Natalie Roy isn’t the type of real estate agent who rolls up to a house showing in a luxury car. Instead, if the weather’s decent, you’ll find her pedaling up on her bicycle.
If you’re in the market to buy a home, she welcomes you to join her to ride along on a bike house-hunting tour. (Though biking isn’t a requirement when working with Roy.)
“The best way to know a community is walking or biking through it,” said Roy, the owner of the aptly named Bicycling Realty of KW Metro Center.
Roy’s unique approach to the house-hunting process is just one of the reasons she was voted the top real estate agent for first-time homebuyers in the 2021 Winter Arlies.
Getting to Know Natalie Roy and Bicycling Realty
Roy has been a member of the Arlington community, specifically the Lyon Park neighborhood, for nearly 30 years. She’s always biked as much as possible when getting around town.
When Roy decided to go into real estate more than eight years ago, she wanted to bring her passion for the environment into her business.
Enter: Bicycling Realty.
If a client opts in to a bike house-hunting tour, Roy builds an itinerary to take buyers through one or two adjacent neighborhoods with a few home stops along the way.
Plus, there’s another perk to house-hunting on a bike. “The experience of looking for a house is stressful,” Roy said. “If you’re biking, I find people are happier.”
Arlington’s Top Real Estate Agent for First-Time Buyers
Not only is Roy a fun real estate tour guide, she’s also a big-time advocate for her clients and is especially protective of first-time homebuyers. She sits down with them to outline the process and the intricacies of contracts.
“What’s really important with first-time homebuyers is to make sure they know what that contract says and what’s really there,” Roy said. “I find there are so many things with the transaction that can be confusing for people, so it’s important to make sure people understand.”
She’s also transparent and sets expectations up front, especially with homes going fast in today’s market.
“You don’t want to push them into anything,” Roy said. “If they lose a property because they weren’t comfortable, go find another one. That’s just my feeling, and I always tell them, if they lose it, there’s something better out there — and it’s true.”
Roy’s Larger Vision: Building Community
Roy is passionate about the Arlington community. She loves giving back to local organizations and also bringing people together. Pre-COVID, her team organized local events and invited their clients, so they could get to know their neighborhoods.
“When you purchase a home, you are not just buying a house but a place in the community,” Roy said.
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned pro, Natalie and her team at Bicycling Realty are ready to help. Grab your helmet, and schedule a bike house-hunting tour. (But no judgment if you prefer to drive!)
Bicycling Realty
[email protected]
703-819-4915
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Want to Learn More About Natalie Roy?
See below for some fun facts.
- Roy met her husband, Nikki, while working for an environmental group in D.C. “It’s a love story around clean water,” she said. Prior to her career in real estate, Roy worked for a number of environmental and progressive causes, including serving as the executive director of the Clean Water Network for six years.
- Roy and her husband wrote a book profiling Arlington’s 63 neighborhoods.
- Roy initially got into real estate to help put her three daughters through college. “I’m a good mom,” she joked. Don’t worry, though. Her husband is still saving the world over in the environmental nonprofit sector.
- Roy and her family have lived in the same Lyon Park home since 1991.
- Roy’s top advice for first-time homebuyers? Location is everything. “You can always change a house — relatively speaking — but location, you can’t change,” she said.
- Roy loves hosting unique, fun open houses. She said her most elaborate ones (pre-COVID) involved jazz bands and classic car shows.