Being a Long Island Realtor is not as easy as you might think. Of course, it seems kind of glamorous, but the great ones are on call 24/7. Nights and weekends, time away from families. There are sometimes stressful situations, yet they're always expected to show grace under fire.
At Contour Mortgage, we love working for them because they see and know all. They know the market, they know their buyers. They collect the information we need for a successful transaction. They handle the clients; keeping them informed at all stages in what can be a long, drawn-out process. In New York, realtors perform an outsized role compared to many other states.
Buyers love them for all the same reasons.
Consider Sharon Sullivan-Piscopia, Realtor at Laffey Fine Homes International in Williston Park. A mother of three young children, Sullivan-Piscopia left the teaching profession four years ago to enter into real estate. The independent work style appealed to her, as someone who needed to be available to take her children to school or their activities, to manage her household, while juggling a time-consuming, exciting career.
“It’s about balance,” she says. “I went into real estate so I could run my own business and make my own hours, but I work 60 hours per week.”
She puts in those hours when she can: in early mornings getting up before she has to cook breakfast for her family and get the kids off to school, and late into the evenings. “I’m always available,” she says. “Even on vacations, my phone is always on!”
The most critical component of her job is communication, she says. “Knowing when to call clients is as important as knowing when not to call them.”
Besides working with clients, Sullivan-Piscopia also enjoys educating herself about new developments in the industry such as changes in the laws or banking institution policy. “You have to keep educating yourself,” she says. “It’s about keeping up. Knowing your clients. Following fair and ethical practices. And doing right by everyone.”
Like most real estate professionals, she thrives in a busy environment. Always on the go, showing properties and scheduling appointments. She loves the freedom her work affords, but appreciates working for Laffey Fine Homes International due to the tremendous support they offer their agents.
“Being a Realtor,” she says, “you get back what you put into it, but it’s not immediate gratification. It’s an ongoing process. It’s about staying in touch and never saying no. Saying ‘yes we can do that!’ and then figuring it out on the fly.”
For this professional mom, and real estate professionals all over New York, this is just another day at the office.
