Joan Herlong

Welcome! We’re a different kind of real estate company. When it comes to Client Service, we don’t just meet the standard, we raise it.

 

Background: My husband and I made Greenville our home in 1989. Selling our home in the Washington D.C. area was an easy process. But the process of buying our home in Greenville was less than satisfying. We were brand new to the area, with two toddlers and a babe in arms. We could have used a guide, a mentor, a friend, but everything was strictly transactional. As soon as the closing was done, so was our Realtor.

 

I’ve been in business for more than 30 years, in real estate full time since 1993. My previous work was in advertising, media, and writing. In real estate, I instinctively offer my clients the level of service that I expected for my own family’s moves. I always put my clients’ interests first, and I’m more than just a door opener for buyers: I’m their local resource before, during, AND after they find their home. For sellers, too, I am their advisor, and their advocate. My role is NOT to just “sell their home fast,” but to help them sell their home for the best price in their optimal time frame, and that often entails a lot of preparation.

 

I learn something from every transaction, every day. My associates’ favorite part of our monthly sales meetings focuses on “Teaching Moments” from the previous month. After sales meetings, we all leave the room smarter, and better prepared to serve our clients with Honor, Advocacy, and Expertise. Honor all those we interact with: clients, customers, competing agents, contractors, inspectors, everyone. Advocacy for our Clients: we’re on your side, making sure you make a fully informed decision, every step of the way. Complete Client Transparency is not a slogan, it’s our company policy. Our Clients are never in the dark.

 

Expertise: this can only come from a LOT of hard work. There is no substitute. Our agents work full time for our Clients, and it shows.

 

Those are the core values that our associates follow every day, every transaction. I’m so proud of the corporate culture we’ve established, which fosters mutual support and respect, above all. We love what we do, and it shows. We’re advocates, analysts, and problem solvers for our clients. We’re also often hand-holders, sounding boards, and often friends. Several of my associates are former clients, too! It’s easy to back my associates 100%, encouraging them, coaching them, because I know I can trust them to “do the right thing, even when no one is looking.”

 

My affiliation with Sotheby’s International Realty was a natural fit. When I was first approached in early 2017, our first “30-minute conversation” stretched into 90 minutes, while we delved into agency, ethics, fiduciary responsibility, and advocacy. It was an honor to be approached, and an easy YES decision.

 

Thank you for considering Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. We will spoil you for anything less, going forward. If perchance we ever slip up, I hope you will tell me personally. After all, it’s my name on the sign, and on the line.

 

Call me, I’ll always call you right back.

 

Very truly yours,

 

Joan E. Herlong, Owner CEO 
Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty

1 McDaniel Greene Greenville SC 29601

148 Thomas Green Blvd. Clemson SC 29631

Click here to connect with Joan Herlong

Joan began selling real estate in 1993, always full time. After several years as the top producing solo agent for a national brand, she started her own boutique agency in December 2011 – in the midst of the Recession/housing slump. At the end of her first year on her own, she was the number one Realtor in the Greenville MLS, and repeated that feat for several years. She’s the Number One Realtor by sales volume for the decade 2010-19, with sales of $294 million, $46 million more than the next closest contender. (Source: GVL MLS Sales Volume Statistics.)

In 2017, Joan affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty and launched Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. The company has more than doubled in size since that time.

With a well-earned reputation for expertise, fairness, and unrelenting advocacy, Joan has often been called upon for advice by agents from other companies when their own brokers were not readily available or supportive. In multiple instances, she’s been drafted to serve as an expert witness in real estate litigation and related hearings. She “speaks” fine older homes, new construction, and newly renovated homes fluently. She’s no “figure head” -- she personally lists and sells all over the Greater Greenville and the Upstate. It’s hard to keep up with her pace. Unlike the leaders of other companies or teams, her volume is her own, and her Associates get full credit for their own hard work and sales, too. She doesn’t believe in taking credit for the fruits of others’ labor. It’s not about Joan, it’s about developing each of her Associates to maximize their own potential, which in turn keeps the focus on Client Service, always.

Joan has personally negotiated well over 1,000 deals, advised on hundreds of others. She knows the difference between assertive and aggressive, between persistence and pestering, and while she’s tenacious, she’s not obsessed. She’s (almost literally) seen it all. What she hasn’t seen, no one else has seen either. Without putting too fine a point on it, she is the kind of advocate that any serious seller or buyer wants on their side. She’s driven by a simple principle – the client comes first. For her, professionalism, transparency, candor, integrity, and advocacy are not just buzz words. Her clients can and do take those values to the bank.

Born in Atlanta, Joan grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. She earned a B.A. in English Literature at the University of Virginia, where she met her husband, William. Her first job post-grad was as a news writer, making minimum wage at CNN. Then she worked Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago while William attended law school at Northwestern University. She continued in advertising at s small firm in Charlotte, NC, during William’s clerkship for a federal judge. In 1986, they moved to Washington DC, where William worked at Covington & Burling, and Joan turned to freelance writing. They became Greenvillians in 1989. Because they welcomed a new baby in every city they’ve lived in, William limited their moves to four cities.

Their four children all grew up in Greenville, and then moved away. They each got married. Then one by one, they ALL MOVED BACK. For Joan and William, having their kids, their wonderful spouses, four grandchildren (and counting) so close by is a pinch-me dream come true. There is nothing better.

In all her spare time, Joan enjoys hanging out with her grand kids, playing tennis, and writing. She is way better at writing. For about ten years she wrote had a bi-weekly “humor” column in the Greenville Journal called “Life in the Slow Lane.” The columns are now being re-published in the blog for this website. She still dreams of writing the next great American novel. If scribbling ideas on sticky notes counts for anything, she’s well on her way.

The way to her heart is through her funny bone -- she loves a good laugh, the kind inspired by the likes of Robin Williams or Ricky Gervais. She insists on music at home, always. You can sometimes catch her bopping in the kitchen to the Dirty Guv’nahs or Van Morrison while she defrosts or uncorks dinner.

After graduating from the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Greenville Class XXIII (1997) she served on Leadership Greenville’s Board of Regents. She has been a PTA president, served on countless PTA boards, as well as the board for the Greenville Free Medical Clinic, for Artisphere, Greenville’s annual arts festival. She’s served on the Greenville Country Club Membership Committee, sponsored several new members at GCC, and she’s a committed member of Greenville Women Giving.