Megan Heckard was born and raised with home building and the real estate business in her blood. Her father, Dan Steiner, started Steiner Homes Ltd. in 2006 and now, ten years later, Heckard works to sell the beautiful, custom homes they create with Century 21 Alliance Group in Valparaiso.
Heckard, a Valparaiso native, studied at Purdue University Lafayette where she obtained a Management Degree in 2012. Her first job out of college was in sales and through that work she discovered her love for working with people.
“I was a sales supervisor at Macy’s in Lafayette and then in Merrillville so I love working with people and I love the sales side of things. I grew up with my dad owning Steiner Homes and it’s a family business,” said Heckard when speaking about what influenced her to pursue a career in real estate and selling homes.
“My grandpa taught my dad everything so we grew up with that business. I just loved seeing the homes go out. We’re really proud of the product and it’s a fun process to get someone into their dream home. It’s usually the biggest investment of their life.”
“A Steiner Home is kind of a dream home. It’s sort of an end goal for people and it’s really great to see that and to be a part of that process. The goal is to sell someone’s current home to get them into a Steiner Home”
Heckard holds her real estate license with Century 21 Alliance Group while at the same time selling homes for the family-owned, Steiner Homes.
“I feel lucky to be here,” Heckard said of her time so far with Century 21. “Nick and Jeanne Sommer are family friends and I went to school with their daughter Katie. I think they’re just the best in the business. Jeanne really knows what she’s doing, they have a phenomenal staff here and Kathy Bowgren is incredible. Since I got my license in November I’ve been meeting with her.”
“They really want to see us succeed and to train us well. They invest a lot in us to succeed and they don’t just throw us out there. It’s awesome how on top of things they are. We have weekly trainings here with Kathy and Jeanne and they are always keeping us up to date. I think they totaled up the years of experience in the office and there’s like 500 year of experience between everyone here. They’ve seen it all, they’ve done it all and they can help you with anything.”
Heckard steps in with Century 21 Alliance Group at a time when the market is as vibrant as it has been since the downturn in the late 2000’s.
“The market is incredible! Inventory is really low so people really want you to list their homes so it’s now a really great seller’s market. There are buyers out there but there aren’t enough homes. Things are better than since the recession so it’s an exciting time, and it’s May so with real estate things are busy!”
“I really enjoy it because for most people it’s the biggest investment they’re going to make. To be able to give someone a Steiner Home, something that’s really well built, has a great reputation and is very beautiful, is something that we’re really proud of. It’s exciting to be able to give someone a really great product.”
Heckard works hard to keep the home buying and building experience as painless as possible for future homeowners. Selling homes in Northwest Indiana has not been very difficult as many towns and communities throughout the Region have the infrastructure and amenities that are drawing in new residents every day.
“We’re all over Northwest Indiana,” said Heckard. “Lake County has taken off and we’ve got homes in Valpo, Chesterton, and Portage, and we’re in Lowell and La Porte as well. We can’t keep a spec home in Valpo because it sell so quickly and Crown Point is one of the hotter areas too.”
When speaking about what it is that makes these areas so attractive, Heckard commented, “they have a great school system and they have great athletics, but I think it’s the charming downtown areas. In both Crown Point and Valpo you see that they’re growing, they have fun restaurants and lots of things to do. People want to be here and they’re all family friendly.”
Heckard is looking forward to the future as Steiner Homes is developing land in Chesterton and Valparaiso. Land that sat undeveloped from 2007-2012 is becoming transformed and when the homes start to be built, Heckard, Century 21 Alliance Group and Steiner Homes will be there to make their clients’ dreams a reality.