Woman at Work

Reeza Gervacio

February 2001

It’s 9:00 a.m. on a typical workday, and already, Reeza Gervacio has accomplished more tasks in a single hour than most people would in a day. Typically too, she is unfazed by the rest of the day’s hectic schedule: a series of appointments, meetings and client calls that will take her on the road, to different locations and numerous houses, and extend her working day to well past nine o’clock in the evening. At home, when most people kick off their shoes and let their hair down at day’s end, Reeza still meets with clients for contract signings, continues to take phone calls to address clients’ concerns or questions and pick her brains for promotional materials that she regularly distributes to potential clients.

Reeza Gervacio is a real estate agent in California, where the housing market remains relatively stable despite dire predictions of an economic slowdown for the rest of the country.

“I can only speak of the local market,” Reeza clarifies, “and I know there are actually some of us who are experiencing this kind of upswing business. Everyday we get a lot of conflicting information about the market. Some analysts are even forecasting recession. But my experience in my local area has been to the contrary. People are still buying and selling more than ever, and the gloomy forecasts have not affected the business. In my ‘farm’ which are the hillside communitie of Hillsborough, Somerset and West Ridge, the price range is from $280,000 to $800,000. I’m saying that the forecasts have not affected my market because as a listing agent and based on recent sales of my own listings, I have been getting multiple offers, sometimes at full or even above price.”

On a typical day like this, which could actually be a weekday or a weekend, Reeza’s appointment is filled with names of people who want to sell or buy properties. In fact, she has been so busy lately, that she has had to hire an assistant to do the paperwork and take telephone calls.

“I stress out on a lot of things,” she reveals with a quiet laugh, “mostly because I feel there are not enough houses to show in a day, and I put a lot of attention to details. The phone keeps ringing off the hook. My pager is buzzing all the time. I’m always on the cellphone. The work has been nonstop for both myself and my assistant. The volume of work has been especially heavy since the start of the year, but I’m not complaining.”

Neither, it seems, are her clients. Perhaps it’s because compared to other realtors who seem too busy to spend hours on end with a potential buyer or seller, Gervacio is the epitome of patience and diligence. “The listing presentationto the seller alone takes about one to two hours, then I show another client several houses, which takes about three hours because you can show three to four houses in an hour, and then I sit down with another client for another two hours or so to explain contracts, disclosures and other pertinent reports,” she says.

“Even before I start showing homes, I sit down and brainstorm with clients so I can determine their exact considerations and preferences. I also make sure they are pre-qualified by competent lenders,” she adds.

“The fact that there are a lot more clients now is good,” says the lady realtor. “But I don’t want to spread myself too thin because of it and eventually hamper or lose my efficiency. That’s why I felt I had to start delegating some of the work. Besides, with less paperwork to handle, I have more free time to personally attend to my clients.”

This personal touch has made her a standout in a profession that deals with the buying and selling of what Gervacio calls “the single most valuable asset and important investment” for most people -- which is a home.”

In less than three years since joining Century 21 Astro, a real estate firm in Cerritos, California which ranks Number Four in the Central Valley-Inland and Los Angeles region, Gervacio has virtually risen to “superstar” status. In 1999, she received the firm’s Rookie of the Year Award. Among her awards to date include: Centurion Award, Masters Emerald Award and Quality Service Producer Award for the year 2000, given by Century 21 Real estate Corporation. Last year, she was named Top Farming Agent for February, Top Transaction Agent and Top Farming Agent for September, Top Farming Agent for November. Last January, she began duplicating her achievements by garnering the Top Listing Agent and Top Farming Award all over again. She ranked Number Three in Century 21 Astro for the year 2000.

From January 2000, the properties she sold in the Hillsborough and Somerset communities comprised 20 percent of the total market. A remarkable feat, according to Century 21 Astro, because typically, a 20-percent market share is from an entire office, and not just a single agent.. When she received the Quality Service Producer Award, the 2000 Masters Award and the Centurion Producer Award, Century 21 Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer remarked that Reeza had demonstrated her exceptional professional standards and dedication to (her) clients.” The awards, Davis explained, are symbols of excellence earned only by an elite group of Century 21 producers and represents the depth of talent and experience found within the corporation’s system, and honor their outstanding achievements and exceptional service and dedication.

According to Lou Rosenranz, Century 21 Astro’s broker and owner, Reeza’s remarkable growth is due to “her concern for her clients, organizational skills and tenacity. Each of the foregoing attributes standing on their own will make a good real estate agent. Any two of them and you have more than average agent, verging on excellence. With all these, you have Reeza Gervacio, a ‘superstar’ in the real estate profession. It is with profound pleasure I can call her part of the Century 21 Astro ‘family’”

Gervacio attributes her success to hard work, creativity and persistence. Using professionally designed promotional flyers and other marketing tools, she was able to break into a “farm (an area or territory of specialization where flyers are passed out consistently) in less than a year and a half.

Debbie Waite, a laboratory manager and Hillsborough resident who is currently selling her property, says that she and her brother chose Reeza after interviewing three agents. “Her presentation was very informative, she explained details very clearly, she knew the market very well and she had a very good knowledge of the properties and buyers in our area,” Waite said.

Waite’s property is still under negotiation, but she says what Reeza has done so far has given her the confidence that “everything is going well.” “Reeza did everything she said she would do for us. She is in constant touch with the buying agent and we’ve had multiple offers. She really seems to know her job,” Waite adds.

“Knowing the job” as a realtor came easily to Gervacio, who acquired a certificate of completion of a self-study course in real estate principles in one month. The certificate is a requirement for taking the state licensure examination for real estate agents, which she passed hands down.

Gervacio says however, that finding her “niche” in this profession was the result of a “long journey that involved a lot of soul-searching and eventually, a metamorphosis.” When she received her license as a real estate agent in 1990, she actually put it aside, choosing instead to work for Wells Fargo bank as a business banking officer where she managed and developed portfolios through the sale of business products that included real estate loans and lines of credit. In 1991, she landed a job as mortgage broker for Wilshire International in Los Angeles, before moving on to Statewide Financial Services in Artesia, California.

Before settling down in California with her husband Jessie, she had worked for Far East Bank and Trust Company and Citibank, N.A. in the Philippines. Noting her meritorious achievements in banking and finance, Rotary International selected her as one of four “professionally-gifted” Filipino women to represent the Philippines during a group study exchange program that took her on a “memorable” business and cultural tour of the American midwest. To Gervacio, this singular honor which she received only four years after graduating from St. Paul’s College in Manila, was “one of the biggest highlights” of her life. Since then, Gervacio has been invited to speak before various Rotary chapters, where she extols the Filipino woman as being “basically religious and family-oriented, but who has since stepped up to become more assertive and competitive in the traditional macho world of politics and commerce.”

This trait of Filipino womanhood asserted itself in Gervacio when, last month, she was asked to speak before the La Mirada and Fullerton city council members and planning commissioners on behalf of a hillside community developer. “I studied and monitored the developer’s plan to become part of the cities by developing acres of land into beautiful neighborhoods. In real estate, there is what we call the Principle of Progression, which states that the value of a property increases by association with the value of nearby and more expensive properties. The building and development of these hillside communities will help influence a continued increase in the prices of existing homes and the desirability of the city’s hillside communities. This will redound to the benefit of current residents themselves, whose properties will increase in value.”

In October, 1997 when Gervacio finally decided to join the ranks of real estate agents she successfully clinched her first sale in the City of Cerritos, an experience she says taught her a lot of things about the real world. “ It was nerve-wracking. I didn’t know anything about the market. I showed 12 houses in one day and the client selected a house immediately. I was thrilled of course, but I was so naive. I thought all transactions would be that easy,” Gervacio reveals.

“In the practical world,” Gervacio says, “things don’t come so easily. There’s a lot of groping and adjusting. In my case, I needed to work at that time in order to survive, so I worked really hard. Eventually, as I became more successful and acquired more skills, I learned to work harder, not to acquire things or money, but in order to become a better person.”

The former convent schoolgirl who admits to never having been an “overly ambitious” student now says she has realized since then that she actually thrives on competition. In the cut throat world of real estate, Gervacio has carved out her own niche, earning one accolade after another from the “masters” of the business.

According to Century 21 Astro Broker and Century 21 Corporation national trainor Carol Rayburn, “A teacher’s reward is to see the student excel. Reeza has surpassed all expectations, coming from Rookie of the Year to Centurion level (top two percent in the international Century 21 system) within only two years. This accomplishment earned her the ‘Most Improved Agent’ award two years in a row. Couple this with the corporate recognition of ‘Quality Service Agent,’ and you have the definition of a professional. I’m proud to call her my associate, my student, my friend.”

Meanwhile, homeowners and sellers who have had the opportunity to work with her consistently describe Gervacio as someone “who can make things happen.” Gervacio says, “Buyers and Sellers have different needs and expectations. Some clients need entry level homes, some may want upgrades, others may be looking for vacation homes. I use my extensive knowledge of the market and negotiating skills to get the specific results that a particular client needs.

Gervacio says property owners who wish to sell should not procrastinate. “If you sell now, you expose your property to buyers whose incomes qualify them for more mortgage money. For move-up sellers, they get increased buying power on their upleg home. Your equity is also protected now, which may be eroded in the future if the environment becomes more competitive, in which case you will have to lower your selling price to attract buyers with lower purchasing power.”

On the other hand, now that interest rates are their lowest in two years, Gervacio says this is a good time to purchase “the home of your dreams. Despite conflicting reports about the market, it cannot be denied that homeownership has become more affordable now to millions of families in America. For most people, buying a home isn’t simply fulfilling a lifetime dream. It is also an investment and tax shelter. And if you sell your home in the future, you can feel secure that you have a viable market out there.”

Being instrumental in “making people’s dreams come true” is the one thing that gives this lady realtor an “enormous sense of fulfillment.” “I always send clients a ‘thank you card’ after every transaction because the most compelling reward of my job is that they’re satisfied with the service I provided. When clients say I’m part of their family now because I helped them purchase their home, it gives me great pride in my accomplishment, “ Gervacio adds.

“I love my job,” Gervacio says. “I love it even more now because I know I’m making an impact on other people’s lives. It’s not the money anymore that drives me to work hard for my clients. It’s seeing so many people satisfied and happy and becoming a better person because of it. I read somewhere that if your goal in life is to make a living by doing what you love best, then you should do it for love. I am quite happy that life has enabled me to do exactly that.” --MGA