My name is Mike Lefebvre. “Lefebvre” is a French-Canadian name and much easier to say than it is to spell. Some people I’ve met with the same name pronounce it “La-FEVER” but my father and grandparents would be rolling in their graves if I didn’t use the authentic French pronunciation of “La-FAVE”. Either way the “b” is entirely silent. I am a Massachusetts licensed Real Estate Agent and also a Massachusetts Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser. Sometimes I call myself The Appraiser-Realtor. Sometimes I call myself The Uncommon Agent. Sometimes I just call myself. But usually only when I’m really lonely.
I was born and raised in a small town in upstate New York called Glens Falls. It’s about an hour north of Albany. At 17, I probably frustrated the hell out of my parents when I told them that what I really wanted to do was join a band and move to California, but that if I HAD to go to college (what a spoiled little brat, I know) I was only going to Berklee College of Music in Boston to pursue my degree in Rock-and-Roll-ology. Academically, I had many more options open to me. My grades were real good. 1400 SATs. The world was my oyster! But I had discovered the drums and Motley Crue three years previously and I was convinced my life’s calling was to be the next Tommy Lee (yikes). Well, I only applied to Berklee (no safety schools), they accepted me (which meant my parents could afford the tuition…the “audition” was kind of a joke) and four years later, Phil "Mr. Sussedio" Collins handed me a diploma (seriously) and I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree. Where does a Bachelor of Music degree take you? To a job at an ice cream shop to pay your bills so you can focus your energy on becoming a rock star of course.
As a band, we launched a small independent record label and for the next 8 years or so, I put in my time in the back of a Ford Econoline van, making little to no money but seeing tons of great parts of this and other countries, and “living the dream” so to speak. The pinnacle of our success was a short review of our CD in Rolling Stone (yes, THAT Rolling Stone). It was so short I remember it word for word. “Fist in the gut hardcore. Pop this baby in your walkman and go drown a few kittens.” Not sure what it meant, but, hey, it was ROLLING STONE! Looked great in the press kit! In the great traditions of the Beatles, Van Halen and Loverboy, we too, broke up the band.
Next in line for me was my first shot at entrepreneurship. I put together a business plan to create the “Starbucks of Tea.” A hip and funky environment where customers could learn about and enjoy the world’s most popular beverage next to water, tea. I somehow convinced people with more money than me that this was a fantastic idea and before I knew it, my business plan was an up-and-running little tea company called cha. To this day, I feel we were slightly before our time. It was the pre-dot com explosion. I struggled along for four years with cha and eventually sold-out to a larger coffee company. Another “great experience” for the resume.
Desperately seeking a semi-regular paycheck I took a sales job at Key3Media selling the then industry-leading COMDEX technology trade show events. My first foray into Corporate America was a fun ride. Fancy Herman Miller chairs, free-flowing cappuccino machines and an actual check every two weeks (plus a little more at the end of the month if I sold something). As luck would have it, I got in at the end of the good times for technology. The COMDEX shows were getting smaller and smaller and right before the company went belly-up (I swear it wasn’t me that caused it!) the old bass player from the band convinced me to get my real estate appraiser’s license because he was busy beyond belief telling people what their houses were worth.
This was January of 2002, I remember specifically because the Patriots were on their way to their first Super Bowl victory and it was a weekend class. Major conflict there. The rest, as they say (who says that anyways?), is history. My resume and track record of sales, marketing and entrepreneurial success has led me to where I am today. Over 1,500 real estate appraisals later, an appraisal company of my own, my Real Estate Salesperson license, national acclaim for my marketing campaigns, a Residential Real Estate Specialist position at Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty and The Uncommon Agent is born!
I absolutely love what I do for work. I'm passionate about real estate, marketing and technology. My approaches to buying, selling, marketing and appraising real estate are often considered "uncommon" by my colleagues. These "uncommon" approaches have earned me national notoriety for my award-winning marketing campaigns, consistently saved my clients valuable time and money and helped carve out a unique little niche in today's emerging new real estate industry. Technology is dramatically changing the rules of Real Estate, and I feel fortunate every single day to be alive and working in such an exciting, revolutionary time!
If you're interested in speaking with someone who has a thorough understanding of his industry, a firm grip on his business and an "uncommon" approach to both, please drop me a line. I would love to grab a cup of coffee, hear more about your specific real estate situation and see how I can help.
Thank you very much for reading this section in its entirety. It's long and definitely not the same-old boilerplate "About Me" stuff, and I appreciate you taking the extra time required to learn more about who I am and what I do. I look forward to the opportunity to do the very same with you.
All My Best,
Mike