Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Azabache.
Melissa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised with two brothers, Bill and James, in rural NW Pennsylvania in a little town tucked away in the foothills near the Allegheny River to a self employed HVAC contractor and a local cake baker. I was always fascinated with the Historical Victorian Architecture in my town and I would say that was the start of my love for real estate.
After high school, I decided to get a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and moved to Bloomington, Indiana with my older brother who was moving to Bloomington to attend the law school. During my time at Indiana University, I ended up appearing on Judge Mathis to rectify some financial maladies from a later roommate, and I prevailed. Using my winnings, I made a move with a friend to New York City where I used the time to gather myself and try and figure out my next step. I was doing internal modeling for Armani in SoHo and was a Barista at Le Pain Quotidian in the Time&Life building in Rockefeller Center. Socializing with some of New York’s famous entertainers, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, a producer in NYC who was also the lead guitarist in Joan Jet and the Blackhearts and Keith Christopher the Bassist for many bands, currently for Lyndard Skynard inspired me to reach higher as they encouraged me to push myself to fulfill my potential.
In December 2010, I received a phone call from my dear grandmother who was in tears, she was widowed for the second time and just got a cancer diagnosis while living alone in South Florida. She asked if, I would come stay with her while she went through her cancer operation. Three days later, I was on the Amtrak with my belongings and headed to Boca Raton, Florida.
While in Boca Raton, I became a recruiter for a Health Care Staffing company and became the senior recruiter within 6 months. During that time, my grandmother recovered from her surgery and became cancer free and I met my now husband at the beach. After a few surfing sessions and lots of fun dates together, we realized we were meant to be and married soon after.
It was my husband who noticed my natural skills in sales and encouraged me to look into a career in real estate. I, on the other hand, was more interested in law much like my older brother. I decided to do Paralegal work for an attorney friend of mine instead, who also encouraged me to pursue real estate. I decided to give it a chance and got my real estate license in December 2015, joining my current company Exit Realty Mizner shortly after.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am going to start by saying, I am so thankful for every challenge life has given me, regardless of how hard the challenge has been. I believe God helps us grow and become better people with a better appreciation for all that life has to offer through our challenges. It also helps motivate us and to focus better on what is important. With strong faith I can face my challenges head on and take a deep breath and just tuck in and let the wave crash on me and float to the top once it passes.
I have had some challenges along the way for sure. My husband is from Peru and we had to go through some immigration challenges in our early marriage. He is also older than me and works pressure cleaning roofs here in South Florida. These were all things I had to face head on after we had our first child together. My dear husband is the breadwinner for our family, loves and encourages my desire to be home with the children, but after we faced the possibility that he, at the time that we were working out immigration challenges, could have had to leave the country and not come back or that he could be injured on the job. I realized, I needed to have some sort of career in the event that I needed to step in as the breadwinner for my family.
That’s when I decided to face reality and make moves to secure the future for my children and myself in a way that permits me to be home with my babies most of the time now.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Realtor for Exit Realty Mizner – what should we know?
I absolutely love my career and it shows when I am working with a client. I am proud to say that I am currently the number one realtor in Exit Realty Mizner and I am a top 100 realtor in the State of Florida for Exit Realty. I also have a 5 star rating and glowing reviews online from verified previous clients.
I was a photographer with my own company for a few years and it has also helped me in staging and photographing the homes for advertisements and the MLS.
I believe, I stand out as a Realtor here in South Florida because I bring my small town charm and Midwest manners to the table with me. I enjoy getting to know my clients, their family and their needs and helping them achieve their goals, whether it be buying a new home or selling their current home to start a new chapter in their life. This helps me educate my sellers on why and how to price their home in a specific range to sell based on their situation. I advertise their property online and through the mail and I do open houses. Also, in getting to know my buyers, I can help them find the home they are looking for and help them narrow down their options to make the process less exhausting and stressful for them.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe being available and upbeat is very important when you are helping people with such large transactions that affect so many aspects of their life. It’s usually an emotional journey for my clients and I try to help them along. I answer my calls, texts and emails quickly, I truly listen and I am willing to put myself out there to help my client day or night with their concerns.
I enjoy going the extra mile to say thank you and I am regularly described as personable and kind which comes naturally to me, I believe my warmth and honesty stands out in business down here in the dog eat dog world of South Florida.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.azabacheproperties.com
- Phone: 561-929-9296
- Email: melazabache@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaAzabacheRealtor
- Other: https://www.trulia.com/profile/melissa-azabache-agent-boca-raton-fl-zg223qkx/overview
Image Credit:
Nikki Vickers Photography, Mel Azabache Photography
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.
