Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Pilla Soares.
Angela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a native New Yorker — born in the Bronx and raised in New Rochelle – a suburb of NYC. I attended New York Law School in Manhattan and after graduating in 2002, I got my first job as a litigator at one of the largest insurance defense firms in the nation. I practiced in NY’s toughest courts and while it was thrilling at first, I knew that I did not want to practice this area of law forever. In 2007, my husband and I bought our first house and I became fascinated with the process. After we closed on our property, I asked my real estate attorney if she would take me on and teach me everything she knew — and thankfully she agreed.
I worked closely with her and eventually, I decided to go solely on my own and launched my real estate law firm. Unfortunately, as soon as I did that, the country was faced with the great recession of 2008. Real estate transactions came to a screeching halt and I had to immediately reinvent myself. So I learned how to process short sales and close loans for major financial institutions and survived using my new skills. Unfortunately, during the same time, my husband suffered a job loss and despite his best efforts, could not find any viable opportunities in NY. And after several challenging years professionally, personally and financially, in 2016, we decided to move to Weston, Florida for a new start!
Unfortunately, the State of Florida does not have reciprocity and my law license did not transfer here. So I did what I do best, and sought new opportunities in the real estate industry — and now find myself in my dream job as the Business Development Executive for Fidelity National Title of Florida – Plantation Branch, covering Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Hahahahahahaahah! Nope, not even close. It has been a journey of mistakes, missteps, fear, failure, losses, sadness and self-doubt! The initial biggest struggle was our finances… we tried keeping things afloat in one of the most expensive and highest taxed counties in the nation with one income! It was exhausting and debilitating– and when we finally sought the help of an attorney, we decided to file for bankruptcy in 2015.
What most people don’t realize is that with bankruptcy and financial struggles, comes massive amounts of crushing SHAME and destruction of one’s self-esteem. I doubted myself and my abilities, questioned every decision I made, continuously slaughtered my self-worth, and spent quite a few hours daily, beating myself up for my failures. I was so crushed by my failures that it took EVERY OUNCE of my energy to get up daily and continue to fight. But I did — and for that, I am immensely proud.
I knew and still know that I have greatness inside me — and these struggles were part of the journey!
Please tell us more about your work
I am an experienced New York Real Estate Attorney and Florida Licensed Title Agent with extensive knowledge in the Real Estate industry. With more than 20 + years and more than 2000 closed transactions, I have become an expert at accurately assessing realtors’, lenders’ & investors’ needs and proposing/implementing viable solutions that bring value to them. I focus on real estate settlement services, education, and training utilizing the resources of the largest title insurance underwriter in the nation.
I am also skilled working with high-end clients, managing large and complex projects, building solid relationships, effectively and creatively solving complex issues, producing results under stress all with impeccable customer service.
What sets me apart from all the other “title reps” in the industry is that I have over 20 years of experience in closing real estate transactions. I don’t just “sell” title insurance, but know the intricate details of the transaction itself — including how to solve various issues that realtors and lenders face. I also immerse myself in training/coaching on a consistent basis so that I am always evolving, growing and staying at the forefront of real estate and professional development topics.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
1. Be OK with starting with what you have and who you are!
2. Trust the process. Be confident that all that was happening to me was actually happening for me.
3. Do not over complicate every little thing.
4. Instead of doing more training and coaching, attending webinars and reading books — ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT the principle first and master those before moving on to the next shiny object.
5. Get financial advice earlier.
6. Be kinder to myself and give myself credit for doing the best I knew how with what I knew.
Contact Info:
- Address: 150 S. Pine Island Road, Suite 130, Plantation, FL 33324
- Phone: 954-290-4308
- Email: ANGELA.PILLASOARES@FNF.COM
- Instagram: thetitlepro
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetitleprofessional/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelapillasoares/
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
