Hammonton resident Patricia Chiu is a real estate agent for Balsley Losco Real Estate Company in Northfield, Chiu not only deals with buyers and sellers as she also deals with people who want to invest their money instead of putting it in the bank and letting it sit while earning minimal interest. Having been in real estate for 19 years, Chiu calls being a realtor a gratifying job as it allows her to help people achieve their goals.
“It’s a wonderful experience to be able to help someone and have them come back to you down the road and say ‘thank you, I’m glad I met you. You changed me, you changed my life for the better,’” Chiu said.
Prior to becoming a realtor, Chiu was a waitress at a fine dining establishment. Working as a waitress helped pave the way for Chiu to become a realtor as both jobs were similar.
“You’re already there assisting people and trying to give them a great experience. It’s the same way as sales, you want the people to purchase that house and remember you for the future,” Chiu said.
For Chiu, being a realtor is a personal journey as she doesn’t compete with others and sets personal goals for herself. When people ask her what it’s like to be a realtor and what to expect, Chiu tells them that the beginning of the career does start off slow due to the lack of a client database since you’re new and even with 19 years of experience, it’s still a learning experience.
“You have to be able to speak to people one-on-one and having a mentor is very important.
Being educated on it and speaking on things that you know is very important. It’s a learning experience, even for a realtor such as myself, because you do learn something everyday so you have to be that type of person to be open, want to be able to listen and learn and then pass on that knowledge and experience to your next real estate transaction,” Chiu said.
Chiu emphasized that being a realtor is not a career that you take lightly and that you have to always be educated and learning.
“For people who want to become real estate agents, you have to know that it’s not a career where you go to school, you learn and that’s it, you start selling houses. Being a realtor means that you’re going to be educated for the entire duration. You have to be that humbled person who sits there and says ‘hey, I got so and so in front of me and his or her experience and why he or she wants to buy his or her house’ is going to be different than the next person that I assist. You always bring that experience with you onto the next deal, if you’re a good realtor that is,” Chiu said.
Chiu also said that being a realtor can also lead to many different avenues in case you no longer want to be one. Other avenues can mean commercial real estate, listing or buying agent, depending on the comfort level.
“I’ve had people who got their real estate license and decided ‘it’s not for me, I want to do mortgages.’ Now you have that experience of being in front of a buyer or seller and knowing exactly what to say to them when they go apply for a mortgage. I’ve had realtors quit and become an appraiser so there’s different branches and avenues. Saying ‘I want to go to school and become a realtor, you open yourself up to so many more options,” Chiu said.
If anyone is interested in buying a house from Patricia Chiu of Balsley Losco Real Estate Company in Northfield can reach her at (609) 839-1311.