By : Kate Merrihew – Director of Education and Marketing
Just when you thought you had met every Murphy that works with DS Murphy, you might be wrong. Hailing from Texas and residing in the great state of Florida, is Karen Murphy – wife of Kevin, sister-in-law of Scott and aunt to Grant and a true powerhouse in her own right. A lover of the outdoors, animal rescue and living life to its fullest, she is certainly someone you want to know.
Born into a military family, Karen moved to Atlanta shortly after her father’s retirement (at 2 weeks old). She grew up in East Cobb with 1 older brother but lived the “Buckhead life” for a stint of time after college. She started in restaurant management at La Paz and then worked as a food broker – * food broker: an independent sales agent that works in negotiating sales for food producers and manufacturers. Karen loved that job and had a lot of fun in the industry but the universe had other plans. She was set up on a date with Kevin Murphy by Alan Daniel, who used to work for DS Murphy, and the appraiser life was in her future. They were married in 2004.
At that time, Scott was looking to open an office down in Florida so Kevin and Karen went down to check it out. Karen had grown up going to the 30A area and remembers when Seaside was just being built. Atlanta was growing and traffic was horrible so they decided to give it a try. In 2005, they moved to Florida and though the market crashed shortly after, they were able to ride it out and continue the business. Kevin got Karen into scuba diving when they traded the mountains for the ocean. Now they keep busy with kayaking, paddle-boarding, biking and pickleball. Karen played tennis in high school and likened the sport to pickleball “but so much more fun. It’s fast-paced and fast moving.”
In addition to outdoor sports pursuits, Karen is involved with many animal rescue and refuge groups. She and Kevin started with the South Walton Turtle Watch, checking turtle nests and marking them. They work with the Alaqua Animal Refuge, whose founder started one of the first no-kill shelters in Florida and made animal abuse a felony. Karen spends most of her time working with the dogs. She is no longer allowed to help with the kittens because she was apparently bringing them home too often. She and Kevin live in Santa Rosa Beach with their 2 (yes, only 2) cats – Louie and Allie, who keep them on their toes. When asked how life is going, she responded “You know, working and living and doing my thing.” That sounds about right.
I asked Karen the following questions…
Q: What made you want to be an appraiser?
A: Kevin painted a good picture. I was tired of shlepping food around. I’m not a numbers person – we have programs that do that. I like the variety of it – I’m not a “sit at my desk person”. There’s some desk work and some field work. Going around and seeing different houses. When Kevin first trained me – I would look at the art work and furniture – “love that photo”! Kevin said “you gotta look past that!” I’m pretty social so I get to meet people but also can keep to myself.
Q: What would you like to do when you are no longer appraising?
A: I don’t know – probably more scuba. More outdoor stuff. I’m not looking to travel all over the world. Things have changed and that makes me nervous. If I was retired, I would be volunteering more and being more active with Alaqua (Animal Refuge).
Q: What the weirdest thing you have come across when inspecting/appraising?
A: There was a property here on 30A a couple months ago. It had chopped up rooms on the bottom floor (tudor style home). None of the rooms had closets so I started just attributing names. I noted there was kitchenette down there too. I go upstairs and I’m baffled by structural details also only 2 bedrooms – 1 bath up and 1 bath down. I came home and Kevin asked “where is the picture of the kitchen?” There was no kitchen, so I did some digging.
It was an attorney’s office converted into a house. They didn’t want to do a “subject to” – they were happy to live with it like that. I should’ve noticed the EXIT signs above the doorways. Also, kind of a big parking lot but there are rentals in the immediate area. Embarrassing but worth telling – I was so consumed by the weirdness I didn’t realize there wasn’t a kitchen.
Q: Something no one knows about you?
A: I was a huge baby and they had to remove me with forceps. Hematoma on my head because of it.
Q: What words of wisdom can you share with the team?
A: Work smart. I’ve cut my territory down to make everything more feasible. Take the work in your backyard. Get to know your area well. Work smarter. If I don’t know an area – I won’t go.