Experts in the Field

How the LKW home team has become one of the biggest names in central Ohio realty

Since 2019, LKW Home Team has been giving their clients the tools they need to adeptly navigate the central Ohio housing market as buyers and sellers—especially those new to the game.

“Our goal is to make sure that they’re 100 percent comfortable,” said Jennifer Kessel-White, who co-owns the LKW Home Team with her partner, Lauren Lucas.

Lucas and Kessel-White have built their team to be family oriented, and are focused on building lasting relationships. With their stats, it shows! Since June of 2019, the LKW Home Team has sold 319 homes – 220 of those sales came from their sphere, past clients, and referrals from past clients. With over 100 5 star reviews on Google and Zillow, you can see how the LKW Home Team really sets themselves apart in their industry.

When hiring the LKW Home Team for the job, Buyers can expect a personalized one-on-one consultation where expectations are set to be a Buyer in this market. Jenn, Lauren, and their team, ensure their Buyers not only understand terms like appraisal gap coverage, but also what it takes to win in this market. They believe having those tough conversations in the beginning of the process can help their Buyers navigate the market better, but also empowering their Buyers is very important to them. The LKW Home Team can frequently be found in neighborhoods that their Buyers would love to live in, flyering and door knocking to find off market opportunities.

Sellers, on the other hand, can expect representation that goes above and beyond just sticking a For Sale sign in their yard, and uploading their home to the MLS. The LKW Home Team takes the time to provide their Sellers with feedback on what needs done to get them top dollar! They pay for professional photography, and take marketing to the next level with postcards, flyers, social media, and elite open houses – so top notch that they have had neighbors ask them to come list their home multiple times after an Open House.

Located at 1510 W. Lane Ave. in Upper Arlington, the LKW Home Team was founded by Lucas and Kessel-White in June of 2019. The team has since grown to include a total of six agents, a client concierge specialist, and a transactions coordinator.

Since its inception, LKW Home Team has been earning a slew of accolades . In 2019, 2020, and 2021, LKW Home Team was recognized in the top 1 percent of agents in Central Ohio from a group of over 9,000 agents. In 2020, three members of the LKW team were recognized as one of the top 100 social media agents in the state. In 2021, the business was named one of the top 10 agents to watch out for in the USA and Canada in Yahoo Finance and Forbes.

Though LKW Home Team is a leader in its industry, co-owners Lucas and Kessel-White didn’t always know they wanted to work in the housing market.

Lucas, in fact, had initially followed in her family’s footsteps and entered the job market in law enforcement. An internship with the Ohio State Highway Patrol gave way to a career that also included employment with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. But despite her progress, Lucas realized she was unhappy.

A turning point came when Lucas tried to purchase a home in Gahanna that was being sold via short sale. Uneducated in the home buying process, Lucas didn’t know she could work with a buyer’s agent who could represent her, and ended up in contract for months.

The experience motivated her to begin researching the home buying process and earn her real estate license in March of 2017.

“Ever since then, I have made it my goal to make sure that none of my clients would ever have to go through what I went through,” she said.

While Lucas was motivated to enter the real estate industry after a bad buyer experience, Kessel-White’s motivation stemmed from life experience. Throughout her childhood, her parents rented homes, but never owned them—it wasn’t until she was an adult that her parents finally owned their own homes.

“I wanted a different trajectory for myself and my family,” Kessel-White said.

Kessel-White spent 15 years in the hospitality industry before determining that her personality was better suited for real estate, and earned her real estate license in October of 2017.

Both members of the central Ohio LGBTQIA community in addition to being newcomers to the real estate industry, Kessel-White and Lucas became acquainted with each other. In 2019 they joined forces, working as business partners and later becoming personal life partners. They now live together in Westerville.

Today, LKW Home Team has become a force in the central Ohio real estate industry in large part because of the team’s reputation and attention to detail. Education is also key, and the team ensures first-time buyers and sellers thoroughly understand the process.

“You tell us what you want, and we’re going to get the job done,” Lucas said. “‘No’ is not an option for us.”

To learn more, visit lkwhometeam.com