Today we’d like to introduce you to Osmany Mondaca.
Osmany, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My career in real estate really began at the end of another…Around 2001, shortly after September 11th, I was the owner of a successful insurance brokerage, yet found myself bored and unfulfilled by my work. I was kind of bouncing around ideas, unsure what I wanted to do next so… I sold my home, sold my business and took off to New York City hoping to find something else to do.
While in New York, I did a series of odd jobs, some bartending and eventually started working as an apprentice under a stockbroker, cold calling potential investors from around the world and pitching them stocks. As you can imagine, at that time, after 9/11, it was a hard sell. However, I rubbed elbows with some of the movers and shakers of the financial industry, got to work on Wall Street and learned a lot about the how the market works, improved my work ethic (calls to the other side of the world required some odd hours) and learned some solid sales techniques. It was an impressive and eye-opening experience that has stayed with me through the years and looking back was the start of a certain shift in the way I thought about business.
As much as I was enjoying the big city life, I still craved the ocean and missed my friends and family, so I frequently traveled to Miami. On one of my visits back home, I ran into an old friend of mine, and I asked him what he was doing. I was starting to get homesick, the biting cold of the winter was around the corner, and I was looking for a reason to get back. He told me he was doing real estate appraisals, and that it was going well for him; he said I could get my license relatively quickly through Gold Coast, and that once I did, I should get a laptop and call him when I was ready to go, and he would help me get some work.
He wrote his number down on a piece of paper, and I tucked it away in a safe place to call him once I made my move. I was excited and fired up by the possibility of this new opportunity, so I packed up my things, had a plan in place, and drove back to Miami. Right away I took the appraisal course, got my license, bought my laptop and gave my buddy a call. Unfortunately, his number had been disconnected. And there was no Facebook, social media or a way for me to find this friend of mine. So, I needed a new plan- I had a license now, had invested some time and money… I needed to find a job. I grabbed the Yellow Pages (yes, the Yellow Pages) and ripped out the pages where all appraisal companies were listed and went through all of them A-Z, visited the offices of each one and asked for work. I wasn’t very successful and was discouraged when I came across Valor Appraisals. This was all the way at the end (letter V), and I was discouraged, to say the least, but I persisted, and the gentleman that owned the company gave me an opportunity to work under him. That was the start of my career in Real Estate appraising which would eventually lead me to real estate sales…
While there, I learned a lot, had a great mentor, went through several guideline changes in that industry, and then was finally able to become a State Certified Appraiser-which is like a Broker in the world of appraisers. So, I took on several trainees, opened my own Appraisal business and was very successful at it until around 2007-2008 when the housing market crashed and took a toll on the business.
At that point, I was married, kids were being born, and I had a house, lots of responsibilities and needed to find a way to provide for my family. Nonetheless, I wanted to remain in the real estate industry and made the decision to focus on the sales aspect while putting to use my experience as a State Certified Appraiser. In addition, my experience in insurance and the stock market, really allowed me to launch a very successful career at a bad moment in the market. I was able to capture many BPO’s (Broker Price Opinions) – which are a realtor’s version of an appraisal, short sale work, and foreclosures. Moreover, I worked with investors, did some flipping and was able to come out the other side when most realtors where having difficulty staying afloat. Then, I started to get into FHA, which back then, not many people were familiar with. But, again with my appraisal experience, and having been FHA certified, I had a head start compared to everyone else.
I realized I had really found a passion for residential real estate and was pretty good at it. I was very happy helping people get into new homes and helping families get out of homes they were “upside down” on. I was happy to be able to get people through some difficult stages, reminding them it would be alright, and that they were going to have a fresh start. And I enjoyed assisting investors in capitalizing on the opportunities that were being provided by the market at that time.
From that, I was able to create my own team, and I realized I had another passion-teaching other people what I’ve learned. I genuinely enjoyed mentoring those new agents that were interested in making real estate their career and wanted to learn, which in turn, led to me opening my own brokerage. We started out small, with 3-5 agents, but eventually grew to 30. This was a lot more than what I had been used to, and I started to see the benefit in some broker support. Shortly thereafter, the opportunity to join forces with Realty World presented itself, and we became Realty World M Realty Group. That helped me take my business to another level, and we grew to 80 agents by our second year and are currently up to over 120 agents today.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One major challenge for me was the sense of responsibility I felt for the success of those people on my team. I take it very personal because if I am their leader or mentor, how they do business reflects on me. Moreover, these agents were putting their faith in me, and I needed to deliver so I was constantly spinning my wheels and thinking: what can I do to generate more leads? How do I make stronger agents? How do I teach contracts, customer service? Integrity? Essentially, how do I pass on the formula that made me successful in sales, to my agents.
Also, just learning how to run an efficient business can be a challenge; finding the right employees, implementing the right systems, handling human resources and payroll, accountability, forms and contracts, policies and procedures, taxes, accounting, insurances- so many things go into helping a business run smoothly. But that wasn’t at the forefront of my thoughts with the excitement of beginning a new venture. And I had to do all of this while maintaining that family-like feeling of our business but with the right balance of corporate soundness. Agents should be confident that their commissions are safe, and that systems and procedures are in place to ensure that they receive the support they need to become successful real estate agents in a very competitive marketplace. But there is not a guidebook or template to follow; you just must take the time to figure these things out and what works for your business and industry.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Realty World M Realty Group – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
At Realty World MRG, we help individuals and families achieve the American dream of becoming a homeowner not only through the complete handling of their real estate transaction, but by educating each client about the home buying and/or selling process to ensure that all parties, buyers and sellers alike, feel well informed and confident about their purchase or sale of real estate.
We also specialize in commercial real estate transactions; be it leasing or purchasing the ideal space for a new or existing business or helping investors build their real estate portfolios to achieve the maximum return on their investments- I am in the business of helping others build wealth through real estate as well.
Individually as a broker, I make sure to pass along the knowledge I have acquired during my career and am a mentor to those individuals looking to embark on a career in real estate.
What I am most proud of in my business is the life that I am helping to create for my sales associates and team members. I take a lot of pride in creating top producing agents. I love getting new agents and being able to teach them good work habits, and a strong work ethic. I tell all of my new agents, ” what you put in to the business is what you will get out of it”- and I really enjoy seeing my agents be successful- it is satisfying to me to see others reach these goals they’ve set for themselves, and provide a lifestyle where they can take more vacations, coach their kids little league, or do whatever it is that spells success to them. This is what inspires me to continue doing what I do every day.
What sets my company apart is the hands-on support from me and from my staff. We are along for the ride with our agents, and we treat their success as our success – because they are a big part of what we have achieved and will continue to achieve. That being said, we are always working in the agent’s best interest.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I always have something planned! Usually to be bigger and always better, than before. I don’t want to give away too much, but I’m looking forward to continue doing what I do best- mentoring and coaching agents to become the best in their industry- just on a larger scale. I am definitely loving what I do now, and I feel that with that in place, the sky is the limit.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10631 North Kendall Drive
Suite 220 Miami, FL 33176 - Website: realtyworldmrg.com
- Phone: 305-906-4663
- Email: info@realtyworldmrg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realtyworld_mrg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realtyworldmrg
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
