Amanda Starkey

I’m one of the rare few living in the Greater Raleigh area today who is actually from the area. In fact, my family roots here pre-date the incorporation of the towns many of us call home. Growing up in Fuquay-Varina, the town my ancestors founded, I never imagined I’d still call this place home when the time came to raise my own family – but here we are! I love that when someone calls us about a property in Southern Wake County, not only can I share my market knowledge, but often I can tell them who used to live there, or who’s Grandparents are finally selling and why. My favorite is when people relocating to the area comment on crazy road names and I can quickly explain the story behind the name. 

I spent the majority of my childhood living in Fuquay-Varina, but lived in North Raleigh during high school and have also called Apex, ITB, and Chapel Hill home. I’m a proud graduate of East Carolina University where I doubled majored in Political Science and Sociology, with the intention of moving into municipal government or the non-profit sector. After college I landed in the non-profit world where I remained for eight years, working in development, a fancy word for fundraising. Kevin and I often discussed that we’d love to work together someday. In 2014 I was at a crossroads in my non-profit career, challenged with a tough decision of “what next?” I decided to tag along to a real estate conference with Kevin one week (let’s be honest – I was in it for the resort) and I sat in on a few sessions with him. Light bulbs starting going off like crazy and it became evident to me, almost instantly, that I had skills that could grow his business. I literally wrote my resignation letter from the hotel room and turned it in the day I got home. We’ve never looked back. 

The timing was perfect, as we found out we were pregnant with our first daughter a couple months later while I was in the process of obtaining my real estate license. Since that time, we’ve grown from just Kevin and Amanda to the amazing group of talented agents that is Sold By Starkey today. I’ve had the privilege of shaping my position on the team around my skills, as well as my schedule, to allow me time to be productive, but also to be the kind of parent I want to be. A lot of people don’t know this, but I don’t actually sell homes myself and probably never will. I do a ton of behind the scenes work in marketing, management, data, etc, but I have no desire to ever have my name on a contract – that’s all Kevin. 

We live on the Fuquay-Varina/Holly Springs line with our two daughters – the coolest kids on the planet, in my slightly biased opinion. We love to travel! For now, we sneak to the NC coast and mountains any chance we get, down to Key West with my parents each year, and we definitely love our Disney trips! (I refer to becoming a Disney lover as the biggest surprise of my adult life.) We’re excited for the travel opportunities that come with our girls getting older. I’m always down to host a party, even though I’m a lousy cook, and as a true extrovert, I rarely tire of having friends and family around. Kevin and I both adore live music and try to get to shows and festivals anytime we can (a great excuse for travel). Like Maria said, “These are a few of my fav-or-ite things”…. Mexican food, red wine, flip flops, Fall weather, musical theatre, NYC, cats, CBS Sunday Morning, girls’ weekends with my BFFs, nights around the fire pit, ice cream, sushi, and summer dresses. 

It is my absolute pleasure to spend the days managing the team we’ve built and serving the clients who’ve put their trust in us. Kevin and I decided a long time ago that earning and maintaining people’s trust in our expertise and ethics would be our leading principal in this business, and I still believe if we lead with that always, our clients will win and our business will thrive.