Many of us spend our lives searching for our authentic selves. Reah Land Smith of Lake Keowee Real Estate can undoubtedly claim this achievement! Driven by her passion for life, she has found her niche in Real Estate. 

During her junior year at the University of South Carolina, Reah was hired by Target. She started her full-time career with Target in Assets Protection and began to climb up the corporate ladder. In 2010, she started feeling burnt out, and a friend suggested she apply to work at a large Greenville RE franchise. Excited by the prospect of working a simple nine-to-five job, Reah leapt at the opportunity, but within three years, she was bored. With a long family history in Oconee County (11 generations!), she was interested in returning to her roots and selling real estate. 

After working as an Operational Team Leader for Coldwell Banker Caine Company for three years, Reah was ready to transition to the sales side. She chose to work for Lake Keowee Real Estate because it exclusively sells Lake Keowee Property, and Reah explained that she “really just wanted to sell a home.” 

Andy Lee, the owner of Lake Keowee Real Estate, is truly an expert in the field. Sharing a mutual love of the lake and the business, Reah and Andy are also partners in life. Reah delightfully describes them as “blissfully unwed!” 

Mentors 

Her wonderful partner Andy has been a professional mentor. Andy is the Chair of the SC Real Estate Commission and encourages Reah to volunteer with all three levels of their REALTOR® trade associates. Reah proudly serves as the South Carolina Realtors’ 2023 President-Elect. Her Presidency will officially begin in January 2024. Beyond Andy, Lorraine Harding has also served as a mentor in developing her leadership skills. Reah shared, “Lorraine served in 1992 as the second SCR female president since SCR’s inception in 1948. I value her wisdom and advice greatly and seek it out regularly. She faced so many different challenges and helped pave the way for me to serve as now the 9th female president in 75 years. So clearly we have some work to do to reach parity in representation (on a lot of fronts beyond just gender) but I am proud to represent the more than 28,000 SC realtor members as authentically as I can.” 

After living a full life, which she describes as “enthusiastically childless,” Reah can simultaneously enjoy her lifestyle while being part of a different side of life with her partner Andy. He has two children, Taylor, 23, who will graduate from USC Upstate this year, and his

young son Will, who is currently in fifth grade. They love spending time on the lake, hiking, and exploring. 

After becoming a Real Estate Agent, Reah had less time to dedicate to motorcycle drag racing. Before her career shift, she spent every free minute at the track, but as her job shifted, so did her hobbies. Now, she spends her time at the lake on her Seadoo Speedster 155 jet boat or in her 1972 true vintage Avion LaGrande travel trailer. She is excited about all the adventures she will go on with her little trailer. 

Reah Land Smith is not one to pass off responsibility. One of the local organizations she supports is “Ripple of One.” Reah explained the function of the organization is “to empower families to move beyond public assistance. Their work is so important in breaking the cycle of poverty and creating sustainable solutions and habits for the success of their applicants.” Outside of working with Ripple of One, she shared her view of Realtor’s responsibilities “Top producing agents… have a responsibility to defend and influence this industry and to be involved beyond annual dues dollars. If you have been blessed with an incredible life and the ability to provide for your family because of a real estate career, then it is your duty to defend our ability to do so. Realtors are the defenders of the American Dream. There is no National Association of Homeowners, it is upon us as Realtors to advocate for them.” She went on to say uplifting words “Anyone can step forward as a leader at any time. You don’t have to wait to be called to serve or think it requires a fancy title. Just behaving as a leader at any and all times raises the professionalism of our industry overall.” 

Future in Real Estate 

Reah cares about more than just the transaction. All of the opportunities made available through real estate- personally and professionally have only increased her love for the field. She wants to help families create generational wealth through homeownership. She said, “I have a real driving desire to work towards advocacy avenues that create opportunities for workforce housing and getting more Americans into homeownership. One of the simplest ways to get started building wealth is investment in real estate through home ownership. I want that message to continue to be delivered to the next generations and also to the communities that historically have had more barriers to attaining property ownership. My dreams now go beyond how to get my buyers into their “dream lake home.” My dreams include a real estate professional industry that values and strongly upholds federal fair housing laws, that takes their responsibility for fair dealing seriously and equitably for all, that upholds at all cost our Realtor

Code of Ethics.” 

Reah shared a note for other Real Estate Agents; “I would like to encourage anyone in the readership to reach out to me, especially as it relates to improving our industry and serving as a leader, with or without a title.”