Leah Strickland & Whitney Moss
COVER STORY
PHOTOS BY NESTED TOURS | STORY BY ZACH COHEN
"Partnering with Whitney — I tell everybody it’s the best decision I ever made,” Leah Strickland beams. “It’s been great.”
Since 2017, Leah Strickland and Whitney Moss have developed a partnership that has catapulted them to the top of the real estate rankings. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Leah and Whitney are working moms, devoted community members, and staunch advocates for their clients. They are not afraid to speak their minds and have a high level of trust and respect for each other.
Leah and Whitney have long referred to themselves with a slogan: The Power of Two. Whitney describes herself as a social butterfly; she leads the marketing efforts for the team. Leah, on the other hand, is the business brain; she manages more of the back-end tasks like spreadsheets and contracts.
“We are so similar, but we have our own strong skill set. With The Power of Two, you get both,” Leah explains.
“Partnering works in our favor,” Whitney adds. “We know how each other operates so well and we trust each other 1000%. We are on the same page and have each other’s back.”
Beginning the Journey
Leah began her real estate career in 2008. She had previously worked in the investment world, but her job required extensive travel. She had already been investing in real estate and was excited to build a business closer to home.
“I was buying and flipping houses before Pinterest and flipping TV shows existed. I did my first flip in 2003 and started buying rental property around that time. When I needed to stay home more and not travel as much, it was natural to go into real estate,” Leah explains.
Leah began her career amid a massive market downturn. Still, she held a unique advantage. Most people her age avoided the real estate business, and she was one of a small handful of agents in her age bracket. That allowed her to leverage her sphere of influence and steadily build her business.
“I targeted people my age, young professionals buying homes. I was one of the only females my age doing it full time, so I was very successful out of the gate.”
Over the next eight years, Leah continued to grow her referral sphere and increase her sales numbers. She helped countless clients and made incredible friends along the way. One of those clients and friends was Whitney Moss.
Joining Forces
Leah and Whitney met through their husbands, who attended the same MBA program. Leah sold Whitney and her husband their home, but their friendship ran deeper.
By 2016, Leah sensed that she needed a change in real estate.
“I had worked eight years. I felt like I’d tapped my network. Real estate felt lonely sometimes,” Leah reflects. “My husband asked me, ‘Who would you want?’ I said. ‘Whitney Moss. I think she's driven and has a great network. I think she’s responsible, and I think we're compatible.’”
After a year of careful deliberation, Leah approached Whitney with her idea. Whitney had previously worked as a pharmaceutical rep and a fundraiser for nonprofits, but when Leah approached her, she wasn’t working.
“At the time, I had actually quit working altogether to raise our son and help care for my dad, who was having health issues. When I told my husband, Clay, that Leah asked me to get my real estate license, he said, ‘That’s about the only thing I'll agree to you going back to work to do. It’s with Leah, and it’s flexible for our family.’”
Just three months later, Whitney was licensed.
Leah & Whitney Real Estate
Leah and Whitney are like yin and yang — opposing forces that are perfectly enmeshed to create a whole.
“We think a lot alike, but we also have our own strong opinions,” Whitney says. “We’re not afraid to speak the truth, and I think that’s been a huge benefit for us with our clients. At the end of the day, it's about making sure they are happy and all the pieces fall into place.”
In 2020, Leah and Whitney opened their own brokerage, Leah & Whitney Real Estate. Their goal is to work independently so they can provide the best service to their clients — not necessarily to grow a large brokerage. Currently, their brokerage includes one other REALTOR®, Allison Williams.
“It’s given us even more freedom, more flexibility to serve our clients, and it helps us bring more value to clients,” Leah says.
Looking Ahead
As Leah and Whitney look ahead, they hope to, as Leah says, “shatter the ceiling.” In 2021, they closed 53 transactions for $30 million, and they hope to exceed that in 2022.
“Our intentions at this time aren't to grow with more agents,” Leah says. “We’re busy with our families. We work out of my house. I have two boys and Whitney has one boy. We have a true office setting inside my home. We like the balance we have at the moment.”
“I’m proud to say we're full-time working moms, and we hustle,” Whitney smiles. “We work all the time. This is what we do, and we love to do it.”
Family Highlight
Leah and her husband, Sean, have two sons, Knox (11) and Rowe (9). Whitney and her husband, Clay, have one son, Mitchell (8).
