Life of a real estate agent
Coming for Change
It's a Sunday in November in Phoenix, Arizona, and the weather is usually warm outside. I head to Camelback, a well-known, affluent area in Phoenix, where Christoph is hosting an open house for a $1.3 million home at 10 a.m. As soon as the house is open to the public or to potential buyers, it's completely packed with people who are interested in the property and know the owner, much like a party. For him, this is just another regular weekend. He's sold much bigger and more expensive properties before the one he sold this past weekend. The house was sold at a price point of $ 1.8 million, $400,000 over the original asking price; the home buyers wanted to beat out the competition. After everyone left at noon, I shared a bottle of Krug 1928 to celebrate his accomplishments over the years that I've known him, as well as those I've known him for.
Coming from a single-parent home in Bellevue, Washington, he was taught that nothing in life is free. Christoph Hirota is a former collegiate athlete from Santa Monica College, a junior college, and UC DAVIS, a lesser-known Division 1 school. His dream was still to be involved with sports in some way, but he didn't know which direction he wanted to take.
He turned his attention to the real estate market, first becoming a personal assistant to real estate agents across Phoenix, Arizona, and soaking up all the information he could. In the year and a half he's been in the market, he's veered off on his own, making nearly six figures. Thus far in his career, he's Closed deals on 15 separate properties in Arizona. He is working on closing a property worth $ 1.95 million in North Scottsdale, Arizona, all while being a graduate student at the University of Southern California. His career began when he entered his fourth year at UC Davis, as he wanted to pursue something he deeply loved.
With a background in sales and sports, Christoph wanted to explore whether he could combine the two. "I ultimately met people who work in real estate with professional athletes, which drew my attention." Christoph wasted no time networking with people after college; as the saying goes, your "network is your net worth." The relationships he has formed over the years have led to him receiving referrals from players in the NFL and MLB, enabling him to find properties in various states, including the Phoenix area.
Moreover, Christoph helps players get properties in the off-season. A notable example is a newly added member of the Seattle Mariners, Ryan Bliss. I spoke with Ryan at his all-star game before he went to Seattle, and he said, "I found out about Christmas from a friend because I stay here in Phoenix during the off-season to train and enjoy the peace out here in Phoenix." However, Ryan was looking to upgrade his property and asked Christoph what he could do to facilitate that. Next week, he is going to get Ryan a mansion out in Chandler. From that sale, he made roughly $80,000. The quality Christoph has is his enjoyment of working with people, making every encounter with his clientele memorable.
He typically creates his schedule, which ranges from house tours to contacting clients about their interests in properties; his routine consists of an early workout. After he arrives at work, he checks emails and prepares all the necessary paperwork for the day. He then meets with his clients to show them a variety of properties, but his day's schedule varies. Sometimes, he meets with potential clients or previews properties for out-of-state buyers. When making a deal, Christoph says he puts the client before himself because a house is the most expensive asset a person will buy. Athletes and Wealthy Individuals come to Christoph to buy hoses from his company.
He works for Launch, one of Phoenix's best real estate agencies. However, with Christoph making these deals, market prices steadily increased, making it harder for people of lower income status to earn a living. Nonetheless, he still plans to make big deals because he has long dreamed of creating this life for himself. I spoke with one of his closest friends, Jordan Herrera, who used to play football with him when they were growing up. He said, "He used to talk about selling houses to the rich all the time, whether it was athletes or people with money." Christoph views selling big homes as a significant advantage because it puts Phoenix on the map, as he puts it.
Contact Information
Christoph Hirota
· Phone: (425)-458-8158
· Email: Chirota@4realestate.com
Jordan Herrera
· Phone: (786)-414-5935
Ryan Bliss
· Phone: (601) 212-9196
Launch Realtor Company
· Phone: (602) 725-2609