Jim Guarrera
Title: Broker/Owner
Age: 70
Experience: 37 years
Jim Guarrera became a lifelong Red Sox fan after growing up two blocks from controversial Red Sox center fielder Jimmy Piersall, in Waterbury. After 18 years of teaching school, Guarrera jumped into real estate full time, spending six years in sales, then four years as a general manager with Tom Brennan real estate, before starting his own firm with a partner 27 years ago. Working in the Naugatuck Valley and upper Fairfield County gives his agents a wide range of properties to sell. In October, his office sold single-family homes ranging from $50,000 to $720,000.
Q: Tell our readers how you got into real estate.
A: I taught seventh and eighth grade math for 18 years in Shelton. I really loved teaching. For the last three years, I started selling real estate part time and it just blossomed. 1986 was a monster year in real estate. So I asked the superintendent to take a one-year leave of absence to see if I could cut it – I took the leap, and I stayed.
Having been a teacher was helpful because it means you’re very comfortable talking to people, from students to parents and other teachers and administrators. You have that comfort not being afraid to speak in front of people. Also, as you get into management, you’re still teaching, helping agents be as good as they can be. And of course, there’s the math skills. I do all the bookkeeping, my business partner does the advertising.
Q: Have you sold homes to any of your former students?
A: I have sold homes to many former students. My business partner, Pat Carey, also taught school in Shelton and between us, we’ve had a myriad of former students as customers. Now we’re selling homes to the children of former students. Seeing the grandchildren of former students does make me start to think of retirement, but I can’t see retiring. I really like coming to work every single day.
We have an office of 35 agents. Pat and I each have 40-year-old sons who are lifelong best friends and they both work with us. It sets the standard for growth for the next generation, so until they fire me, I’ll still come in every single day. Besides being rare, it’s also a pleasure to work with my son. To see him grow into the business has been tremendously rewarding.
Q: Do you have any management training or did you learn on the job?
A: I basically learned on the job. Tom Brennan knew my background as a teacher would make me able to work with people and my math background would also help. You literally learn every day how to work with agents. It’s similar to what a bartender does, listening to people. When problems come up, we go into the back office. You walk them through it, make sure they take the high road and do the right thing.
We don’t focus on just keeping the transaction alive. An example of that would be, if something came up during a home inspection that there may be an issue with the septic system and the seller says there is no problem with it. If we were representing the buyer, we’d advise the buyer to walk away because it could be a $40,000 problem. If we were representing the seller and they didn’t want to get a second opinion, it makes sense to walk away. We’ve given the listing back to the seller in situations like this. We’ve never been sued for misrepresentation and we don’t intend to be.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not working?
A: I do a lot of volunteer work. It’s one of the things the four of us (myself, my partner and our two sons) do a lot of. We’re on, or contribute to, every nonprofit board in the area. The other thing is I have five grandchildren who I see every day. They’re all within a mile of where I live. They go to Shelton schools, where I still live.
Q: Do you have any predictions for the 2017 market?
A: This year has been very good for us; it’ll be ahead of 2015, which was very good. In 2017, if mortgage interest rates go up, it won’t be dramatically. And because we have such a wide range of homes, and Shelton has such a good school system, people will still buy. I don’t see the foreclosures in our area impacting our market that much.
Q: How do you find competing against larger, national brands?
A: Fortunately, because of our name recognition, we’ve been number one for sales and listings for the last 10 years. The second place office is also an independent. The bigger firms have all been behind us. A lot of it is reputation. We’ve been very fortunate with turnover. Some agents will look for greener pastures. They’re getting bombarded with offers filled with promises. But we’ve had two agents, out of an office of 35, leave us in the last seven years.
We consider our office atmosphere more of a family atmosphere. There are no serious arguments or complaints between agents. They feel comfortable leaving paperwork on their desk. They’re not worried if a potential client calls the office and they’re not there, that someone else will try to steer them toward themselves. There is trust among our agents. I think it starts with my partner and I; we wouldn’t tolerate it. If someone calls looking for you, we’re going to track you down. If we can’t find you, we’ll service the client for you. We look out for each other.
Guarrera’s Five Favorite Things:
- Family
- Vacations
- Italian food
- Boston, especially the Red Sox
- College basketball
