Conversations with Allison Maher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Maher.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma, and lived there until my senior year of high school when my parents told me my dad had been transferred to Cairo Egypt. Originally I was super bummed since I had all of my friends in Tulsa and had just obtained my driver’s license and finally felt like I had some freedom. However, it only took me a few days in Cairo to know I was absolutely going to love it. I made some amazing friends that I still have today all over the world. It was not until we moved to Cairo that I really got to start traveling the world and I loved it. My high school graduation was at the Pyramids of Giza, which was an amazing experience. After high school, I decided to go to the University of Kansas. I had always wanted to go there and it certainly lived up to every expectation I had of college life and what I wanted it to be like for me. I studied psychology and absolutely loved my classes and academics but also made sure to find time to party pretty much nightly. After college, I moved to Kansas City, I had always loved Kansas City when I would drive there from Lawrence in college and it seemed like a great fit for me, a bit bigger than Tulsa with more to do and many friends also moved to KC after college.

I worked in admissions for an IT school and managed a club at Power & Light district. I had a house in Brookside and absolutely loved my life in KC. I got pregnant with my first son Jaxon in 2012 and what a blessing he was. He has always been the absolute light in my life and brings so much joy to me and my family, it makes me smile just thinking about him. Although his father and I were together for a couple of years, it was easy to see it was not meant to be. I went to visit my parents in Perth, Australia where they moved after Cairo, and ended up falling in love with Perth being a newly single mom it was sure nice to have my parent’s help, so I ended up living there for a year. Perth was so beautiful and clean and an amazing place for Jaxon but my dad was again transferred to Egypt after having lived there for a year. As much as I loved Perth it did not make much sense for Jaxon and me to be all the way across the world from family so we decided to move to Houston. I would have much preferred to come back to Kansas City where all my best friends were but I was still heartbroken and though Kansas City is big it still feels like a small city in that everyone sort of knows each other. I never really found myself in Houston, I loved how international the city was and I did not mind the humidity. I had an awesome job in recruiting and Jax was happy but I just knew Houston was not my city. I had been going to LA to see a couple of friends that moved there from Kansas City and fell in love with it. I loved the fashion and the entertainment industry and the weather was just like the weather in Perth that I missed so much. So I decided LA was my next move. Jaxon and I rented a beautiful place in Beverly Hills across from a beautiful park and it quickly became home. Seeing all the celebrities at the gym, hiking Runyon Canyon, Jax hanging out with children of the stars. It was kind of like I was living in a fairy tale. I even made it on a show that aired in the Netherlands and got paid to have my hair and makeup done every day. Jax made tons of amazing friends who are still his best friends today. LA is where I met my husband… on a dating app. I never ever thought I wanted to get married after what I went through with Jaxon’s dad and trust me when I say I went on plenty of dates that only further reassured me that maybe it would just be Jaxon and me forever, and I was totally okay with that. Until I met Paul, I knew almost immediately that I wanted to marry him. He was stable and funny and loved Jaxon. At this point, I had decided to do real estate as I knew I wanted a job flexible enough to not miss any of Jaxon’s sporting games or school plays. I loved real estate. I knew I had found something I could do for the long haul. Finally, a job I loved, an amazing work-life balance, and a boyfriend I could see forever with. Life was good!

Paul asked me to marry him at the Pyramids, obviously, I said YES. We soon after welcomed a baby boy Liam (something else I never would have imagined happening until I met Paul). After Liam was born our little townhome in Beverly Hills did not seem big enough for a family of four. We knew we wanted to buy something and have a home we could make our own, and we both knew it was not going to be in LA. Paul and I had come to Kansas City when I was pregnant with Liam to visit my friends and he absolutely loved it and all the charm KC has. We made an offer on a home of 5,000-square foot home in Leawood KS and got it! Our little family of four was moving to Kansas. I was so excited to be back with my friends and all the glitz and glam of LA quickly wears off. My biggest fear moving back to Kansas City was that my husband who was born and raised in LA may not like the midwest. I was incredibly wrong. He loves Kansas City and is constantly in awe of how kind and genuine the people are here and is fully embracing the four seasons we have here in Kansas City and how all of my best friends and their husbands now consider him a good friend. I quickly jumped into real estate as soon as we moved to Kansas City. It is so different than real estate in LA but in the best ways. I interviewed at almost a dozen brokerages because I wanted to make sure I found the right fit since I intend on growing my business with this company and being there for the long haul. I went with Compass Realty and joined the Malfer & Associates group. I knew immediately it was the perfect place for me. I love Kristin, the CEO, and all the incredible agents I work with. One of the slogans is “collaborate without ego” and this could not be more true. When we tell people in Kansas City that we moved here from LA we usually get some crazy looks but we are absolutely certain that it was the right move for our family. I know a lot of people that live in LA are priced out of the housing market and the city as a whole has changed a lot since covid. I would recommend Kansas City to anyone considering a move.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Is anything ever a smooth road? The biggest struggles for me have been making the decision to go into real estate which is a strict commission job when my entire adult life I had the guarantee of a paycheck prior to that.

I would never say that being a single mom was a struggle because I did not know any other way until I met Paul but the wanting to make sure my son had everything and anything he could need or want was my priority and what made me push to succeed in my career as a real estate agent.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love practicing real estate, I love all the things a lot of other agents loathe. I love hosting open houses, I love showings. I love working with buyers and going to dozens and dozens of houses until we find the one that is absolutely perfect for them.

I love working with vendors to make a client’s dream home become a reality for their family. I enjoy the lasting relationship that I have with my clients and their families. I think this is why Malfer & Associates was a perfect fit. The end goal is not simply a completed transaction it is ensuring happiness for the long haul.

So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
In life… that is easily my family. In business… my reputation is. I will admit I want everyone to like me and refer me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.malferkc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisonsellskc/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/allison.maher.35/