Find out how NYC affiliate dealer Maria Daou combines in-depth data with personalised service to make a long-lasting impression on shoppers.
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Like cooks, actual property professionals are at their greatest when the hearth is hottest. In the course of the red-hot pandemic market, foodie and New York Metropolis affiliate dealer Maria Daou noticed her enterprise take off, rising by practically 113 p.c. That’s an enormous bounce for a self-professed “hand-holder from start to finish” who’s all the time out there to shoppers, day or evening.
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Calling herself “honest to a fault,” Daou believes within the energy of transparency for constructing relationships and protecting repeats and referral enterprise coming. Find out how this dealer combines in-depth data with personalised service to make a long-lasting impression on shoppers.
Identify: Maria Daou
Title: Licensed affiliate actual property dealer
Expertise: 25 years expertise
Location: New York Metropolis
Brokerage title: Coldwell Banker Warburg
Awards:
Daou has been a top-10 producing dealer at Coldwell Banker Warburg yearly however one since 2017 with none advertising and marketing or social media.
2024 RealTrends Verified No. 68 New York Metropolis rating
What would you inform a brand new agent earlier than they begin out within the enterprise?
I inform new brokers to be trustworthy, even when it means killing a sale or not getting a list. It’s important that your buyer trusts you and that you may again up what you might be telling them.
My pet peeve is when brokers level one thing out throughout a exhibiting, and it’s so clearly not the case. It’s like saying the sky is yellow when it’s blue. Consumers have eyes, and telling them what they’re seeing shouldn’t be actually there’s one of the simplest ways to lose their belief.
I level out the failings more often than not earlier than they see them, however then I’m additionally in a position to clarify why that flaw perhaps shouldn’t be a dealbreaker.
What do shoppers have to know earlier than they start an actual property transaction?
The very best recommendation I may give patrons and sellers is to select a dealer they like and belief, ideally one advisable to them, after which take heed to them. In the event that they don’t have a private referral, they need to interview a couple of totally different brokers who both have bought of their constructing or space or have a superb status.
In New York Metropolis, in the event that they dwell in a doorman constructing, they’ll ask the doorman which brokers have bought of their constructing and if they’re pleasant.
The opposite piece of recommendation for sellers is that after they determine to promote, they need to take away the emotion from the transaction. Their dwelling turns into a commodity.
In the event you may do something aside from actual property, what wouldn’t it be?
If I may do something moreover actual property, I’d be a chef and have my very own restaurant. Twenty-five years in the past, I needed to make the selection to enter actual property, leaving my catering job behind as a result of I couldn’t afford to remain in NYC in any other case.
I grew up in Lebanon, the place cooking is an enormous a part of the tradition. I’ve all the time beloved going to farmer’s markets after which coming dwelling and cooking up a feast. Whereas it will have been enjoyable to show that into my very own restaurant, it wasn’t lifelike in NYC 25 years in the past.
I made a decision to enter actual property, and I really like the place it has taken me, all of the fascinating folks I’ve met, and the wonderful residences I’ve seen and bought. I nonetheless go to a minimum of three farmers’ markets every week, and I cook dinner for household and buddies. I additionally serve on the advisory board for Wellness within the Colleges, a nationwide non-profit that conjures up wholesome consuming and health for teenagers in public faculties.
What’s an important factor you realized in class or in your prelicensing courses?
Being a dealer is really not simply discovering and exhibiting residences. To be good, you should be very well-rounded and keep knowledgeable. Once I pitch a possible unique or speak to a brand new purchaser, I can draw from my data to kind a convincing argument to again up my pricing or to advise them on what constitutes a “good buy.”
What’s one of the best recommendation you ever acquired from a mentor or colleague?
My mentors (I’ve had a pair at Coldwell Banker Warburg) all the time harassed the significance of our roles as brokers. We provide our data, handholding, recommendation, experience and time. In over 25 years on this enterprise, I’ve discovered that it’s by no means only a easy transaction. I’ve taken calls at 6 a.m. and midnight and even helped {couples} work out their variations and compromise.
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