Chris –
Well, it man, I am. I’m glad you’re here. And I’ll tell you why. Because we dare I go to these events, right? Whether it’s a NAHREP event or the Forward event. And it’s usually those spaces where I connect with people that I have a good energy with and then we land here in the podcast room and so, you know, we’re in Gilbert, Arizona, we’re live. I’m stoked that you took time out of your busy schedule to be here, but I’ll tell you the reason why I wanted to meet with you and I wanted my audience to meet you is because you’re Latina, you’re powerful, you’re making a name for yourself and I feel like if I were to do this a year from now, two years from now, you would want to charge me to do this. So I was like, I’m like, I got to get her. I got to get her early before I started to get the fee to get her on the podcast. But I just had a good energy with you. I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know what it was, But there was some mystery with you in the first couple of times. You were kind of back in the, you know, like in the end, if I knew somebody, you knew it. It wasn’t like an immediate. But then over time, I started to get your personality before you knew it. We’re kind of joking. Like we knew each other forever. So I appreciate you. So for those of you who do not know, my guest today is Maritza Cortazar.
Maritza –
Thank you so much for having me, Chris. And you know what? I’m going to say that the day that we do, you know, a lot of people, you know, so I would see you and I’d be like man, this guy, he seems like he’s important. He’s everywhere. He’s on stage. He’s walking around saying hi to people, like, I need to know him and I remember at the NAHREP event for the first one for the Southeast Chamber, you were standing up and I remember I was like, why is he standing up? And I offered you the chair and you were just like, Oh, I’m okay. I don’t want to sit. But I think that left an impression at the fact that I had offered you a chair to sit in. I remember that. And at the moment I didn’t know Tracy was sitting right next to your wife. And so I was trying to offer you a chair next to her, but you didn’t want to sit. So I was just like, Well, what does he want to say? You know? But that’s just me. That’s just my personality.
Maritza –
There’s one thing, you know, I’m very attracted to people’s vibes, and if it seems like we’re going to vibe, I want to get to know you. Absolutely. So if we’re going to be able to work together or have fun together and you look like you were fun, I was just like, I need to know him.
Chris –
Yes. No, I mean, is saying it’s all the same thing and I think the reason that I didn’t want to sit with either was about to speak or I had spoken and I was either too hyped up like I was like, I can’t sit down right now. Like, there’s so much going on. And I don’t know if you remember, but that was like the worst situation. Like all the audio was messed up on my speech. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. And so I think I was just sitting there, standing there like, I just. Just leave me alone. I just want to crawl under a rock.
Maritza –
But great event.
Chris –
But no great event. Thank you. And, you know, I will tell you, I mean, there’s always when I look at somebody who is growing their brand in the industry and I haven’t an attraction to it because I feel like I want the people that I’m helping. You know, my job is to go out there and help loan officers breakthrough that next level. I want those individuals to learn from people like you who know how to work a room. You know, I don’t know if you have a plan when you go into events like that to go meet people. But you’re there to network, right? That’s why we do it. But do you go into it with a sense of I need to make X amount of connections, or is that just in your blood to go into these rooms and start connecting with people?
Maritza –
You know what? I know that connections are powerful, but I don’t make a plan before I go in there. What I do is I just want to go in there and meet everybody. If your vibe is good, like it’s I’m going to follow wherever you’re at and I’m going to want to meet you. There you go. You know, so for me, that’s the vibe. So I don’t have a plan, but if you look fine, I’m going to come up and meet you, you know?
Chris –
So I love it. I love it. Well, so people are wondering, like, you know, who who don’t know you. I’ll give you a give a little bit of an introduction. So, you know, you’ve picked and I think it’s because you live in Levine that this is going to be like your spot. This is where you know and I know you help people throughout you know, the Phenix area but your realtor, you’ve only been doing this for four years and you have already become a top 5% realtor in the world. I mean, that is amazing. So there’s a story behind that. And I’m curious because, you know, you grew up in Yuma. You know, you grew up in a very small town like mine. Your parents were immigrants. And when you walk up to you in a room, you have a sense of style, you have a sense of confidence and so I’m curious about that story behind what got you to that success and I’m really, you know, excited to hear it because, you know, the podcast is called Breakthrough. And in Life, there are these breakthrough moments that happen. And I was we were talking about it earlier, but I, I look at it like water boiling water boils it to 12, but a to 11, something is happening.
Chris –
There’s something like just we know it’s about to happen. If you look at the water, it’s starting to bubble a little bit. But as soon as it hits 211, boom, the bubbles come. I want to know about the things that happened to you before, those breakthrough moments of how you felt and the reason why is because there’s somebody listening to this podcast that is in a place very similar to where you were, and by the way, Marissa, it could be you 20 years ago, right? It could be that younger version of yourself, that Latina who needed to hear this now to get get to their faster. And you will inspire people with your story. So. Well, you know, I got so many questions. But let’s start with do you have a breakthrough moment on the top of your head that comes to you when you think about, you know, how you were able to be as successful as you were and maybe there was somebody holding you back, holding you back, or maybe was their mindset holding you back? Tell me a little bit about that.
Maritza –
You know what? There are a lot of things that come to mind. And thank you so much, first and foremost, Chris, for inviting me to be on here. Like, I was thrilled. I was scared, and excited because I didn’t know what was going to be asked, right? We don’t practice this. But I was excited because I just kept thinking about my story. You know, this is the first time that I get put on a podcast to share my story, and at the same time, I’m just like, There’s so much to share, right? I like you. You, you mentioned it. I come from immigrant parents, hardworking parents, hardworking, humble parents. And we didn’t have much, but we never needed anything. You know, were never in need of food.
Maritza –
Anything you know? My dad worked my mom stayed home. She was a homemaker, but she was one of the hardest hustlers ever. You know, if my dad gave her 20 bucks to make dinner, you better believe she had a whole dinner that fed us the rest of the week. You know, she just hustled and saw my mom and everything. Just always like she’s my motivation when it comes down to it, you know? And my biggest cheerleader, too, and thinking about right now, you’re going make me emotional, but you’re talking about this breakthrough moment. And I have to say that when I got my real estate license for me, right, it was one of those things that my mom, even my brother and my husband, were just like, You’re going to kick ass. Just do it. You’ve always been very entrepreneurial. You have that leadership role. You know, I’ve been in banking for 15 years of leadership.
Chris –
Where were you before?
Maritza –
Before doing this, I was a stay-at-home mom. I had to leave corporate America because I had a son who was born with a heart condition.
Chris –
Oh, my gosh. Okay.
Maritza –
So it was one of those pivots, right? You either have to pivot and adjust and keep going. I never saw myself being a stay-at-home Pinterest mom, cooking dinner, and doing crafts with their kids. Never. I was a working mom.
Chris –
So you’re a working mom. Before you became a realtor, you were. What company did you work for?
Maritza –
I was at desert schools as a branch.
Chris –
Manager or a branch manager in me. I think branch managers in the banking in retail space are probably one of the hardest jobs that you have to do. You have so many hats you have to wear. It is a credit union, right? So it is a little bit different than Wells Fargo. But you still have objectives you have to hit and there are so many things you have to look for. And so thinking about that time and then losing, having a child that has needs, and then for you to make that decision to pivot to losing your identity, if you will. Right. Like you’re losing. I remember when my wife gave up her job when she like, quote unquote, retired.
Chris –
She from the banking industry seemed very similar. I remember the emotional piece because she was like, I’m losing my identity. She was excited about being a mom and being able to spend time in a way that she never had, but she was like, This is this is my identity. It’s who I am. What was that like for you? And you know what you’re speaking the truth right there. As women, when we have to go back after being in corporate America being this working badass mom, and having to make the decision to stay at home, it was an easy decision, but it was also a hard decision because of losing your identity. So I became this mom to cook meals.
Maritza –
Next thing you know, I’m babysitting other kids to where my brothers, my brother’s friends are calling me, asking me, Hey, I hear you’re at home with kids, you know, can I drop my kids off? Next thing you know, I have a whole kindergarten class at home. And everybody is they’re wanting to do crafts. They want home-cooked meals.
Maritza –
These parents love the fact that they can leave their kids with me.
Chris –
Because there’s a trust factor here. Right? There’s a trust factor. But we always look for opportunity, man. It’s like, wait, wait, I could get cheaper care over here. Like, let’s get out of here.
Maritza –
So for me, Monday through Friday, I was not only taking care of my little ones, but others little ones. And it just became one of those things like, What the hell did I get myself into? What happened to Maritza? What happened to that badass corporate mom? You know, in banking positions?
Chris –
And how many years did this go on for from, like, desert schools to realtor?
Maritza –
My son, I was he was six, I’m going to say probably a good five years.
Chris –
Okay.
Maritza –
That’s a long five years at home, taking care of kids.
Chris –
How is he now?
Maritza –
Oh, you would never think it. My son is nine years old, thriving, and amazing at sports, basketball, football, everything. Doctors told me. You know what? Your son’s not going to live a normal life. You know, he’s not going to able to play sports. He’s going to be sick. You know, this and that. You look at him and he is a blessing. Every day, you know, I just look at him and think about how blessed we are. But I also think that this was God’s way of telling me and reminding me that he was there. You know, we’re a very religious family, very faith-based, and for me, this was just my aha moment to bring me back into my faith because I did question a lot of things at the moment. I was upset not knowing why this was happening to us, but now, in retrospect, I am blessed. My son is healthy and thriving. Our family is growing and better than ever, but a lot of that came with that. You know, a lot of even though my kids were good and the babysitting thing was good, it helped us get through paychecks.
Maritza –
When my husband was a branch manager with Chase at that time, there were moments when working on one income, wasn’t enough, but that babysitting check came in at the right time.
Chris –
It always happens that way. It always it always happens that way. I mean, you know, there were times when I remember in a recession, like the Great Recession, I got laid off and my wife was still working and it was like, you know if she hadn’t been working, we would have probably lost everything, you know? And then as soon as I started working, you know, I think her position got changed where she was making a lot less money then and then. So, like, it always I just feel like as long as your heart’s in the right place and you’re doing the right things in life, things will eventually happen the way that they should. So you go to this five years where and by the way, I’ll say this because you may know this, but you know what? Growing up as I grew up as a latchkey kid, so I didn’t see my parents.
Chris –
One was like working in the morning, one was working at night. And so it was very I do remember long periods being by myself, but there were probably maybe five times that I can remember where my mom took a vacation but just didn’t go to work. Just would take curb PTO or whatever you call it. And I would come home from school and she would have dinner ready and I’ll never forget those times were amazing, right? You get a home-cooked meal, but your son will never forget those years that he had with just you. You know what I mean? Like the fact that I know there were other kids there, But he’ll always remember that Mom was there for me when I needed her. And then at the right time, you go into figuring out the next phase of your career.
Chris –
So what was happening in your life when you decided, Realtor I’m going to go do that? Was it because I was flexible in it? Was it because you wanted to build wealth? What was the trigger that you said I’m doing that?
Maritza –
We were living paycheck to paycheck. My husband was working and that was never the life I wanted for us. You know, I never wanted to be your paycheck to paycheck just waiting for that. You know, we had bigger aspirations. I’m always the mindset of having more having better, you know, always better than what your parents were able to give you, and at that point, it was just like, I need to make a change, but I’m not going back to corporate, you know? So for me, it was one of those my mom kept telling me, Get your license. I got the kids to take the nine-day crash course.
Chris –
Who did you guys know in real estate? That was like that was an option. Like, who was it that you were looking at and saying, Well, if they can do it, I can do it. Was there anybody or it was just you just know that those flexibility with that role?
Maritza –
Well, no, I have I have family that’s in real estate. Okay, good. Okay. Well, I already had somebody that was there. And for me, the biggest thing was, you know, they did contribute to me going into it. But it was I was so honed in on, I don’t want to write anybody else’s tailcoat. Got it. You know, for me, it was like, if I’m going to get in on this, I’m making my name.
00;15;46;00 – 00;15;49;09
Speaker 1
I’m making my brand so that nobody can ever take that away from me.
Chris –
Well, let’s dive into that because that’s interesting. Not everybody grows up with that chip on their shoulder whereas I’m the opposite. I’m like, If you want to blaze a trail and I could ride your coattails, I’m holding on as tight as I can until I can surpass you. Yeah, right. I had a mentor that mentored me for ten years and then he ended up working for me and I think in a lot of ways, that’s how things should work. I think somebody blazed a trail. They break through a ceiling that you didn’t realize could be broken through. And if you’re smart, you’re watching it, watching, and eventually you’ll perform them if you’re in the mindset of it. Right. So but where did they come? Where do you know where you got the idea that it was like, no, I’m doing this on my own and I’m going to be on my badass?
Like, where does that come from?
00;16;42;15 – 00;16;50;24
Speaker 1
You know what? A lot of it came from not wanting anybody to take credit for my stuff, you know, and knowing that.
Chris –
Was that a thing that happened before? Did something happen in your past where?
00;16;54;17 – 00;16;57;28
Speaker 1
No, but I mean, we come from a family of six, six kids.
Chris –
Oh, man.
00;16;58;11 – 00;17;13;24
Speaker 1
Something is going to get overlooked. You know what I mean? So you want to make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re going to have your recognition for it. And if I am one of those, you better give me my gold star. You better give me my pat on the back. You know, I just had that personality.
00;17;13;26 – 00;17;31;05
Speaker 1
So for me, it was really important from the get-go that I was going to do this by myself, by my, you know, if I, if I needed help, help me. But if not, it’s either sink or swim. And guess what? I swam. There you go. Even That’s why I say there’s a lot of truth behind, you know, being the glamorous life of having real estate.
00;17;31;05 – 00;17;48;14
Speaker 1
But there’s also a lot of ugliness, and we don’t talk about that. You know, the Why did I get into this shit? To be honest, you know, when deals aren’t going your way why didn’t I get a mentor? Or I could just pick up and call and ask. But I’m stubborn. Mm hmm. You know, and I’m a Latina.
00;17;48;14 – 00;17;53;01
Speaker 1
you know, I want to make sure that whatever I’m doing is on my own.
Chris –
So interesting. Well, I have that. I do feel like I. I lived in that, too, in a different way. You know, like, I remember getting in a position where someone had I remember getting in this position where the way that the world looked at it was like, why is that guy? I was younger than everybody, you know, It was a big role and my peers didn’t like me. They immediately, like had beef with me because like, why did that guy right? And also no one looked like me. I mean, no one was Latino in the position, right? So immediately, I don’t even know that they knew why they felt the way they did, but they did. I would ask them questions and they would just blow me up. But I remember having that same chip on my shoulder, like, I’m going to go crush everybody and then we’ll talk about it. Right? And I did. I ended up crushing everybody and they hated me more, you know, So. So I do think that there is a sense of pride that comes along with paving your way.
Chris –
So I feel you when you said it that way, I understand it. So, you decided to take the license. I have to ask this because, at one point in my career, I wanted to have a property management company. And so I didn’t know I knew nothing about property management. And then I realized in order to be a property manager, you have a real estate license. So I was like, Well, okay, well, let’s start there. Let me go get that. And then I failed the test like three times. How many times do you have to take the real estate test to pass it? Let’s talk about this.
00;19;26;12 – 00;19;28;14
Speaker 1
I took it like three times too.
Chris –
I was so embarrassed that I stopped going. Like I failed it twice. The lady already knew I was, so I had to go to the so I went to one in Scottsdale and I was so embarrassed to go back that I went to the wedding. GILBERT And then I passed the wedding. GILBERT At the at that office because I couldn’t, I couldn’t face the that the taker, you know, the people you get to give, they get the pencils from and stuff. So you did that. You took a while. Was that demoralizing for you too? Like, I don’t know, like, why can I pass this test?
00;19;55;21 – 00;20;14;16
Speaker 1
It is definitely because it was always by one point it’s one question. I’m like, Seriously? I was like, Yes, like, just let me pass it. But yeah, I think at that point it was just God’s timing. You know, everything happens at the right time. And I think it was just holding me back so that I could be at the next spot where I needed to be.
00;20;14;16 – 00;20;15;04
Speaker 1
You know what I mean?
Chris –
Without a doubt. I mean, but it just B.S. like, I mean, that was a hard test of that stuff. You’ve never needed it since then.
00;20;21;08 – 00;20;24;20
Speaker 1
No, it is a hard test. But leave it to my husband to pass on his first try.
Chris –
Did he?
00;20;25;16 – 00;20;26;02
Speaker 1
I love.
Chris –
That’s where it’s you know why? You know, I. Because he works at a bank and they have to take tests all the time of banks.
00;20;30;16 – 00;20;37;10
Speaker 1
But so did I. You know, that’s why I was just like, but this is, you know, here and there. But I’m just saying, he only took it once.
Chris –
Oh, so great, so great. He was like, Yeah, I passed it. It’s such a weight lifted off the shoulders and you pass that test. Same with my, my, my, my level license. I, I had to, I actually was lucky I passed it the first time. But I’ll give somebody advice, like if anybody’s taking one of these tests, here’s the advice I have. Don’t over-study for it and only give it one hour a day because if you over-study for it, then you’re not going to retain anything. But if you only give yourself one hour a day, then you’re not like you’re not what’s the word? Overwhelmed by the task of studying because I remember having to go like 4 hours of study, right?
Chris –
Do you remember these sessions and then having to take all the tests? But I think if you have to take one of these tests, whether it’s an MLO license or a real estate, give yourself one hour a day to focus and test it. And then your chant, your likelihood of passing is so much higher. But all right, let’s get into you. Get the real estate license and you then start to you know, they always say this. And is this true that as soon as you get your real estate license, you immediately have like three or four deals?
00;21;44;10 – 00;21;49;02
Speaker 1
And like when it was true. Yeah. No. Okay. So I got my license at the end of 2019.
Chris –
- Okay. This is so recent. This is crazy.
00;21;51;28 – 00;22;12;04
Speaker 1
Yeah, this is where we’re at. You know, it’s October and I’m about and I’m hanging my license. Oh, well, a banker was the only brokerage that I went to. Right. That’s. I didn’t interview anywhere else. You know, if I’m going to be here, this is where I’m going to make time for myself. Then November, December, you know, nothing really happens. And then COVID hits in March.
Chris –
Yeah, okay.
00;22;13;03 – 00;22;21;03
Speaker 1
COVID hits. And you’re just like, what am I going to do? Yes. You know, And that’s when I say it’s either sink or swim. So I immersed myself.
Chris –
You. Did you have any deals in between?
00;22;22;18 – 00;22;25;19
Speaker 1
Nothing. Okay. Well, I practice was my purchase.
Chris –
So you did your purchase?
00;22;26;19 – 00;22;33;00
Speaker 1
I made my purchase at that point and in February, we closed right before everything happened with COVID.
Chris –
Did you have, like a transaction coordinator helping you with the paperwork you did all yourself? You’re just like, filling out blanks and making this happen. Okay.
00;22;39;13 – 00;22;52;07
Speaker 1
Yeah. I remember even asking the seller’s agent, Can you give me can you give us concessions? Because we’re going to try to do the backyard? Yes. It was one of those things where, you know, your new agent asks for these things, but you learn right through it. But yeah, so.
Chris –
Well, I still think you have to ask.
00;22;53;23 – 00;22;58;14
Speaker 1
Well, you could say no question. It’s just like because I’m going to do the backyard like.
Chris –
Get more Yankees.
00;23;00;04 – 00;23;21;03
Speaker 1
Kind of questions. Looking back now, I’m just like-minded to you. Yes. Yeah. No, but definitely I gave it out that I was the new agent. Okay. But yes, COVID hits. And at that point, it was just like, where am I going to get a deal? What am I going to do with my business? The world is shutting down around me, and these kids are now going to have to stay home-schooled.
00;23;21;06 – 00;23;31;02
Speaker 1
What I ended up doing I feel like my breakthrough moment at that point was I was going to hold everybody’s house open. Any agent that wants an open house, I’m your girl.
Chris –
Oh, so, okay, I get this this because this frustrates lenders to say, you know because we we look up what open houses are going to be happening and at the time I don’t know if this has changed since then, but it’ll show up as the person who has the listing is doing the open house. So you go and you get all the fliers ready to present like hang-out fliers and then it’s like, But you’re not the person that’s listed on the deal. You’re the agent that’s holding the house open. So that’s why it frustrates lenders because we try to have a plan and you know, it it throws off the plan. But I think that that’s an amazing way to make connections because activity breeds activity.
00;24;10;29 – 00;24;11;12
Speaker 1
Exactly.
Chris –
So I did a lot of open houses as a lender. I remember during the recession doing open houses because there were all bank foreclosures, so they didn’t have AC. It was like July, no. AC You know, and you would you would have to go and hold these houses open because I had a buddy of mine doing what you were doing. He was just like getting these listings and then, you know, showing them. So I’ll go and help them. I never got a deal from the open house. I got deals from him because he remembered me doing the open houses. He still sends me all his deals today because he’s like he remembers the coming up and the sweat, you know, that we did. But that’s it. I mean, if you can figure out a way to create activity. And so you went around asking other agents.
00;24;55;28 – 00;25;00;26
Speaker 1
Yeah. And I can tell you that from that open house. Yes. This is where everything took off.
Chris –
So talk to me about that, because that’s so that’s the key piece. Number one. Yeah. Hold open houses Even if they’re not even yours.
00;48;11;17 – 00;48;32;16
Speaker 1
Kind of questions. Looking back now, I’m just like the need to what you seem like, you know. But definitely, I gave it out that I was the new agent. Okay. But yes, COVID hits. And at that point, it was just like, where am I going to get a deal? What am I going to do with my business? The world is shutting down around me, and these kids are now going to have to stay at home school.
00;48;32;19 – 00;48;42;15
Speaker 1
What I ended up doing I feel like my breakthrough moment at that point was I was going to hold everybody’s house open. Any agent that wants an open house, I’m your girl.
00;48;42;21 – 00;49;05;08
Speaker 2
Oh, so, okay, I get this this because this frustrates lenders to say, you know because we we look up what open houses are going to be happening and at the time I don’t know if this has changed since then, but it’ll show up as the person who has the listing is doing the open house. So you go and you get all the fliers ready to present like, Hey, I got you fliers and then it’s like, But you’re not the person that’s listed on the deal. You’re the agent that’s holding the house open. So that’s why it frustrates lenders because we try to have a plan and, you know, it throws off the plan. But I think that that’s an amazing way to make connections because activity breeds activity.
00;49;22;12 – 00;49;44;07
Speaker 2
Exactly. So I did a lot of open houses as a lender. I remember during the recession doing open houses because there were all bank foreclosures, so they didn’t have AC. It was like July, no. AC You know, and you would you would have to go and hold these houses open because I had a buddy of mine doing what you were doing.
00;49;44;07 – 00;50;01;09
Speaker 2
He was just like getting these listings and then, you know, showing them. So I’ll go and help them. I never got a deal from the open house. I got deals from him because he remembered doing the open houses. He still sends me all his deals today because he’s like he remembers the coming up and the sweat, you know, that we did.
00;50;01;12 – 00;50;07;19
Speaker 2
But that’s it. I mean, if you can figure out a way to create activity. And so you went around asking other agents. Yeah.
00;50;07;20 – 00;50;12;07
Speaker 1
And I can tell you that from that open house. Yes. This is where everything took off.
00;50;12;08 – 00;50;18;26
Speaker 2
So talk to me about that, because that’s so that’s the key piece. Number one. Yeah. Hold open houses even if they’re not even yours.
00;50;18;26 – 00;50;31;23
Speaker 1
Yes. Even if they’re not yours, you ask, you know. Okay. So That first open house, I was sweating. It was in the middle of July. I had my husband do all of my branding, you know, leaving the signs out to get all the traffic.
00;50;32;00 – 00;50;36;04
Speaker 2
Well, no, don’t glaze over that. That’s important. So when you where did you put the signs?
00;50;36;05 – 00;50;40;03
Speaker 1
We were in Levine. Off the street, everywhere, you know, just so that they know where to come. See how.
00;50;40;03 – 00;50;40;21
Speaker 2
Many signs.
00;50;40;29 – 00;50;42;04
Speaker 1
There was. Eight signs.
00;50;42;05 – 00;50;44;07
Speaker 2
Eight signs. And your husband had to go put him out.
00;50;44;08 – 00;50;45;13
Speaker 1
And he had to go put them out.
00;50;45;13 – 00;50;48;04
Speaker 2
Does he used does he use a hammer? How does he get them in the?
00;50;48;06 – 00;50;49;22
Speaker 1
They’re just the little open ones.
00;50;49;24 – 00;50;50;14
Speaker 2
Oh, just okay.
00;50;50;15 – 00;51;06;16
Speaker 1
They’re just okay. But if you’ve ever traveled to Levine, you know, that baseline is always so congested and Saturday morning people are out there doing that your buddies get you got to go out quick. But I can tell you one thing that I always share is that there’s always a million. The million is in follow-up, right?
00;51;06;16 – 00;51;21;20
Speaker 1
I had these people coming in that weren’t even looking for a house at that moment. They were just being neighbors, you know, that were the noisy, the nosy neighbors. Right. They come in, I have this fill it, this sheet and I’m shaking. Please don’t forget to fill my sheet, you know.
00;51;21;20 – 00;51;33;04
Speaker 2
Okay. Well, let’s talk about that. What you say you’re shaking. But is it because there’s like an ask like you feel a little embarrassed or a little like I’m pushy to ask them to give you information?
00;51;33;04 – 00;51;34;20
Speaker 1
Yeah, their personal information.
00;51;34;20 – 00;51;38;04
Speaker 2
Right. So why is that? Why do you think that felt weird for you?
00;51;38;08 – 00;51;54;26
Speaker 1
Because in my head, I felt like somebody coming up to me. I’m going to give them bogus information, right? Yeah. I don’t. I wanted them to know that, Hey, you’re here. I would really love this information. Like, help me build. Like, they didn’t even know it was a new agent, right? I didn’t start with that. But you’re intimidated by this. You’re intimidating by having this sheet and the personal information, and you’re in hopes of getting the legit.
00;52;02;10 – 00;52;20;23
Speaker 2
This is so good. So if I’m a new agent listening to you and I’m thinking, yes, I feel that that like that thing creeps up that I’m embarrassed or I’m ashamed to ask this. How’s your pitch to you? What now, today, knowing who you are, Right? Because that that doesn’t exist. I’m guessing today you want this information. You’re getting all their information. Yeah. So. Yeah. So what? What is it now? I walked into your open house today. Your house? You’re listing a $500,000 home, and you’re not letting me walk out of there without that information. What do you say to me?
00;52;31;21 – 00;52;44;18
Speaker 1
Hey, you know what, Chris? I have this. The sign-in sheet is right here. This will allow me to send you all of the information about this home or any other homes that come up so that you don’t miss out on the opportunity to live in the neighborhood that you’re looking at. Boom, boom pitch right. There it is.
00;52;44;19 – 00;52;46;13
Speaker 2
Yes. Okay. That’s it.
00;52;46;16 – 00;52;58;04
Speaker 1
So and you know what? I had a successful open house. I had so many parties through there. And then you get home and you’re looking at the sheet and I’m like, all right, now I got to call them now.
00;52;58;04 – 00;53;16;22
Speaker 2
Okay, well, that’s it. That’s all you got over the first hump. Yeah. And got the information. Now, the second weird thing that our brain does to us is it tries to pull us to not do things, and it’s telling. You don’t call. You’re this is fear. You feel fear of the cold call. But it’s not cold because I met you. Yeah. So you finally had to push yourself to do this. How long did you wait? Like you have the list? Let’s say you got it on Saturday. When did you make the phone call?
00;53;25;17 – 00;53;39;29
Speaker 1
You know what? I got home and I made it that day because I was not going to let myself. I knew that if I let myself sleep on it and then called them the next day, I probably wouldn’t do it. Do it. Then I’d be like, Oh, I can do another day. I can call them, and that’s it, you know? So I made the calls, and the first call that I made was the first couple that came through, and they weren’t even on the market to look for, to get a house, but I just called them and reintroduced myself and I thanked them for coming to my open house and Chris, within the week this, this client calls me and tells me, Hey Maritza, this house opened up in the neighborhood that we want to be in.
00;54;02;13 – 00;54;29;18
Speaker 1
Can you help us go look at it? And boom, that just kind of snowballed. Everything. Next thing you know, I’m getting them approved with my lender. At the moment, we’re looking at this house. We have the house under contract, and now I have to list their home. So I did two transactions from that one open house. And I can tell you that these clients never knew that I was a brand new agent at the end of the transaction, I told them, Hey, you know what?
00;54;29;21 – 00;54;47;27
Speaker 1
So much for the opportunity. You don’t even know. Understand what this means to me, you know? And I told them I was a new agent and you took a chance on me. And that will forever be in my heart. Not only are you my first client, but you guys now become part of my family. Like your girls, you everything here in Levine. Like, I know that I’m going to see you again. And till this day, they’re my biggest cheerleaders. Any opportunity that comes up from anybody looking for a real estate agent, you better believe my client, Katie. She’s like, merits. A court is our right. The court is our best agent. Like any opportunity, she is one of my biggest, biggest cheerleaders and they never knew during the transaction that they were my first client.
00;55;11;12 – 00;55;41;18
Speaker 2
So I think I think I got emotional hearing that story. I think the biggest thing that the takeaways that I want somebody who’s listening to this really get is that every successful person and we’re talking to a top 5% in the world in real estate is telling you that when they first started, which was just four short years ago, that they were worried about one, asking somebody to give their name when they walked in an open house and when they got the name, too, they were afraid to make the call. But it was the decision of and I been in that decision. Here’s what I’ll tell myself if I’m because I do, I take 3 hours a week and I make calls and I just reach out to people, get to know people in the industry, you know, I want to help loan officers grow.
00;56;02;06 – 00;56;21;01
Speaker 2
So I called different loan officers and just wanted to get to know them, know their story, hear, and hear about them but then there were sometimes before I had it scheduled before it like was a thing on my calendar. I would just find time throughout the week and just make calls. But something would get in my head and it would be like, Well, it’s 4:00. Nobody wants to get a call at 4:00 on a Thursday. You know, I’m like, Well, that’s so dumb, right? Or then I would say, okay, well, 9:00, I’m alcohol in tomorrow and it would be 9:00 on a Friday. I’m like, well, it’s Friday. Nobody’s ever in the office on Friday at 9:00, so they’re not gonna want to get a call.
00;56;35;26 – 00;56;49;01
Speaker 2
And I’m like, All right, well then it would be like, I’m going to make all my calls on Saturday cause I was so busy and then it’s like, Well, nobody wants to get a call Saturday morning. Like, you just start making excuses. So when your brain starts to do that, make the call.
00;56;49;04 – 00;56;51;28
Speaker 1
Make the call. Shut that noise down. Yes.
00;56;52;01 – 00;57;12;22
Speaker 2
Right. I mean, so by shutting the noise down and I’m sure that this happens in a lot of various places in your career, you just have to shut it down. So tell me, you know, for you that from that customer, that that first one, how fast did it grow from there for you?
00;57;12;24 – 00;57;39;06
Speaker 1
I felt like it just snowballed. In my first year, I made Bronze Circle with Global Banker. I was invited to the gala. You know, I shocked a lot of my peers because they were just like, Wow, you just started. So that just grew my confidence, right? Because I was just like, Here I am with all of these other agents that have been in the industry for years and are making they some of them were making the same level of recognition that I was.
00;57;39;09 – 00;57;40;26
Speaker 1
And I was just like, How is this possible?
00;57;40;26 – 00;57;54;10
Speaker 2
Why do you think that was? I mean, in really looking at it from more of a if you can look at it subjectively, I mean, I’m sorry, objectively as best as possible. What do you think was the difference?
00;57;54;12 – 00;57;59;01
Speaker 1
I didn’t want to fail. There was so much riding on this, you know, So for me, like.
00;57;59;07 – 00;58;00;21
Speaker 2
What was riding on it for you?
00;58;00;24 – 00;58;18;19
Speaker 1
It was helping the family. We were living paycheck to paycheck. My husband was the only one working, you know, at that point. Not only that, but my mom came and helped me while I did this nine-day crash course. So you’re talking about studying for an hour? I took I did this in nine days. Nine days, nine days, and then have to study for this exam.
00;58;18;19 – 00;58;20;09
Speaker 1
So within a month, I was licensed.
00;58;20;12 – 00;58;21;04
Speaker 2
There you go.
00;58;21;07 – 00;58;41;07
Speaker 1
So knowing my parent’s struggles, knowing that I had to do something, you know, is where it was sink or swim for me. You know, the fact that I had spent all this money that I didn’t have on a license. I borrowed money from my mom for my parents to pass to get this license. So I wasn’t just going to.
00;58;41;09 – 00;58;50;25
Speaker 2
That’s a big deal. I mean, that’s a big deal because you don’t you don’t realize it. I mean, I think all in. What is it like close to a thousand now that you have to drop to get fully licensed? And I.
00;58;50;26 – 00;58;54;10
Speaker 1
Think of course, I think, you know, when I was like a little close to $2,000.
00;58;54;10 – 00;58;55;09
Speaker 2
$2,000 to.
00;58;55;09 – 00;59;03;00
Speaker 1
Get it all of your courses, and then you have your fingerprinting and then you have, you know, all of your extra classes that you want to do. But that’s.
00;59;03;00 – 00;59;21;10
Speaker 2
True. Okay. So you’ve now made more money income-wise than you would ever make in your life. Is that is that a true statement? And what advice do you give to people now, looking back? Because when you first start making money, you start doing dumb things. I know I did. Did you what did you do with all the money you were making?
00;59;21;10 – 00;59;24;04
Speaker 2
How did you how did you plan on that and what advice do you give people?
00;59;24;10 – 00;59;32;03
Speaker 1
We definitely my husband and I were we never had this, you know, like we were living paycheck to paycheck, but we had a house, we had everything.
00;59;32;03 – 00;59;33;27
Speaker 2
We looked at the checks I pro.
00;59;34;03 – 00;59;51;26
Speaker 1
I yeah, it was just like, yeah, what what do we do? Like, what are we doing with this? You know? Yeah. And I was like, well, do I have to get a financial adviser? Right? What’s going to happen? Like, you work in banking, you help other clients with these things. But I was like, Am I on the other end of that?
00;59;51;29 – 01;00;23;27
Speaker 1
Right? Yeah. You know, And to know where you come from with your family, you know, with your life, your parents and everything and full circle, and now you’re just like, lose me. God, it’s so good, you know? But we didn’t make any silly decisions, you know? We’ve saved a lot because we also came from nothing. You know, after my son was sick and everything, having to be a young couple and filing a bankruptcy, it’s not something that we talk about, but it’s something that made us and gave us this different foundation to be where we’re at to make better decisions.
01;00;23;27 – 01;00;27;07
Speaker 2
So you went from bankruptcy to where you’re at today?
01;00;27;07 – 01;00;41;23
Speaker 1
Yeah. Those medical bills? Yeah. You’re my son. Being a heart patient. My son is a $1,000,000 baby. Yeah. You know, every doctor that came in, you better believe, even if they just came in, snuck their heading to the hospital room. You better believe they put it.
01;00;41;27 – 01;01;02;27
Speaker 2
Isn’t it amazing because there’s another money out there that might even be listening to this? Who is sitting on all that debt and working a 9 to 5 and is never going to get out of it because it’s an astronomical amount of health care money? And then when you look at what like if you look at the if you’ve ever really taken time to look at the bills, which I’m sure you have, we did.
01;01;03;00 – 01;01;20;28
Speaker 2
I had a major surgery one time and I looked at and I was I couldn’t believe, like all the menus that the menu things that I got charged for, you know, it’s like it like you said, they walk in, you get charged. Yeah. So you get through all that and you know you’ve been through bankruptcy. A very humbling experience.
01;01;21;00 – 01;01;27;23
Speaker 2
You’ve now become, you know, one of the top 5%. What’s the advice you give somebody that wants to do what you’re doing today?
01;01;27;25 – 01;01;44;15
Speaker 1
You know what? Your past doesn’t define you. So no matter what you’ve been through, if you want to do it, go for it and don’t look back. Just keep walking forward and follow those that are doing what you want to do. So always look for somebody who’s going to inspire you. You know who inspires you.
01;01;44;16 – 01;01;45;21
Speaker 2
I’m curious about this.
01;01;45;24 – 01;02;04;12
Speaker 1
You know, I have a lot of people. One of the biggest inspirations I have to say, you know, for the longest time was one of my older brothers. You know, all of my brothers are very inspirational. And what they do, they’re amazing fathers, you know, figures in their job and everything. But since I was little, I’ve always aspired to be like, you know, one of my older brothers.
01;02;04;15 – 01;02;18;11
Speaker 1
But then when I got into this business, it was just one of those things that I’m making my own my own, my road. I’m going to make my success, my name because I didn’t want to have to be. You got this because of such and such person.
01;02;18;17 – 01;02;19;05
Speaker 2
Interesting.
01;02;19;05 – 01;02;41;24
Speaker 1
You know. So for me, that was big because as a Latina, as a female, you know, you don’t want to have your accreditation, you want to have your victories. And I didn’t want anybody to take that away from me, you know, But I do have mentors. I do have people that inspire me. My family is my biggest cheerleader, and it’s important to have the right people in your circle.
01;02;41;26 – 01;03;03;04
Speaker 1
If you want to go places, you know, say that you are the average of the five people you hang out with. It’s a good point. And I believe that you know, I definitely want to make sure that I’m very intentional with the people that I hang around with because if you’re not bringing me peace, making me money, or, you know, we’re not getting ahead in business, I don’t want it these days, you know.
01;03;03;06 – 01;03;20;05
Speaker 2
So I love that. I mean, I love the fact that you’re humble enough to recognize that the only way to really, you know, grow is to, you know, there are people that you can learn from and that you can grow from. And under those people who feel like they could do it on their own, I always joke around.
01;03;20;05 – 01;03;32;10
Speaker 2
I say that there are two types of people. There are people with coaches, there are people without coaches. But I think that from the perspective of mentors, I have probably five different mentors in my life.
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