Sarah Lauren Kattos
REALTOR®, Van Valkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc.
Sarah Lauren V. Kattos is a longtime Huntsvillian and REALTOR® with VanValkenburgh & Wilkinson Properties, Inc. After graduating from Birmingham-Southern College, Sarah Lauren returned to her hometown to pursue a career in real estate. Twenty-six years later, she is an Associate Broker with the firm as well as the company’s agent trainer and one of their top producing agents. She holds the CRS, GRI and ABR designations as well as the Certified Luxury Home Specialist designation at the Guild Level. She was featured on HGTV’s House Hunters as it followed a couple relocating to Huntsville with one of Kattos’ favorite local organizations: the HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology.
Kattos not only volunteers with the Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS® as chair of the New Agent Orientation Committee but has also served on committees and Boards for the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Guild, the Gothic Guild, Historic Huntsville Foundation, Huntsville Botanical Garden and First United Methodist Church. She was a member of the inaugural Connect Class of Leadership Huntsville and has been a featured speaker for various local groups about the history of Huntsville. She is married to Andy Kattos, President of ServisFirst Bank, and mother to two daughters, Juliana and Margaret.
When you were little, what did you dream of being when you grew up?
I either wanted to be a jeweler, Princess Leia, or somehow singing or dancing on a Broadway stage. I am still known for often bursting into song at a moment’s notice.
What do you love most about your job?
Each day always brings something new. The systems and tasks are often the same, but each client and property provides unique circumstances, challenges, and opportunities. My day is rarely, if ever, dull.
What differentiates you from your peers or competitors?
Real estate is not just a job or a hobby for me, it’s been part of our everyday life from the time I was 6 years old. When our parents started VV&W, it was like the fourth Van Valkenburgh child and we each had a role and responsibility – from me (the youngest) all the way up to my grandmother who was our office manager until the age of 95. And I’ve practiced for more than half my life, so I’ve seen so many ups and downs, changes, trends, and cycles, that the sheer longevity of experience gives me a perspective that is not easily unnerved. It takes a lot to get me really surprised or upset.
What’s your favorite thing about living in the Huntsville/Madison County area?
The ingenuity. How our story started at the Big Spring, then grew from a farming town to an industrial hub, then moved to the forefront of space exploration and technology. It is funny to me that people are just now seeing how cool Huntsville is. I’ve always known.
What awards, accolades or accomplishments are you proudest of?
It is such a joy to be appreciated for things I have accomplished or business achievements we’ve made, but I have to say, our two daughters are my greatest accomplishments. If I never do another thing in life but love them, I’ll be a wealthy woman in all the things that matter.
Do you have a favorite quote about powerful or strong women you’d like to share?
Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other. – Erma Bombeck
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