The barn tells the tale
Horse lovers profit selling horse property

By George White
Re/Max Times - Associate Editor

When Shirley Littlefield shows a property, the first stop is often far from the living room, dining room, or kitchen.

“Most of the time my clients and I look at the barn before we even look at the house,” says the Co-Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Professionals in Rochester Hills, Mich. “If the stables and property don’t fit the needs of my clients and their horses, the place simply isn’t going to work.”

Littlefield, a RE/MAX Hall of Famer who works in Metamora and Dryden - rural horse country 70 miles north of Detroit - is one of the nearly 500 RE/MAX Associates who specialize in horse properties and similar listings. At least half her business is equine-related. She’s sold many farms and stables, frequently sponsors horse events, and has developed deep-rooted affinity with hundreds of people in the central Michigan horse community.

“My clients know I’m a horse person,” says the Broker/Owner and RE/MAX 100 Percent Club member. “My mothers always said that my first word was ‘horse.’ When I was 18, I started saving money for my first horse, and except for a few years when my children were young, I’ve owned one ever since.”

Littlefield includes horse photos on ads and mailings. She’s even delivered offers and contracts riding her 22 year-old thoroughbred, Chaz.

“I think my customers value the fact that I brush, groom and ride my horse just like they do theirs,” she says. “Being a true part of the horse world has helped my business tremendously.”

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