Helping. That’s what real estate is all about, as REALTOR® Cristina Maler discovered during her first transaction. At the time, she was only helping a friend; she wasn’t even a licensed agent yet. But in helping, she unearthed not only her passion for real estate but her gift for innovation in real estate. “I was working full-time as a travel agent and offered to help a friend who wanted to buy a house,” explains Cristina, an agent with Re/Max Select in New Jersey’s Essex, Hudson, Union and Bergen counties. “It was a multi-family house and my friend needed tenants to rent the apartments to, so I offered to help him. I did an open house, I advertised and I got him the tenants in less than two weeks!” During that process, other agents tried persuading her to join real estate, saying she obviously had a natural gift for it. “I started part-time in early 2016 and was full time that September.”

In her first full year, 2017, she helped almost 28 families with the sale or purchase of their home. Given her dedication and strong work ethic to the people she serves, Cristina quickly began receiving the bulk of her business from referrals. “People like my energy and honesty,” she says. “I ask them questions, engage them and get to know them. Some of them even refer people to me while we’re still working together to help them buy or sell a home!”

Cristina finds that her eagerness to meet others’ needs comes in particularly useful for people whose listings have expired. “A lot of new agents work mostly with buyers, but I started with a lot of expired listings,” she explains. “I know those clients need extra care and they want to see new strategies to sell their home.” She loves watching how her energy and creativity gives them a positive outlook on the process ahead of them.

To sell these and other listings, Cristina takes advantage of her strong market knowledge, starting with research to determine ideal pricing. “I make sure I price the house strategically,” she says. “Before listing, I work with a professional stager and a professional photographer; the home is very well prepared.” She then ensures broad online exposure through resources available to her with Re/Max, as well as a strong social media presence and flyer distribution to neighborhoods. “I also network and I often have a buyer for the house even before we bring it on the market!”

The reward of all this hard work is the happiness of her clients, says Cristina. “There are a lot of emotions involved and it can be like a roller coaster for my customers, but in the end, when I do a final walk-through and I see them smiling with tears of happiness, that’s the most rewarding thing. I want to repeat it again and again and again.” Her clients’ happiness is what motivates Cristina, whose business is growing at a rapid pace, to devote herself fully to her work, both personally and professionally. “I don’t take many days off, but I really don’t want to!” she says, noting that she does love reading and cycling to recharge personally. “I love what I do and I’m always available to my clients.”

“I want my business to grow more and more,” she adds, noting that one day she expects to have her own office. “I love sharing my knowledge and passion not only with buyers and sellers but also with the agents that join the real estate industry. I just started building my own team in my Re/Max office and then in five or six years I will have my own office.” She emphasizes, however, that while growth is exciting and promising, she will always uphold her 100% commitment to give her clients all of her knowledge and energy as they achieve their goals. She wants people to be satisfied, knowing they had a good experience with her and were well taken care of. “I give my heart to my clients to help them get to where they want to go. I will always go above and beyond for my customers,” says Cristina.

To learn more about Cristina Maler, visit www.cmaler.remax-nj.com;  cristina.wesellnewjersey.com or go to Facebook, email cristinam.realestate@gmail.com or call 201.748.9691