The following is the fifth in a series of Top Agent Profiles.

Originally from Westchester, I went to Suny, in Plattsburgh, and graduated with a degree in communications and broadcast management.

I started training to be a rental agent in the summer of 2005, at Starnest. I was in between jobs; I had been in entertainment PR, and worked at CBS evening news. I didn’t know anything about real estate at the time…I chose Starnest, because I wanted to start at a smaller company in order to get extra attention, and hands-on training in a small setting. At the time, there were maybe 30 other agents working along side of me. It was a intensive two weeks of full-time, nine to five classes. In the first three weeks, I closed like, 13 deals. The market was different then, but I knew i didn’t have to bartend on the side. I ended up working for Gary for five years. He was a big mentor for me when I first started.

My best year is business could may be (potentially) this year, but right before i moved to California, in the Spring of 2007, I sold my first property in New York and it was a pretty large commission, the largest I’d ever made.

When I moved to California, and was interviewing out there, trying to decide what company i wanted to work for, I had the impression that– again, people were telling me this and i was naive and younger– that if you could make it in New York City, you could make it anywhere. Well, if you move somewhere in a bad market, not having a sphere of influence, not knowing anybody (and Summer of 2007 was when the whole sub-prime mortgage disaster was happening)… I was being misguided, and I didn’t have anyone to really direct me in Santa Monica, so it took me a year and a half to sell one home! I went through all my savings and was in a terrible position; i didn’t know what I was going to do, like if i was going to be able to stay out there or not. I was flying home, to New York, on the side, to do deals, and then go back out there. I had made a bad decision, I was young. I wanted to live in California, but I really had no idea what I was getting into. I’m the opposite of lazy too, I was really busting my butt seven days a week. That home that I finally sold, was like the biggest deal ever. At that point though, it was like I had no choice. I had to move back to New York. I miss California’s beaches, but it’s sad to say, there’s a pit in my stomach when I look back on that experience because of everything I went through.

Here in New York, at this point, 60-70% of my business is referrals, and moving to a new city, you lose all of that. So if you’re in a bad market, and buyers are scared, and there’s so much fear in people, it’s really really difficult. New York has less than 1% of foreclosures here. To put things in perspective though, I think everyone has to have a big failure like that to really appreciate things, manage your money better, and be prepared. The real estate market is constantly going up and down. You have to be prepared and educated.

Also, people have to like you in order to like the product that you’re selling. Just being able to qualify people really well over the phone, and bring that likable quality when you meet them. Genuinely want to connect with them, showing that you care, that you want to find them their next home and not just your next paycheck. I think that’s what it really is. At the end of deals, I have people hug me and bring me bottles of wine, and give me referrals. And that’s the most important thing, whether it’s a $500 commission, or a $15,000 home, I know that if I’ve found someone their home, and they’re happy, they’re gonna refer me to friends and family.

Educate yourself. Be prepared for an up and down market. And be motivated, otherwise you’re never going to make it, because any business where you don’t have a nine-to-five, you could lay in bed all day and eat Doritos. That’s why there’s such a large turn-around in every company. You have to be self-motivated, and have a set schedule. I wake up every morning at 7 am, go to gym, and am at my desk by 9, and that’s my routine every single day. You need to love your job. If you don’t love real estate, then do something else.

Also, I know so many agents make the mistake of advertising buildings, apartments, and properties
that they’ve never seen before. How do you sell something you’ve never seen before? It blows my mind. I’ve never advertised before seeing it first. I’ve heard stories from clients, of their agents showing up at properties to meet them, and not being able to get in. Why weren’t you in there before meeting with the client, to turn the lights on, etc? Whether you’re selling vacuums or real estate, you have to know your product! I hear horror stories all the time… when there’s so many bad agents, they make the rest of us look good.

I read a lot. I love Barbara Corcoran, she’s my idol. My father was a huge influence on me as well. He’s the complete opposite of an entrepreneur. He was a teacher, and educated me on how to manage my money. Work-wise, at the moment, I don’t have a teacher, because I run my own company now, so I’m playing teacher.

I credit a lot of my success to my family, because of work ethic. I had my first job at 14, never watched tv, never just sat, we constantly had to be working or doing something. I think that’s why I am the way I am.