We save sellers money.

Our Team

Samara Presley

Founder/Listing Specialist

Kenny Coates

Closing Coordinator & Realtor

Angie Jones

Listing Coordinator & Realtor

The Future of Real Estate

Smart Choice Realty was started by Samara Presley in 2008, just as the real estate market began to decline. While this was the death knell for many real estate firms, it actually was the perfect time for us – because more than ever, sellers were questioning traditional approaches, and starting to look for ways to save money.

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Our History

Our Birth

After years of practicing traditional real estate, we started questioning the traditional approach. And decided two things:  

  1. Buyers and sellers are – surprise! – consumers who value their hard earned dollars.

2. The real estate industry has to change. Just like every other business in the Internet age.

Not surprisingly, those two things are connected. Because when we asked ourselves what we could do differently, the answer was clear: Have a less expensive business model. And pass our savings on to you.  

  In the old days, it was hard to list and sell a home. It required advertising in print publications. Holding open houses and hoping someone would drive by. And – without cell phones, email and web sites – a lot more legwork.

  Today, thanks to the Internet, things are a lot easier. No more expensive print publications; an agent can upload your listing and it’s instantly available to millions of buyers – who can easily search the MLS themselves. Great for buyers. Cheaper for agents.

Three Years Later

Samara Presley is recognized by Realtor Magazine as top “30 Under 30” agents, which confirms that alternative ways of selling real estate are even being acknowledged by the National Association of Realtors, This recognition propels her to make her first hire and begin to grow Smart Choice.

This recognition propels her to make her first hire and begin to grow Smart Choice.

The Model is Working

Word begins to spread about Smart Choice Realty and how we save Triangle homeowners money.  Word of mouth advertising saves us a ton of money in advertising costs.  We know that if we deliver excellent service our clients will continue to refer us and Smart Choice will continue to grow.

One year after the first hire…

Production doubles and we’ve sold over 70 Triangle homes.  We are now one of the top flat fee firms of the Triangle.

Four years later

Smart Choice has grown to a ten person team with specialists to help buyers and sellers every step of the way.  Smart Choice is the premier flat fee, full service firm in the Triangle and has saved home sellers over $3 million in commissions.

Smart Choice begins to offer our services in Charlotte

After finding tremendous success in the Triangle market, Smart Choice branches out to begin delivering our superior services and savings to the Queen City.

Smart Choice lands at 3950 Blue Ridge Road, located in the heart of Raleigh near Crabtree Mall.

We don’t like to brag, but…

Spectrum News Channel

Spectrum News Interview

2015 Raleigh's 15 Best Realtors

15 Best Realtors in Raleigh

2011 Realtor Magazine's 30 Under 30 Samara Presley

Realtor Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Honoree

2016 NC Top 100 Most Influential Realtors

Named one of NC’s Most Influential Realtors

2017 Top Producers MagazineCover

2017 July Cover of Top Producers Magazine

What People are Saying

Smart Choice Realty
Excellent
5.0
Based on 184 reviews
review us on
wow. so simple and fast. great communication from Kenny throughout the process.
Samara and her team were unknown to us until we saw how we could possibly save a lot of money in reduced realtor commissions on her website. After calling them and meeting with her, we felt would be getting the same services as from a full fee realtor and we were right. Our sale was easy and quicker than I anticipated and we saved over $12,000. So unless you have thousands of extra dollars living around, why wouldn't you use a discount realtor as Smart Choice Realty. Think about it!
Samara and her team were unknown to us until we saw how we could possibly save a lot of money in reduced realtor commissions on her website. After calling them and meeting with her, we felt would be getting the same services as from a full fee realtor and we were right. Our sale was easy and quicker than I anticipated and we saved over $12,000. So unless you have thousands of extra dollars living around, why wouldn't you use a discount realtor as Smart Choice Realty. Think about it!
Response from the owner: Thank you Stan. It was our pleasure to work with you and Karen!
The wife and myself have nothing but great things to say about Sam and her team at Smart Choice. We worked with Smart Choice for nearly a year researching and finally deciding to sell our house and buying a new one. Sam gave us guidance on what we needed to do and with that being said, our house sold in less than a week. And then there is the awesome Kenny who was the absolute best each and every time we needed him. We can not thank the entire team enough.Erick and Jennifer
Response from the owner: Erick & Jennifer, it was so much fun working with you both!
The Smart Choice team is top notch from start to finish. I can not say enough about the staff and their dedication to work above an beyond. Hands down I would recommend them to anyone needing to sell their home. We were out of state and they took care of everything and we never had to worry! Thank you Smart Choice!
Response from the owner: Thank you Anneliese, you were wonderful to work with!
Samara helped me sale 3 houses in 2024. No issues with any of the closings. I saved at least 30k by going this route compared to a traditional RE agent. I would definitely recommend First Choice. Good service, good value!
Response from the owner: We appreciate your trust Jason!
Kenny was an absolute pleasure to work with! Always kept communication open and quick to respond. Even with a couple of "new construction bumps" along the way, the transaction went smoothly and we have happy buyers and sellers on closing day! Highly recommend!
Response from the owner: Thanks so much! Looking forward to working with you again soon.
This is the 3rd time I have used Smart Choice Realty to sell a home and have had a really great experience! Not only did I literally save thousands on real estate commissions, I worked with top notch real estate professionals from the listing on to the closing. I sold my house very quickly and I highly recommend Smart Choice Realty!
Response from the owner: Thanks so much for the nice review Chris! It was great working with you too!
We had a wonderful and professional experience with Smart Choice! Samara and team were very honest and caring. We are grateful for thier help and so happy to have had a steallar experiece selling our home!
Response from the owner: Thanks Brie! You and Mike made it easy :-) Always happy to help!
It was a pleasure working with Smart Choice Realty. They were very professional throughout the entire process, providing valuable inputs and insights on the current market, preparing the home for sale, and navigating the contract and counteroffer process. Highly recommend them...saved on commissions and received top dollar for the home!
Response from the owner: Thank you for the opportunity to handle the sale of your family's property!
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Our Vision

We are the industry disruptors of real estate.

The real estate world has changed and we believe we are at the forefront of that change. We want to revolutionize the way real estate is sold by offering sellers another option that not only delivers thousands in savings, but also top notch service.

We are the Future

Not only are we striving to deliver the best customer experience we can offer, but we are also working to become a great firm that agents can call home. We want a professional team of agents whose core beliefs align with ours. We believe in teamwork, putting the customer first, always doing the right thing and maintaining a positive attitude.