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What to Know About Working With Cherrise Elliott at Keller Williams Key

By Constance Obi · Culture & Recreation Writer

Cherrise Elliott's background and focus areas

Cherrise Elliott is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Key, a brokerage operating across South Carolina. She works with buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions, helping clients navigate property searches, negotiations, and the closing process.

Elliott's approach centers on understanding what clients actually need from a property and a transaction, rather than pushing toward the quickest sale. She works within Keller Williams Key's systems and resources, which include market data tools, transaction coordination, and access to the broader Keller Williams network of agents across the state and nationally.

Key Takeaways

  • Cherrise Elliott is a residential real estate agent with Keller Williams Key, working with both buyers and sellers in South Carolina.
  • Keller Williams Key provides agents with market analysis tools, transaction support, and connections to other agents for referrals and relocation assistance.
  • When interviewing agents, you can ask about their experience in your specific neighborhood, their average time on market, and how they handle negotiations.
  • Real estate agents typically earn commission only when a sale closes, so their financial incentive aligns with completing a successful transaction.
  • You can interview multiple agents before signing a listing agreement or buyer's agent contract, and you are not obligated to work with the first person you meet.

What Keller Williams Key offers its agents

Keller Williams Key is part of Keller Williams Realty, a national franchise with a presence in most U.S. markets. The brokerage provides agents with access to multiple listing services (MLS) data, which shows properties currently for sale, sold prices, and market trends in specific neighborhoods. This data helps agents price homes competitively and identify comparable sales when advising clients.

The brokerage also coordinates transactions—handling paperwork, scheduling inspections, managing earnest money deposits, and communicating between buyer and seller through closing. Agents within the Keller Williams network can refer clients to each other, which is useful if you are relocating to another part of South Carolina or moving out of state.

How to evaluate an agent before working together

When you first contact Cherrise Elliott or any agent, you are not committing to anything. Most agents will offer a free initial consultation to discuss your situation, answer questions, and explain how they work. This is your opportunity to assess whether you feel comfortable working with them.

Ask specific questions: How long have they worked in your neighborhood or the area where you want to buy? What was the average time on market for homes they listed in the past year? How do they handle negotiations—do they present offers in writing, do they communicate directly with the other agent, and how quickly do they respond to counteroffers? If you are selling, ask whether they recommend any repairs or updates before listing, and whether they use professional photography or video. If you are buying, ask how they identify off-market properties and whether they have relationships with other agents who might know of homes before they are publicly listed.

You can interview two or three agents before deciding who to work with. There is no penalty for talking to multiple people, and doing so gives you a sense of different approaches and personalities.

Understanding how real estate commissions work

Real estate agents earn money only when a sale closes. The commission is typically a percentage of the final sale price and is paid by the seller's proceeds—not by the buyer out of pocket. The commission is then split between the seller's agent and the buyer's agent, and each agent may share part of their portion with their brokerage.

Because agents earn nothing if a deal falls apart, their financial incentive is to help you complete a successful transaction. However, this also means agents are motivated to close quickly, which is not always in your best interest. If you are selling, a lower price that closes fast may benefit the agent more than a higher price that takes longer to find the right buyer. If you are buying, an agent might push you toward a property you are unsure about if another buyer is interested. Knowing this dynamic helps you make decisions based on what actually serves you, not just what serves the agent.

What to expect during a home sale

If you list a home with Cherrise Elliott, the process typically begins with a market analysis—Elliott will look at comparable homes in your neighborhood that sold recently, their condition, their price, and how long they stayed on market. This informs the listing price. You and Elliott will discuss any repairs or updates that might increase appeal or price, though you are not required to make any changes.

Once listed, your home appears on the MLS and on real estate websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. Elliott will schedule showings, communicate with buyer's agents, present offers to you, and help you negotiate terms. When an offer is accepted, Elliott coordinates the inspection period, appraisal, and any repairs or credits negotiated between buyer and seller. She will also work with a title company to prepare closing documents and schedule the final walkthrough and signing.

What to expect when buying a home

If you work with Cherrise Elliott as a buyer's agent, she will listen to what you are looking for—location, price range, number of bedrooms, specific features—and search the MLS for properties that match. She will schedule showings, answer questions about neighborhoods and schools, and help you understand what homes are actually worth based on recent sales.

When you find a home you want to make an offer on, Elliott will prepare the purchase agreement, including the offer price, earnest money amount, inspection period, and any contingencies (such as financing or appraisal). She will submit the offer to the seller's agent and negotiate on your behalf if the seller counters. Once an offer is accepted, Elliott will coordinate the home inspection, work with your lender on the appraisal, and help you understand any issues that come up. At closing, she will walk you through the final documents and make sure everything is in order.

Questions to ask before you sign an agreement

Before you sign a listing agreement (if you are selling) or a buyer's agent agreement (if you are buying), clarify a few things in writing. Ask how long the agreement lasts—most are three to six months for sellers, and buyer agreements may be open-ended or for a specific period. Ask what happens if you want to end the agreement early. Ask whether the agent will show your home to other agents' clients or only to their own clients. Ask what marketing the agent will do—online listings, open houses, direct mail, social media. Ask how often the agent will communicate with you and through what method—phone, email, text.

If you are buying, ask whether the agent represents you exclusively or also represents the seller in some transactions. Ask how they will handle a situation where you want to make an offer on a property where they represent the seller. These questions prevent misunderstandings later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use a real estate agent to buy or sell a home?

No. You can sell a home privately (called "for sale by owner") or buy directly from a seller without an agent. However, most home sales involve agents because they have access to the MLS, which is where most homes are listed, and because they handle the legal and financial complexity of a transaction. Selling without an agent means you handle showings, negotiations, and paperwork yourself.

What if I find a home I want to buy but the listing agent also represents the seller?

This is called a dual agency. The listing agent can represent both you and the seller, but they cannot advocate harder for one side than the other. Many buyers prefer to have their own agent to ensure someone is negotiating solely on their behalf. You can ask the listing agent whether they will represent you, or you can bring your own buyer's agent to the transaction.

Can I work with multiple agents at the same time?

You can look at homes with different agents, but once you sign a buyer's agent agreement with one agent, you are typically committed to working with that agent for homes listed by other brokerages. However, you can usually still work with the listing agent directly if you want to see a home they represent. Read your agreement to understand what it requires.

What should I do if I am unhappy with my agent?

Talk to them first. Explain what is not working—maybe they are not returning calls quickly enough, or you disagree on price strategy. Many issues can be resolved with a direct conversation. If the relationship is not fixable, check your agreement for the termination clause and follow the process outlined. You may need to give written notice or wait out a notice period, but you can end the relationship.

How do I know if an agent's commission is negotiable?

Commission rates are always negotiable. There is no set percentage—it varies by agent, brokerage, and market. If you are selling, you can discuss commission with agents during your initial interviews. If you are buying, you typically do not pay commission directly, so this is less of a concern, but you can still ask how the buyer's agent commission is structured.