Here’s something most agents will tell you if you ask: unless their parents were in the business, nobody grew up thinking they’d be a real estate agent. I sure didn’t.
The agent who started it
For me, it was a bad experience with a real estate agent that got me into this business. I was moving back to Rochester from Queens, buying my first home, and the service I got was awful. Nobody told me what I needed to know until it was almost too late.
I remember thinking: if this agent is successful, providing service like that, then I can come into this business, do it the opposite way and make a real difference in people’s lives. You can hear the whole story in my own words right here.
My first agent almost cost me my first home
Nobody told me what bidding over asking would mean for my cash at closing. That week is the reason I explain every number before you sign anything.
Read the transcript
My first agent almost cost me my first home. I was 22 years old buying a two-family HUD house, moving back to Rochester from Queens. I bid $5,000 over asking, not knowing that meant I owed an extra $5,000 in cash at closing. My agent never told me, the lender never told me, and the attorney told me at closing. I was already short, scraping all my pennies together to make this happen. I called the agent, no answer. I called the lender, no answer. The attorney said, if you can’t pay, they’ll just relist it. Nobody cared. My parents loaned me the money on a Friday so that I could close on a Monday. And I made a decision right there. If that guy could make it in this business, I’d crush it, and I’d do it the opposite way. That was 21 years ago. We’ve been your architects for the American dream in Rochester ever since. Follow for 21 years of what they don’t teach about buying and selling in the ROC.
Why it matters so much
Buying your first home, making a move: these are big life choices. They’re big moments that should be celebrated, and the experience should be a positive one you’ll never forget.
When you bring people home, it makes all the difference. Nobody comes to America dreaming of renting. The American dream is owning a home: a place you can call your own, that your kids can come back to. Your safe place.
Learning to sell, one door at a time
Before real estate, I sold alarm systems door to door while I was in college. Somewhere along the way I discovered I was really good at sales. Not good at talking people into things they didn’t want. Good at communicating clearly, and at helping the people who were the right fit for what I was offering.
In sixth grade, that meant selling bubble gum to my classmates, because that’s what they wanted and I had the flavors. With alarm systems, knocking on doors, it was because I believed in what I was doing. I was making people safer, making sure bad things didn’t happen to good people.
That took me from salesperson to sales manager to district manager to regional manager. At 19, I was running an office in Queens responsible for all five boroughs, Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Capital District around Albany, and training outside salespeople across all of it.
Coming home to Rochester
I loved that business, but I wanted to be closer to family. My core values are family, fun and fitness, and if I could do what I was doing in New York City closer to my parents, my brothers, my sister, my nieces and nephews, and more aunts, uncles and cousins than I can count, that’s what I was going to do.
So I opened my own company here in Rochester, selling alarm systems, cell phones and satellite TV. It went well, but it didn’t feel right. Sitting in a retail storefront waiting for people to come to me felt like I wasn’t doing enough. That bad real estate experience kept coming back to me, and one day it clicked: this is it. This is what I can do.
I’m still not sure whether I found real estate, or real estate found me the day that bad experience happened. Either way, I believe everything happens for a reason.
Then I met Kristina
A couple of years into real estate, I met Kristina. She is the better half of The Maneiro Team. I’m strong on sales, marketing and technology. Her attention to detail and her care for every client are what really set us apart. Put the two together and you get The Maneiro Team.
Technology, and now AI
We’ve always used technology to give people better service. We were early to e-signatures. When wide-angle cameras came along, we were using them for photos, video and virtual walkthroughs. When the pandemic hit and people couldn’t be in the same room, we helped buyers and sellers keep moving with technology.
When AI arrived, we went all in and became experts at it. Today we use that expertise to serve our clients better, from AI-powered, customized marketing strategies for every listing to much more behind the scenes. There’s hardly a part of our business that AI doesn’t touch now, and what it really gives us is more time with you and a better experience along the way. See how we use AI for our clients.
Let’s make your move one to remember
Buying, selling or just thinking about it, we’d love to hear what you’re planning.
Keep reading: Meet JMan · How’s the Rochester market? · Our guides