2023 Honorees
WRIT TEN BY JENNIFER HOGAN REDMOND
AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR
Stef Adams
GUARANTEED RATE A contractor turned REALTOR® with degrees in finance and accounting, Stef Adams serves clients in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky as a specialist in renovation financing. As VP of Mortgage, Lending, and Renovation with Guaranteed Rate, she works with buyers interested in a property that may not pass a regular appraisal due to its current physical condition. Renovation financing allows them to “borrow money to purchase the property and borrow additional funds to renovate it all in one loan,” she explains. Adams started her career in financing in 2006 after purchasing her own home with an FHA 203k loan. She has a particular interest in historic properties. “There are a lot of puzzles out there,” she says of the challenges some face as they navigate building a real estate portfolio. She tries to provide buyers with every option available and point them toward what will best help them achieve their goals. “Most of us want to have ownership. It’s kind of the cliché of the American Dream. I think that’s what feeds me every day…just seeing how happy people are. They’re starting a different chapter of their life when they’re able to buy a property,” Adams says.
GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD
Gina Dubell-Smith EXP REALTY
A University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate who pursued a design career in Manhattan, Gina Dubell-Smith was encouraged to shift her focus to local real estate by her mother, a former REALTOR®. Dubell-Smith’s background and interests have allowed her to drive the development of a team that frequently serves a clientele of athletes and horse owners from many disciplines. Community involvement is woven into the efforts of her Loveland-based Designed2Sell team. “We try to think of ways to give our clients and friends new experiences that involve the things we love: real estate, horses, artwork, preservation, conservation,” she says. For example, they host “Artful Opens” on large horse properties to showcase vacant space as well as the work of local artists. Dubell-Smith also sponsors a polo team, promotes Love Our Land and the Art League of Loveland, and is actively seeking a Tree City USA designation for the city. “If I’m not doing something new, something that makes my heart happy, then there’s really no point in doing this, she says.
REALTOR® OF THE YEAR/ MANAGER
Stephanie Sudbrack-Busam SIBCY CLINE REALTORS®
At one time, Stephanie SudbrackBusam’s parents and three siblings held real estate licenses. “It’s kinda in my blood,” she says of her 38-year career. And though she loves this industry that impacts so many—from buyers and sellers to mortgage brokers, inspectors, movers, painters, and others—her 20 Circle of Excellence 2023
TOP INDIVIDUAL AGENT
Julie Back
SIBCY CLINE REALTORS® Julie Back has been a REALTOR® with Sibcy Cline for 30 years. She has been named RAGC’s “top individual agent” for nine successive years, a board record, and the first time this milestone has been achieved in board history. As a luxury agent she boasts the highest average sale price in Cincinnati. “My niche is high-end homes and I love what I do. As an individual agent, and not a team, I have had great success because I really service my clients. They hire me and they get ‘me,’ ” she states. The ability to prioritize, be flexible, and react quickly in today’s “extremely fast-paced” market are advantages, Back says. Sibcy Cline provides strong marketing support, she says, “and I concentrate on what I do well, which is buy and sell. I prepare my own contracts…. I’m very hands on,” she adds. Back’s attitude about what’s ahead for the industry is positive. “Slowly, but surely, our market is heading to steadier interest rates and a healthier number of homes for sale. Spring 2024 is going to a great market, and I am looking forward to it!” she explains.
primary passion is nurturing others toward success. “It’s really exciting to see the spark ignite and then watch their career start to take off,” she states. Sudbrack-Busam received her real estate license while an undergraduate at University of Cincinnati. After an initial career in retail management, she transitioned to real estate in 1985 and joined Sibcy Cline in 2007. She is now VP Sales Manager, overseeing 85 agents and several staff members. Training and recruiting are ongoing, but “it’s more than that,” she says of her relationship with colleagues. “I’m interpersonally woven with them,”
she explains. An active teacher, Sudbrack-Busam participates in agent-client transactions, experiences the ups and downs alongside them, and reminds them to follow the Code of Ethics, live by The Golden Rule, and “do all the things that make them good REALTOR® citizens,” she says. “It’s a partnership. When they succeed, I succeed.” Sudbrack-Busam has held various leadership positions within the Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS® and has garnered multiple awards within Sibcy Cline and throughout the region, including Circle of Excellence awards in 2006 and 2022.