Her Two Cents

Kati Miller’s dynamic approach to life’s challenges

By KATHRYN SMITH » Photos by CAROLE SHEPARDSON

Kati Miller (above, right) began her real estate career in Charlotte, NC, selling upscale condominiums for a developer uptown. Her husband, Cory, a custom home builder, had a career that was steaming along, too. When they had their first child, a daughter, in the fall of 2008, the economy came to a screeching halt in the blink of an eye. They were in the most vulnerable jobs imaginable at the time.

Cory began commuting to Highlands weekly to work with his dad, Lou Miller. Lou was here helping his best friend, Art Williams, launch the Old Edwards Club, which the Old Edwards Hospitality Group had recently purchased. Cory came home one evening with a proposition; “What do you think about moving to Highlands?” Kati had never been here before. Her family vacations had always been to the beach. “I hated cold weather.” She said, “But we rented our home and headed to the hills. We told ourselves that this was temporary… that we would be back in two years.”

Kati enjoyed settling into small-town life and spending time at home with her daughter, Charlotte, but she was getting the itch to return to work. With a couple of friends, she formed a brand-new real estate firm and set about finding clients in a soft market. “This is a second home market where home buying is a want, not a need. We had plenty of motivated sellers and even foreclosures but very few buyers. So, to heat things up, “I started writing a newsletter that went out every two weeks called ‘My Two Cents.’”

The newsletter featured three houses she thought were a great buy and explained why. Eventually, her focus shifted to real estate in golf clubs on the plateau, and it was a hit. “I believe that the transition to focusing on golf communities and specializing in a niche market is what catapulted my career here. Suddenly, I was working with affluent buyers, driving my kids to open houses, getting lost without cell service and learning every nook and cranny of these mountains. I hustled day, night and in my sleep. I took being a real estate broker seriously when most of the local Realtors were working part-time.”

The two-year timeframe came and went. A second child, Thomas, was born, and the Millers had made Cashiers their permanent home. In 2015, Kati took on the role of Sales Director at Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club. More seasoned Realtors were also interviewed for the job, but she was young, hungry and willing to accept the developer’s compensation that it offered. She saw it as an opportunity, and as it turned out, she was right. She became one of the area’s most successful Realtors in volume and revenue.

Meanwhile, Kati also found the business partner she knew she needed, Ali Moody. Working as a team in real estate is a big step, but it was the right direction for Kati and Ali. Kati’s self-described ADHD personality and competitive sales drive perfectly fit Ali’s marketing experience, organization and attention to detail that a perfectly executed real estate transaction demands. Together, they had all the tools they needed to reach their business goals and still have a personal life.

As dedicated moms, they scheduled meetings around school outings, birthday parties and family obligations. Sharing a babysitter worked into the mix as well. In times of need, either could help the other with pickups and drop-offs. They divided their time between their office in Mountaintop and an office in town. According to Kati, “We are working moms who are career-oriented. We make it happen because we love what we do, personally and professionally. We work most weekends, but hopefully, our kids will see how hard we work and that hard work pays off. “

Their well-choreographed relationship would eventually lead to their partnership in Caliber Fine Properties, a new real estate firm they began in January 2019. In 2020 they took up residence in a charming old retail building on Hwy 107 south of the crossroads, ready to hit the ground running. Two months later, the country shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were really scared,” said Kati. “We asked ourselves, ‘What have we done?!’ But like an angel from above, the real estate market took off, particularly in the second-home market. We got lucky.”

What could have been disastrous timing turned out to be the perfect moment. The real estate market on the plateau boomed, with cash buyers snapping up houses almost as quickly as they were listed at prices far higher than anyone could have predicted. Golf course communities were in high demand, new construction was burgeoning, and people wanted a place where they could feel safe.

So now, the real estate market has calmed, and Kati is looking at the future, having experienced both a catastrophic economic collapse and a pandemic through the lens of real estate and homebuilding. For her, when the market was most volatile, opportunity struck. When asked what her crystal ball says about real estate on the plateau, she says, “Older homes are going to be a thing. New construction is slow and expensive. There are so many houses that were built decades ago that need a facelift. I think renovating an older home with ‘good bones’ will be the next trend, or even tearing down an old house sitting on a killer lot.”

With many new homes taking two years or more to build, this may be a good tip for potential sellers. Kati tells us, “This place has been found. Traditionally, our buyers are coming from the deep South. Now, we are starting to see an influx of Texans and mid-Westerners as well. Everyone says we need more inventory, and I agree that we need listings for people to buy, but I don’t think we need more and more houses built. Otherwise, we will lose control of the beauty and charm of why we love it here in the first place.”

BIO

Kati Miller

Owner, Caliber Fine Properties; Sales Director, Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club

» Hometown: Charlotte, NC

» Education: St. Mary’s School in Raleigh, NC; Bachelor's Degree from NC State Raleigh; Studied abroad at the University of Sydney

» Family: Kati lives on Yellow Mountain in the home her husband, Cory Miller, built for them. Her daughter, Charlotte, attends Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Upper School, and her son, Thomas, attends Summit Charter School.