EARLY EXPERIENCE IN REAL ESTATE
In 2003 I made the decision to become a Realtor and hung my first license with a "big name" company in the Puget Sound area in 2004. My first broker was a kind man who was trying to build up his business. Most of the agents were brand-new and the few seasoned veterans were either too busy or too impatient to give advice to a "newby."
After 18 months I left for a more challenging opportunity at another "big name" company. The training at this brokerage was incredible and I built up experience listing and selling everything from condo's to commercial properties. Yet, something was not quite right; I felt that as long as I brought in clients and money I was welcome, but if I had one or two slow months, I no longer was a part of the team! After two personal losses within a tight span of time, I did some serious soul searching and came to the conclusion that I was not happy!
JOINING BRIO
A few years earlier, I met Myrl Venter, who had made the very wise decision of joining Brio. Myrl is a dynamic, highly intelligent and extremely hard working, person and I recalled her contagious enthusiasm for Brio. I called Myrl and we met not long after at the Brio and Active Rain office in Bellevue. Upon entering the office, I was immediately struck by the fact that this was not a run-of-the-mill old style real estate company. It was young, driven and cutting edge & the lead capture computers made me feel that I was back home in a TV studio. I made the decision right there to leave my other brokerage & became a Realtor with Brio in May 2007.
ARDELL
A few months after I joined Brio, Pat Flynn, the broker, left and was replaced by Ardell DellaLoggia. For a few days, I queried the wisdom of my decision of joining Brio, but then I met Ardell! For those of you who have not met Ardell, she is a powerhouse of a person; very approachable and with a vast array of knowledge! From the minute that she became a part of Brio, the company took on a new, and better, direction! Everything was changed; from walls to paint to businss cards and more importantly, Ardell addressed how each and every agent does his/her business.
Ardell is the best broker that I have ever worked for. She has helped me out tremendously in the few months that she has been a part of Brio. I have never had a broker actually sit down and go over a CMA (prior to presenting it to clients) with me. I have never received such excellent advice nor have I had a broker that helped me with staging a listing!
If any of you have taken a staging course, you might remember that you were assigned to a team and that the team worked together to re-arrange the furniture and add embellishments to the house. Once you've "graduated" from the staging course, it is quite a daunting prospect to be faced with staging an entire house on your own! Recently, I had a new listing to stage and Ardell came with me, looked over the entire house and then took me shopping for items that the house needed! She spent an entire day tirelessly helping me stage the house with the items we had purchased. And, when I learned that St. Joseph reputedly can help sell a listing, Ardell took me to a Catholic store in Seattle to purchase the correct St. Joseph statues for my listings! (Yes, she is also an encyclopedia of saints!) Ardell has a passion for real estate, and more so, people. She knows just what to say & do in any situation! I have learned so much from Ardell already and hope that I can strive to be a bit like her! I am looking forward to the new direction that Brio, under Ardell, is heading for 2008 and look forward to having my business grow!
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