Meet Corby Hicks

I love that the mountains, the Chesapeake Bay, the James River, beaches, Washington, DC, and Raleigh are short trips from Richmond. There are plenty of outdoor recreation activities here too.

I have a degree in architecture but chose to work in technology for many years after graduating. My love of architecture, building and real estate has never faded. I bought my first house right after college and converted it to a duplex that paid my mortgage. Later, after helping others do similar things, I was asked for my thoughts and advice more and more. Eventually, I realized I was not only good at it, but I genuinely enjoyed helping others with their properties and ideas.

Relationships are universal. No matter what I've done or where I've done it, relationships have been at the core. For as long as I can remember, when asked what I do for a living, I've told people that I connect the dots. What I mean by that is: I use my talent for tracking what people and companies are looking for and connecting them with others who have matching needs or complementary interests.

When I was studying architecture, I learned to look at "problems" in very different ways and find creative solutions. I've been able to apply that skill to just about everything I've done since. My ability to quickly visualize design and renovation possibilities has proven useful to many of my clients. It also doesn't hurt that I know a lot about how buildings are put together.

Some clients love spreadsheets; others trust their gut—and many fall somewhere in between. I start by understanding how my clients think and what they truly need, then tailor each conversation accordingly, blending data, experience, and the occasional story to bring clarity and confidence. The goal is help clients come to decisions that feel both informed and comfortable.

Recently, I successfully helped a client with a very tall order. Their current home was entirely too big for them and not practical for their family. The home was in Laburnum Park - - a unique neighborhood in Richmond's Northside made up of only 12 blocks. Turnover there is very rare and demand has been high for many years. The really tough part of the ask: my clients didn't want to leave Laburnum Park AND they wanted to sell and buy with a minimum of inconvenience and complication in a relatively short period of time. Because I understood the neighborhood and the lengths potential buyers there had shown they were willing to go to, I recommended that we explore an off-market sale with very little pre-listing prep. That allowed us to pitch it to buyers that were willing to pay a premium in order to avoid the risk of losing the home if it was listed publicly. That strategy also gave the seller more power to name terms that gave them much more time to move out as well as put them in a position to act quickly / decisively when an opportunity to buy their new home came. I reached out to my connections that I knew were interested in the neighborhood or had connections to others that did as well as other realtors I knew were likely to have clients interested. I used those same conversations to uncover information about other properties in the neighborhood that were thought to be nearing a sale. Shortly thereafter, I noticed some work being done on a house a few blocks away. Some well-timed conversations with people "in the know" led me to the owners who put me in touch with their realtor. Long story short: I was able to negotiate a very seller-friendly off-market sale of my client's house for more than they expected AND an off-market purchase of their new home for significantly less money in a shorter amount of time than anyone thought possible. EVERYONE involved left the transactions with stress-free wins.