Karen Tyler is the founder, owner, and principal broker at Prodigy Realty, a real estate company helping clients in southeastern Virginia find and sell their dream homes since 2018. Ms. Tyler specializes in working with first-time homebuyers and prides herself in tailoring her strategies to meet the individual needs of each client she works with, recognizing that the homebuying process can be daunting even for those with experience in the field. She earned her real estate license and entered the industry in 2008, launching Team Tyler Homes in Chesapeake, Virginia, only to be faced with a market wide real estate crash. Ms. Tyler credits her tenacity and optimism during these years with much of her success, as she learned quickly not only how to weather some of the biggest challenges in the industry, but how to develop strategies to grow and thrive despite them.
Currently, Ms. Tyler manages more than 100 agents in addition to working directly with clients. While she has a passion for working with first-time homebuyers, she has also developed a reputation for her skill in finding properties and negotiating deals for prospective homebuilders and property investors of all stripes. An investor herself with more than 200 managed properties, Ms. Tyler has years of personal experience and a natural savvy for finding investment properties to suit her clients’ goals. Her love for all aspects of the real estate industry shines in her customer service approach, and she prides herself on being able to use her attention for detail and individual background to each client’s advantage.
As both an agent and a broker, Ms. Tyler describes her process as “handling a little bit of everything,” from showings to “letter-perfect” contract negotiations. As a tough negotiator with the skills to secure competitive prices for each property, regardless of market conditions or price range, she has built Prodigy Realty into one of the top 10 brokerages in the region, beating out more than 800 other firms. She has consistently been ranked a Five-Star Real Estate Agent, and sits in the top 1% of sales producers regionally as well as being in the top 3% of agents in the United States. In recognition of her meteoric rise through the real estate industry, Ms. Tyler has been honored as a Marquis Who’s Who Emerging Leader in addition to her inclusion in Who’s Who of Professional Women.
Throughout her life, Ms. Tyler has overcome numerous challenges to build her success and become a community leader. Battling addiction and legal problems as a teen, she found her way into the real estate industry after being released from jail. While incarcerated, Ms. Tyler developed a friendship with the woman who led Bible study groups for the inmates, and after her release, she accepted an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner at the woman’s home. The woman’s son-in-law, a successful real estate broker, was impressed by Ms. Tyler’s demeanor and commitment to her faith, and offered her a job and help obtaining her real estate license. Her path to success has shaped her approach to leadership and working with others, and she is deeply committed to helping the agents at her brokerage learn and grow their careers, describing her business as “a family atmosphere.”
Ms. Tyler attributes her lasting success to her dedication, drive, and willingness to work hard and put in the time necessary to master her profession. She lives by the credo “integrity over greed,” and emphasizes that “if you do the right thing, the money will follow,” and looks forward to seeing what life has in store for her in the coming years. Ms. Tyler is a proud military spouse, and in her personal time, she is active in several Naval Special Ops committees.
