Josie Apodaca is the broker and owner of Elite Real Estate Group in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and has been in the real estate industry since 1995. She specializes in residential real estate. Scroll down to read our entire chat with Josie!
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What did you do before you got in the real estate industry?
That seems like another life! I was a litigation secretary for a Partner in large law firm. We specialized in Personal Injury Defense. I had a bad experience with a real estate agent when I bought my third property in 1994. I knew that I would be a much better agent than he was, so I went to school at night and weekends to get my license.
Josie Apodaca been in the real estate game since 1995
What advice would you give someone coming up in the industry? What can they do to become or stay successful?
The best advice that I could give is to stay learning based. No matter how many years you are in this (or any other) industry, you will never know it all. That is a mistake that I hear from seasoned agents frequentl
”I’ve been in the business for 15+ years and I know what I am doing!” That’s the response I get when I point out to someone an error that they have made. Stay learning based, number one. Number two, real estate is about relationships.
The techniques to create those relationships will evolve and change with technology and such. But relationships will essentially stay the same. People do business with those that they know, like and trust. Be that someone.
What was the hardest part about your job?
Trusting someone else with my clients, who know, like and trust me! I have to remember that when I worked in law, the lawyer did not research all his own cases, type his documents, file his documents with the courts, arrange his travel plans, etc. He had staff that helped him do ONLY what he did best: Plead his cases with the the opposing attorney, mediator, juror, judge, etc. I have to remember that my priority is negotiating the best contract for my client and representing their best interests. It’s ok to have others support me with the rest.
Any interesting stories?
When I was a fairly new agent, I wrote an offer on the wrong house. In my defense, the homes were only three doors apart on the same street and the same floorplan. I made my notes on the wrong listing print out. Way back when, we had to print the DOS version of the MLS and take that along with us on showings.
There were no pictures to refresh your memory with. The listing agent and I had a good laugh about it! She knew it couldn’t have been her listing, as it was priced about $15,000 higher than the fixer upper my clients wanted. I was embarrassed to have to go back to my clients and have them sign a new contract for the right house. That also meant we had to meet in person for those signatures – no e-signatures back then! Good news was that I was able to get them the “right” house.
How do you unwind?
I love to travel. My favorite way to travel is by staying in vacation rentals. It makes you feel more like a local to stay in someone’s home. I see an open house sign while I am there, you can be sure that I will stop in to check it out! Looking at homes around the country is fun for me. My husband and I will celebrate our 20 year anniversary this summer.
We were a husband and wife real estate team for 16 of those years. He still has his license, but we have opened another business that he manages. We have two daughters, who are 17 and 13. Our 17 year old graduates high school this year and will be going to college in Hawaii. I will be visiting her as often as possible! I obtained my Hawaii broker license last summer and will be utilizing that in either residential sales or property management. My plan is to live in Hawaii several months a year.
How long have you been using Realty Commander?
I started using Realty Commander (formally Short Sale Commander) because I was handling enough short sale files to fill a bankers box. I would use a portable dolly to cart that box between my home office and my public office. I was also putting labels with the bank information and loan number on every page of a short sale package – by hand. When I came across SSC, it was as if I had just received the biggest gift in all of my real estate career! All of my information was online and accessible from anywhere.
I ditched the banker box and the labels and never looked back. With SSC, I was able to successfully negotiate and close nearly 300 short sale files. I love that it has now evolved into Realty Commander, It was a powerful tool for short sales and now it has become a powerful tool for my traditional real estate transactions.