This past year, local agents Melissa Barkalow and Terry Carter banded together over a shared vision and together launched R&R Residential Brokerage, a full-service real estate brokerage firm. The agents have more than 16 years of combined real estate experience, the majority of which were spent working side by side within a few other DC-based firms. In that time, they developed a thoughtful approach to an industry that is ever changing.

“We started R&R Residential Brokerage because we share core business values, and we wanted to make a difference that we couldn’t easily accomplish as independent agents,” says Terry. During a successful first year in which R&R exceeded their business plan goals, the team solidified five guiding principles:

• Communication – Terry and Melissa are fond of a quote from George Bernard Shaw: "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." At R&R, communication is not an illusion—it is constant and thorough.
• Dependability – Details matter, and clients can depend on R&R to stay on top of issues big and small.
• Professionalism – Terry and Melissa are experts in pricing, negotiating and marketing real estate. But they’ll wrangle outside talent—like photographers and marketing design gurus—at their own expense when operating outside of their expertise. The point is to ensure quality service and materials across the board.
• Team Work – R&R goes beyond contractual relationships with clients, who become part of the close-knit team throughout the sale or purchase of their homes.
• Ownership – Both Terry and Melissa are homeowners. Terry says: “How can you relate to a client through the purchase of a home if you’ve never been through that process yourself?” The team believes that knowing the real estate process personally makes a difference.

Melissa and Terry are now looking to expand by bringing on like-minded agents and clients. But growth will be deliberate and slow, they say. “Quality control is very important to us,” says Melissa. “We are interested in working with people who want to invest in our foundational business values the way we have.”

The R&R team both works and lives in the DC-area: Melissa has lived in Arlington for nine years (and previously lived in Bethesda), and Terry moved to Fairfax County in 1987, then moved into the city (Penn Quarter) a decade ago. The team has broad coverage of the DC-metropolitan area. Melissa is the principal broker for Virginia and Maryland, and associate broker for DC. Terry is the principal broker for DC, and associate broker for Virginia. They both have experience buying and selling condominiums, single-family homes and townhomes.

“The role of real estate agents has changed over the last 20 years,” says Melissa. “When people contact us, they’ve already done a lot of research on the web. There’s a trove of information. That’s where we come in. We have the experience and savvy to cut through the excess, refine the search and help get people exactly what they want.”

R&R Residential Brokerage can be visited online here. The team has a popular Facebook page at Facebook.com/RandR.Reality and a blog at www.RnRreality.com, where Melissa and Terry cover local history, culture, trends, events, restaurants and, of course, real estate.

You can contact Melissa by email or by phone at 202.285.9479
. Contact Terry by email or by phone at 202.210.9031. The R&R Residential Brokerage office can be reached at 202-670-3594 and 703-348-2751.