“I love people, I can talk to anybody,” laughs Abbie Prater of The Brokerage. “That’s why I got into this business a little more than five years ago.” But her gift of conversation was only one of the reasons. With a degree in Healthcare Administration, Abbie held a busy, rigorous 8-5 job at the University of Kentucky Hospital, a working mom with a little one at home and another on the way. “We were expecting our second child and realized that to take a child to a doctor appointment or any of the numerous other parenting responsibilities would require me to take PTO,” she remembers. “My husband, Aaron, was a teacher, and he had the same issue with flexibility.” 

Abbie had always been interested in real estate, and the couple had been through the process of selling a house by owner and managing investment properties, but leaving a steady career to take a leap of faith was still a scary concept. “One of the biggest draws for me was the opportunity to establish trusted relationships with my clients,” she says. “It is important to me that each one feels uniquely valued and cared for during the home buying or selling process.” She continues, “Having recently moved here from Owensboro I didn’t immediately have the built-in pipeline of contacts that other, more established REALTORS® benefited from, and I thank God every day for my community, friends, and family who rallied around to support and encourage me.”