The Real Deal
Realtors Tammy Harrison and Jordan Arnold join forces to offer clients throughout southeastern Pennsylvania an honest, no-nonsense approach to buying and selling a home.
Realtors Tammy Harrison and Jordan Arnold have very different backgrounds and approaches to doing the work they love. By working together, this duo empowers clients to achieve their home-ownership dreams, always driven by honest communication, education, and perseverance.
The duo’s territory spans from Manayunk to Malvern, and from Collegeville to Media. Both professionals have seen their business soar since the first quarter of 2020. Given the ongoing market conditions of high demand and low inventory, both believe the guidance of a talented Realtor is more essential than ever.
“Right now, people need to change their expectations,” Harrison shares. “Four or five years ago, everybody wanted turnkey—a perfectly decorated home like one they might have seen on HGTV, where all you have to do is ‘plug and play.’ With inventory so difficult to come by, more people are considering properties that might need work, just like buyers did 30 or 40 years ago. Now, with one house for every 30 people—that might be an exaggeration, but it’s not far off—you really need an agent you can trust to tell you the truth.”
Arnold could not agree more. He adds, “Because most transactions these days lead to multiple-offer situations, buyers need to be informed, prepared, and sometimes willing to step outside of their comfort zone. They need solid guidance and often creativity to stand out of the crowd.
“Sellers want to maximize their potential profits,” he continues. “They need accurate information and proven strategies, and they want their agent to be accessible, knowledgeable, capable, and proficient. They may need to sift through a dozen or more offers, which requires accurate and relevant analysis, balanced advice, and support.”
Arnold strives to make sure every client is fully informed when it comes to a decision as monumental as buying or selling a home.
“I spent a lot of time as an underdog growing up, so fighting for people is important to me,” he says. “I like to defend people, but also empower them. That’s what I enjoy most about this work. Knowledge is power, right? You want your Realtor to tell you the truth and have a really good understanding of your transition. If you’re more prepared, you’re better equipped to handle a variety of different situations. For a buyer, they will be moving into a new place where they will raise their kids, pray, eat, sleep. They need to be really clear about what they’re going to do, and that’s where we can help.”
Arnold has a passion for the region’s uniqueness. As a lifelong Pennsylvania resident, he has been able to curate an in-depth knowledge of the region and its most coveted neighborhoods. Harrison, who is originally from Georgia, quickly fell in love with Philadelphia and its suburbs after moving here almost 30 years ago.
“Honestly, I think everything about Philadelphia is amazing,” she says. “The proximity to New York City, Washington, D.C., the Shore, and the mountains means that in less than two hours, someone who lives here can travel to pretty much any one of those places. Whether someone wants to ski, surf, or shop, this area has it all.”
Her eye for detail is of great help in this regard. She enjoys teaching clients how to properly vet a house, from the roof to the foundation, and from the landscaping to the health of the HVAC system. In this fashion, she considers herself “sort of an educator.” Beyond her sharpness for spotting a house with a questionable roof or a basement that’s prone to flooding, Harrison excels at helping clients think about functionality.
“The most important question to ask is: How do you plan to live in this house, and how will it serve you?” she says. “Does the house serve a client’s purposes and enhance their living experience, or will that person have to adapt their living style to this home?”
A prospective buyer might favor a home’s aesthetic and location, but the home may not be the right fit if it does not suit the family’s specific lifestyle. An older couple may not want to carry groceries up the stairs in a split-level house, for example, or a growing family may not have quite enough space to accommodate the children they plan to have.
“I don’t take the posture of a salesperson,” Arnold adds. “I give a client information, scenarios—best case and worst case—and try to fill in the blanks, then ask, ‘What do you want to do?’”
Arnold’s mother, herself a longtime successful Realtor, influenced him greatly. Not only did she share her perspective on the career he pursued, but she also stressed the importance of the virtues that guide him to this day, such as honesty, directness, and patience.
“My mom taught me the importance of honesty and integrity, to aspire to be the sharpest in the room,” he says. “I’m Mr. Positive. I go to bat for my clients as if it were for myself. ‘Keeping it real’ is my policy.”
Business savvy also serves as a powerful tool in the arsenals of both Realtors. Arnold has extensive entrepreneurial experience, including time spent in retail, wholesale, and hospitality, whereas Harrison previously served as director of sales for a cruise line and played a leadership role in training for a blue-chip corporation.
“My partnership with Tammy is successful because we complement each other,” Arnold says. “She is a Southern belle who is smart as a whip, super clever, and always says the right thing. We’re both honest and have great ethics, and I’m very direct. We’re just different, and that’s why we work well together.”
In turn, Harrison sings Arnold’s praises. She says his entrepreneurial background spurs a lot of great ideas that inform her seasoned perspective. “Jordan brings to the table different ways of approaching things that I hadn’t thought of,” she adds. “I bring to the table a lot of information about the real estate business because I’ve been doing this for 21 years.”
Arnold and Harrison often collaborate to offer each client the resources they need to achieve their dreams as they relate to how and where they want to live. Both Realtors take great satisfaction from knowing they have helped so many people navigate some of the biggest decisions they will ever make. Each of them works hard to be a positive influence in every client’s life—before, during, and after their time at the closing table.
“My theory is that my job is full service, and I mean full service,” says Harrison, who dubs current and former clients as members of “Tammy’s Tribe.” “I’ve been at every home inspection for my clients, save one, over 21 years. I don’t have much family, except brothers and sisters in Georgia, so my clients are family and friends. I can’t tell you the emotion I feel when I see happiness in their faces.”
Arnold concludes with a similar sentiment. “My vessel is full,” he says. “I can give; I don’t need to take. My agenda is knowing my clients are happy. On the surface, it looks like I assisted the buyer that set out to buy a house. What I truly did was help them actualize their dreams.”
COMPASS RE
compass.com
compass.com
Tammy Harrison
(610) 822-3356 | (610) 520-2500 call or text
tammy.harrison@compass.com
(610) 822-3356 | (610) 520-2500 call or text
tammy.harrison@compass.com
Jordan Arnold
(610) 822-3356 | (215) 479-5800 call or text
jordan.arnold@compass.com
(610) 822-3356 | (215) 479-5800 call or text
jordan.arnold@compass.com
Jordan Arnold and Tammy Harrison are a team of real estate licensees affiliated with Compass RE. Compass re is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws.
Photograph by Nina Lea Photography
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, March 2023.
