About

Hi. I'm Roxanne.

Behind the Sign is the stories that happen before, during, and after the sale.

Roxanne Hale

Ihave been a Realtor for more than twenty-five years. Associate Broker. Founder of Art House. Mother. Marketing nerd. Reluctant authority on rooster removal during open houses. (Long story. It's filed in Funny Things I've Seen.)

I started this publication because the real estate internet is exhausting. It's all square footage and stainless steel and the same five stock photos of agents shaking hands in front of a generic stucco house. None of it tells the truth.

The truth is that real estate is messy. It's funny. It's emotional. It involves crying in cars, eating Chick-fil-a out of the passenger seat, and explaining to a buyer for the third time that "as-is" does, in fact, mean as-is. The truth is also that it's wonderful. People build whole lives inside these houses, and I get to stand in the doorway for a few months while they figure out which one.

Behind the Sign is where I write that down. Some of it is craft — marketing, photography, how a house actually gets sold in 2026. Some of it is Birmingham, which I love embarrassingly. A lot of it is stories. After twenty-five years, the stories pile up.

Roxanne at her studioRoxanne walking in Birmingham

A few honest things

  • 01 · I have been doing this for 25+ years. I have seen a lot. I have, on at least four occasions, seen a snake.
  • 02 · I think marketing is the most underrated part of selling a house.  Most people don't realize that until they sell one.
  • 03 · I love Birmingham. The meat & three's. The hills. The way Saturdays sound in Homewood.
  • 04 · I run Art House. Different website. Same brain.
  • 05 · The sign in the yard is the least interesting part. It always has been.
The Letter

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