“I’m the girl who owns way more boots than heels and is happy to muddy up a pair for you while I get the gate,” Jessica Rumbaugh says.
Rumbaugh specializes in rural properties with an emphasis on client education and helping to connect clients with the right resources to meet their goals and be successful landowners. For the last two of her seven-plus years of real estate, she has been a broker and owner of her own business in rural residential properties, farm & ranch, and recreational and hunting properties.
Her interest in the land market came naturally—she has well over 100 years of family history in agriculture and is a fourth-generation farmer and rancher.
She decided to become a real estate agent after having a negative experience selling her home. The agent who helped Rumbaugh sell her home left her feeling pressured into poor situations and unhappy with the experience overall. She channeled her frustration into motivation and took it upon herself to do her own research on the industry and processes.
Seven months later she got her license. From that day forward, she vowed to always put her clients first, listen to their concerns, answer every question, and treat everyone she encounters in a transaction with integrity and respect.
“I often think about that agent and how we were treated, and I am thankful for the experience because it pushes me to be better in an industry that I otherwise may never have considered as a career “ without that experience,” she says.
Her business focus is on client education. Rumbaugh’s blog blossomed into a full repertoire of resources for clients and the public. She is also more than happy to assist a fellow REALTOR® with any rural property questions they might have. The pandemic has piqued interest in land sales, as more customers consider leaving the city for rural property, and Rumbaugh says many of her new clients have found her online through her educational resources.
Rumbaugh is active in her community and industry. She has extensive experience on local, state, and national committees and farm & ranch associations, and is also actively involved with the REALTORS® Land Institute. She has won various awards, including the Excellence in Agriculture award with the Texas Farm Bureau, a Texas Proclamation by her state senator for her accomplishments, and a County Activity of Excellence award for organizing youth livestock shows online after COVID-19 canceled the county fair.
All I wanted to do was show up and do what I could to preserve our community and be a voice to help make it better,” she says. “I never would have dreamed I would receive recognition for what I’ve done.”
About the Award:
The REALTORS® to Watch Award is a Texas Young Professionals Network award recognizing excellence in leadership, community involvement, and everything else that makes a well-rounded young professional successful in real estate. Any active REALTOR® member of Texas REALTORS® under the age of 40 can apply for this award. Click here to check out past recipients of this award and to find out more.