Becky Nuss' roots are in Hillsboro
Staff writer
Born and raised in Hillsboro, Becky Nuss is devoted to promoting Hillsboro.
Becky grew up in the Ebenfeld area, the youngest and only daughter of Ruby and the late Leon Suderman.
She attended Hillsboro schools and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1979.
She attended Tabor College for two years studying secretarial science.
In 1981, she married Dale Nuss.
"We knew each other through 4-H events," Becky said.
The couple moved to a farm north of Marion that is now Green Acres motocross track. They didn't live there long and moved to the former Penland farm on old 56 Highway.
"It was the farm with the big rock barn between Hillsboro and Marion," she said.
As a young bride, Becky worked as a receptionist at Roundup in Hillsboro. She later worked as a secretary at the Marion County Ambulance office.
After the birth of their first son Scott in 1985, Becky stayed at home for a short while and in 1986 began working for Great Plains Federal Credit Union.
At Great Plains she worked as a teller, advancing to the position of loan officer.
In 1999, she received her sales associate licenses in real estate and worked for Remax Associates in Newton. As a sales associate Becky could only sell houses for a specified broker.
In 2000, she joined her mother-in-law Pat Nuss and opened a real estate office in Hillsboro. They named the company Real Estate Specialists.
"We started in that little house on North Main," she said.
In 2001, they moved their business to its present location at 104 E. First Street in the Hillsboro State Bank building.
In 2002, with prompting from her mother-in-law Pat, Becky received her broker's license.
At Real Estate Specialists, Becky works as supervising broker. She is responsible for keeping the files in order to be ready at anytime for a real estate commission audit of their records. She also is in charge of overseeing what the other agents in the office are doing.
"I am in charge of the office now; it was kind of in the plans, Becky said.
"Pat wanted more time to pursue family interests and to devote more time to her West Winds project," she said.
"But she is still part of the office along with agent Kim Kline and office assistant June Glasgow."
Becky shared that she and Pat get along nicely.
"Work is work and family is family," she said.
"Every once and a while Dale has to tell us this is not the time to talk about business," she said, smiling.
As a broker, Becky described some of her duties at the office. She sets up appointments for those clients selling their property. She schedules appointments to help coordinate the buyers and sellers.
As a broker, Becky is the person state and local boards come to when there is a question or complaint.
Pending a sale, she files the necessary paperwork, orders home inspections, works with the closing agent and lenders.
"Working with the lenders is very important," Becky said.
She makes sure copies of the contract are delivered to the lender and the closing agent. But she said generally the buyers are pre-qualified.
"Since the age of the computer, it is so simple now for the buyer and seller," Becky said.
According to Becky, the buyer can see house on line before coming to see the house in person. Their company has a mortgage calculator on its website, so clients can have an idea what payments will be for a particular house.
Regarding the seller, Becky said, "It's great for sllers because they are listed ion two multiple listing sites and realtor.com.
Becky was required to go to real estate school 30-40 hours for classes and her license is good for two years.
Continuing education classes are required for renewal.
"What I like most about this business," Becky said, "is getting the first-time buyers the house they want to achieve their goals.
"It's not about the how much money Becky makes, it's what I can do for my clients."
Becky is definitely devoted to the Hillsboro and Marion communities and has served in various capacities in these different organizations.
She is vice president of the Hillsboro Chamber and will become president in 2005.
She is treasurer of the Marion County Economic Development Corporation for three years.
She just finished completing her year as president of Leadership Marion County.
She serves as vice-president of the recently formed Hillsboro Band Boosters to help raise money for the group's trip to Texas this year.
She is also a member of the Noon Lions Club.
Her family are members of Zion Lutheran Church In Hillsboro. Becky serves as Sunday school superintendent and is a teacher for grades 1-3 and 4-5.
She and Dale are in the process of working with the youth group at the church.
"I used to play the organ, but it was too stressful for me," she said. "I feel much better working with the kids."
She also has been involved with 4-H, cattle shows, and state competitions with their boys — something both she and Dale did when they were younger.
Becky and Dale, who is a salesman at Ag Power, have two children, Scott, 19, and Alex 15.
Scott is a sophomore at Pratt Community College and Alex is a sophomore at Hillsboro High School.
Becky's roots are well grounded in Hillsboro and Marion County.
When sharing about Hillsboro, she said she tells people "they chose the lifestyle they want here."
"We're lucky to have good schools, a college, and industries compared to other small towns," she said.
Adding to her commitment to Hillsboro, Becky said, "I wanted to be involved in the community and doing my part for the community and not complaining and doing nothing."
"The chamber has been a good outlet for that," she added.
