Beyond the Closing: Iowa’s Most Trusted Agents Who Keep Showing Up

The best real estate guidance is not always the loudest. Sometimes, it is simply the person who listens, explains what comes next, and stays when the transaction gets complicated.

A home can represent a major financial decision, but it can also mark a new beginning, a difficult goodbye, or a significant change for a family. In Iowa, the agents featured in this list have built their reputations by understanding that there is a person behind every transaction. Their approach has been shaped by years of honest work, thoughtful guidance, and relationships that continue long after closing day.

Many do not think of themselves as salespeople. They see themselves as educators and guides, taking time to explain the process, simplify difficult decisions, and allow clients to move forward at their own pace. One describes the work as building relationships, solving problems, and protecting people from costly mistakes, a philosophy that captures much of what connects this group.

Their paths into real estate are equally varied. Among them are a former teacher and coach, professionals with backgrounds in social work and social services, a grief counselor, and an active property investor whose perspective comes from personal experience. Faith, family, farming roots, and a commitment to keeping one's word also play a role in how some approach their work.

Some have been licensed since the 1990s and early 2000s, while others have built successful practices more recently. Several have grown largely through referrals, while others have earned recognition at the state and national levels.

Yet the strongest measure of their work may be what happens after the sale. For these agents, closing is not where the relationship ends. It is where the next chapter begins.

Rusty Rasmus: Two Decades of Honest Advice in Northwest Iowa

Rusty Rasmus has been helping people buy and sell homes in Northwest Iowa since 2003. He works out of Rasmus Realty, a company serving the region since 2002, and he has built his career on a simple idea: treat people the way you would want to be treated. "My approach is simple: be honest, be available, and do what you say you're going to do," he explained. "Faith, family, and service are a big part of who I am."

What sets Rusty apart is that he is also an active investor. He has bought and managed properties himself, so his advice comes from experience rather than theory. Through Waymaker Properties, he has been developing alternative paths to homeownership, including lease option programs for people who may not qualify for traditional financing. Not everyone fits the standard mortgage box, and he believes those people still deserve a shot at owning a home.

His clients are often in transition. First homes, downsizing, job changes, divorce. "Where I come in is by helping simplify that process and giving them clarity," he said.

Rasmus Realty has grown steadily, recently adding a bilingual agent to serve the Spanish speaking community and expanding beyond Cherokee into surrounding areas. In 2025, Rusty was the top agent for sales volume in Cherokee County, a result he credits to his clients and his team. "I'm not here for one deal," he said. "I'm here to be a long-term resource."

Gwen Johnson: Nearly Thirty Years of Steady, Client-First Work

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions most people ever make, and one of the most stressful. Gwen Johnson, Founding Leader of The Johnson Team at Skogman Realty, has built her work around making that process feel manageable. A proud Iowa native with roots in farming and entrepreneurship, she earned her license in 1996 after a career in social services, a field built around helping people through difficult moments. That background still shapes how she treats clients today.

What sets Gwen apart is how her team operates. Instead of leaving clients to navigate a fragmented process alone, her group covers marketing, staging, negotiations, and closing coordination. "We disrupt the traditional real estate experience by providing a fully coordinated, client-first team model instead of a fragmented process," she explained. Many of her clients arrive feeling overwhelmed and worried about missing something important. Her answer is clarity, with support at every stage from preparation through closing.

Her track record backs it up. Gwen has earned the Summit Award with Skogman Realty for the past decade, an honor recognizing more than $10 million in sales, and she has been ranked among the top 1% of real estate professionals nationally. "This milestone reflects our long-term commitment to excellence, strong market knowledge, and the trust we have built with our clients," she said.

Away from work, Gwen supports local businesses, volunteers with NL Parks and Rec, and spends time with her grandchildren. After nearly thirty years, she still works the same way, one honest transaction at a time.

Janae Ohrt: The Cedar Valley Realtor Who Treats Clients Like Family

Janae Ohrt is a Realtor in the Cedar Valley area of Iowa, where she was born and raised. She started her real estate career in 2017 and went full-time in September of 2024. Since then, she has built a business rooted in strong relationships, clear communication, and a genuine commitment to helping people through one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

Her approach is simple. She puts people before transactions. "Most people in real estate sell houses," she explained. "I build relationships, solve problems, and protect people from costly mistakes." Rather than pressure, Janae focuses on education. She breaks the process into clear, manageable steps, offers honest advice, and stays in touch long after the contract is signed.

Growing up local gives her an edge. She knows the neighborhoods and the details that never show up online. Her business runs on referrals, and many clients become like family.

The results speak for themselves. In 2025, she ranked number 27 in Iowa for Adjusted Gross Commission within her company. This year she has climbed to number 6 in Iowa and number 93 in the nation for Century 21 Signature Real Estate, all as a solo agent.

Outside of work, Janae spends time with her grandbabies and her kids, cheers on football games, and unwinds with crochet. "My goal isn't just to close a deal," she said. "My goal is to make the experience feel smooth, thoughtful, and genuinely positive."

Mary Schoon: Local Knowledge and Clear Communication in the Quad Cities

The Quad Cities real estate market is unlike most others. It spans two states, multiple school districts, and a patchwork of local laws and tax codes. Mary Schoon, a lifelong Quad Cities resident and top-producing agent at Ruhl & Ruhl, has made it her mission to guide buyers and sellers through all of it.

Mary earned a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Augustana College and a master's degree in Special Education from Coe College. Her background as a teacher and coach shapes how she works with clients today. She entered the industry in 2015 and earned QCARA Rookie of the Year by 2016. "My favorite thing about real estate is meeting new people and finding my clients their dream home," she said.

She sees herself less as a salesperson and more as a guide. "I disrupt the industry by educating my clients about how to be successful in the QC market," she explained. That education matters when buyers are comparing homes across state lines, each with its own rules, disclosures, and tax structures. Mary knows the school districts, the neighborhoods, and the details that never show up in a listing.

Now in her fourth year with Ruhl & Ruhl, she was named Top Salesperson in both 2023 and 2024 and holds Triple Diamond Club status. She lives in Bettendorf with her husband Brian and their three children, and has recently taken up pickleball. Her reputation is built the simple way, one client at a time, with honesty and care.

Beatriz Sosa: A Business Built Entirely on Referrals

Beatriz Sosa is a real estate agent with RE/MAX Revolution in Iowa who has spent over five years helping people through one of the biggest decisions of their lives. In an industry that leans on cold calls and online leads, she has built her entire business on referrals. People come back to her. They send their friends, siblings, and parents. She does not take that lightly.

For Beatriz, real estate has never been about volume. It is about the people on the other side of the transaction. She treats every client with the same dedication, whether they are buying a first home or adding to an investment portfolio. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she works with clients from all backgrounds and creates an environment where people feel comfortable asking questions. "I don't just guide. I help and explain every step so my clients can make their own decisions confidently," she said.

Her clients often arrive feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start. She slows things down, breaks the process into steps, and makes sure they understand each decision before they make it. That approach has earned her consecutive RE/MAX recognitions, including the Executive Club and 100% Club awards.

Her faith is central to how she works. She covers her business in prayer and trusts that each client is placed in her path for a reason. "I lead with faith, I move with purpose, and I show up with both heart and excellence in everything I do," she said.

Monica Hayes: Guiding Families Through Life's Biggest Transitions

Monica Hayes has been licensed in real estate since 2012, but her work looks very little like what most people picture when they hear the word agent. She sits with families figuring out what comes next. She talks through timelines with adult children managing a parent's move from another state. Real estate is the framework, but the work itself is about transitions.

Before real estate, there was social work. Monica graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in social work and spent years in direct care, including grief counseling. She learned to listen without rushing to a solution and to hold space for emotion while still moving a process forward. Alongside that, she carries more than twenty years of sales and marketing experience. Clients get someone who genuinely cares and someone who knows how to execute.

In 2024, Monica became a partner at Lepic-Kroeger Realtors in the Iowa City area. She is also the founder of Impact Companies, which extends beyond the transaction into move management, organization, decluttering, and ongoing support. Impact Builders and Impact Investments now add builder and investment resources to the model.

She holds the Senior Real Estate Specialist designation and works most often with older adults navigating downsizing, health changes, and homes full of decades of memories. Her team has earned peer-nominated awards, though she points instead to the agents she has developed as her proudest achievement. She also serves as Board President of The Bird House Hospice Home of Johnson County. For Monica, staying involved after closing was always the point.

Summary

A home is rarely just a house. It carries savings, memories, family decisions, and whatever comes next. That is why the person guiding a real estate transaction matters so much. Clients are not simply choosing someone to handle paperwork. They are trusting someone with a meaningful part of their lives and expecting that responsibility to be handled with care.

The agents in this list have earned that confidence in different ways. They educate rather than pressure. When clients feel overwhelmed, they slow the process down, break complicated decisions into manageable steps, and explain what needs explaining until people feel ready to decide for themselves. For some, that instinct was shaped by earlier careers in teaching, social work, or grief counseling, where listening came before offering solutions. For others, it was built over decades of being honest, available, and true to their word.

Their values tend to show themselves quietly. Faith guides some. Family anchors others. Nearly all speak about staying connected long after closing, because the relationship was never simply a means to an end. It mattered in its own right.

Their businesses reflect that philosophy. Referrals and repeat clients are common, with past clients introducing them to siblings, parents, friends, and colleagues. Awards and rankings have followed, but they are rarely the starting point of the story.

The starting point is people. In a market often filled with noise, pressure, and big promises, that kind of steadiness stands out. And sometimes, the most convincing reason to trust someone is simply that they have spent years proving they can be trusted.