “It should be a given for a Realtor to market hard and be there to address their customers concerns, but what really sets me apart is my expertise, integrity, and personalized service. My background has given me construction knowledge and building expertise. I am proud to be able to consult my clients in so many areas.”

Paulette feels that her negotiating skills were a gift from her father, who believed strongly that people should be treated with fairness and respect. In addition, Paulette feels that she possesses a strong passion for service and a superior work ethic acquired from her mother.

“I truly love what I do,” Paulette says, “I thrive on it and I enjoy making people happy and providing them with what they deserve. My mother and father taught me that the best way to show someone your respect is by giving them your honesty. I’ve never been scared to tell people the truth in this business because I’ve learned that honesty is the road to developing a respectful relationship. I don’t sugar-coat anything; I give my honest opinion because that’s what they are paying for.”

When it comes to giving her clients her honest opinion, Paulette is not shy about the importance of home staging. With experience in so many facets of the business, Paulette often conducts staging appointments with her clients to prime their homes for a quick sale.

“I let my clients know that we can get top dollar for their homes if they follow my advice,” Paulette says, “I’ll have them write a honey-do list, and when I can lend them my staging expertise, we usually see quick results.”

Last year, Paulette’s listing were moving at an average of 55 days, but it’s not unusual for her clients to see much more favorable turnarounds on sales when they put their trust in her expertise. Camille Stoeberl, a two-time clients of Paulette, remembers Paulette working her incredible magic not one, but twice for her family.

Camille says, “Paulette sold our first house in seven days. A year later we employed her service again and she moved our second home in 14 days. She was extremely prepared for the sale of our homes, and she was always available to address our concerns. I would highly recommend her services to anybody.”

Paulette’s commitment to each client is something she takes immensely serious. Her philosophy to earning people’s trust, respect, and friendship is to treat each client like family.

“As long as I continue to treat my clients like my own family, the referrals will never stop,” Paulette says.

Art, Paulette’s husband, can attest to her unwavering dedication.

“I’ve never met anybody that can match Paulette’s passion,” Art says, “She attacks everything with extreme passion, whether it’s her personal life or professional relationships. She comes so mentally prepared to help each client that when she sits down to meet with her customers, there is no doubt in her mind that she can help them.”

Client Renee Orcutt was exhilarated when Paulette was able to sell her home in less than a month after it had been listed for five months with a previous agent. Renee praises Paulette’s work ethic and strong communication skills.

“Paulette was very prepared, aggressive, and was extremely knowledgeable about the market in our area,” says Renee, “Over the time our home was on the market with her she worked extremely hard and maintained a great level of communication with us. We would recommend her services to anybody.”

Additional clients of Paulette, The O’Briens and Morrisons, can also attest to her strong representation.

“Paulette is a Realtor who knows all aspects of her business,” clients Jack and Kari O’Brien said, “Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned one, she will make sure her knowledge is yours and that your interests are best served. She is also an expert in the Cypress area, and showed us many areas from which to choose.”

“Paulette is detail-oriented and has excellent market knowledge,” clients Bob and Monica Morrison said, “She goes out of her way to serve her customers. I highly recommend her to serve any of your real estate needs.”

Gayla Skates, Broker of RE/MAX Realty Center and good friend to Paulette and Art, says, “Paulette’s dedication to customer service, and her attentiveness and tenacity in negotiating for her clients’ interests have built her business through referrals.”

Chris Nooney of CTX Mortgage says, “Paulette is one of the most professional and knowledgeable Realtors I ever known. She always puts the client before commission.”

Whenever Paulette and Art can pry themselves from their busy schedules, the happy couple enjoys exercising, dancing, cooking, and gardening together, but their ultimate happiness comes from bringing their plentiful family together to spend time. Paulette, with the arrival of her oldest son Brian’s baby girl Abby, recently became a grandmother.

Jennifer Blackwood, Paulette’s oldest daughter, serves as Paulette’s office manager and administrative assistant. The recent college graduate routinely assists her mother in maintaining her various websites, transaction follow-ups, and marketing tools. Paulette considers Jennifer to be a great asset because of her great business skills and instincts.

Another of Paulette’s daughters, Charla, works alongside her as her buyer’s agent and listing agent. Charla, who is a licensed Realtor, brings knowledge of the business and strong customer-service skills to her mother’s team. Charla has recently been helping her mother to diversify their business by specializing in foreclosures and short sales. Paulette appreciates Charla’s ability to be a forward thinker and help develop ideas to grow their business.

Elliott Tate has recently stepped in to help his father Art fill various gopher roles, transporting signs, lock boxes, and marketing materials to Paulette’s home listings.

Paulette savors the opportunity to work alongside her children and share her experience, but it is her husband Art’s support that she considers essential to her operation.

“He understands the long hours that I work and is willing to help me on the weekends,” Paulette says, “I couldn’t ask for more. I really couldn’t do this business without Art.”

Paulette hopes to continue to expand her team in the future; however, she insists, with such a strong family chemistry already in place, whoever joins her team must be somebody who can fit in like family.

Paulette advises rookie agents and burgeoning Realtors to build a database, set up a system, and work their referrals with a passion. Although Paulette considers education to be imperative, the successful mentor believes most of all that there is no substitute for honesty and hard work.

“Take all the schooling you can get,” the successful Realtor suggests, “Education is so important. I also encourage beginning agents to work hard to develop personal relationships with their peers and their clients. And, most importantly, work with honesty, even if others around you are not. Persevere through hard times, work every deal like it was your own, and just get out there and work your tail off!”