Traister Real Estate Experts Put Clients' Needs First & Love To Serve

This Patch article is sponsored by Traister Real Estate Experts.

Local businesses are the heart of our communities. Patch had a chance to talk with Rob Traister, Team Leader, Broker of Traister Real Estate Experts.

Patch: Tell us a bit about your business or organization:
Rob Traister: We provide personalized real estate solutions, customized for each of our clients. No two transactions are the same, and we tailor our services to the unique needs of each client we serve.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?
Traister: I’ve been in real estate for nearly 15 years and started Traister Real Estate in 2017. I’ve been in the Northern Virginia area most of my adult life.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?
Traister: Real estate is a family business. I worked in our family’s real estate office as a teenager, and even when I was working as a communications professional in the non-profit sector, I always had an interest in real estate.

What attracted me to a career in real estate was and is the opportunity to serve. Each client I work with has unique needs and goals, and that provides me with an opportunity to learn new skills and grow with each transaction.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?
Traister: Trust. Innovation. Relationships. Solutions. Experience.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?
Traister: I made a deliberate decision to launch my real estate career just as the "great recession" hit, knowing it would be challenging but also create opportunities for growth. I believed that learning my trade during a period of industry turmoil would equip me to navigate any future challenging market conditions, and experience has proven that to be true. Despite the initial difficulties, I am grateful for the valuable lessons and insights gained during that time, which have served me well in my professional journey.

Each time I work with a client there are new opportunities and challenges, and I make sure to take the needs of the client and make those our main focus. I’ve helped clients clean out and sell homes they’ve been in for 40-50 years, when they were overwhelmed by the size of the task to prepare their home for sale. I’ve also helped clients who had suddenly outgrown their space find something that better fit their needs. Each client experience is unique.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?
Traister: That’s easy: Serving people. Whether I’m helping a first-time buyer get into the home of their dreams, or I’m helping a seller who’s been in their home 40+ years and doesn’t know where to even begin to get their home ready for market, I take great satisfaction in serving my clients. When a client tells me “We couldn’t have done this without you,” or “you made this much easier than we expected,” that really makes my day.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?
Traister: We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with our clients that extend beyond a single transaction. I’m honored to say that many of my clients have become good friends.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?
Traister: Don’t set goals, because goals can actually limit you. If you strive to be one of the top 100 agents in Northern Virginia (which I was the past two years), you’ve met your goal if you’re 99th on that list and may not try harder. Focus on doing your best every day, and the rest will fall into place.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about?
Traister: It’s not really a new project, but one of our specialties is helping sellers prepare their homes for the market while deferring the costs until the house sells. This is especially helpful for homeowners who have lived in the same house for decades and need to clean out and update their homes. Take, for instance, a recent project we worked on in McLean: The sellers had lived in the house for over 40 years, and they believed it would take them six months to get their home ready for market. To help them, we asked them to mark everything they wanted to move, and then we called in an auction company to sell any of the remaining items that had value. Then we brought in contractors to paint and make cosmetic updates. The outcome was amazing; six weeks later, the house was on the market, and it sold shortly after. The best part was that the auctioned items paid for the cost of cleaning out and updating the home. Our clients were ecstatic with the results.

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community? If so, tell us about them.
Traister: On May 6 we are having a community cleanup event at our offices at 5501 Backlick Rd in Springfield from 9-noon. There will be a shredding truck on site, an area to dispose of electronics, and even a drop-off for paint and other household hazardous waste, including empty propane tanks. We’re also taking coats, clothing, blankets, and sleeping bags that will be donated.

Traister: We are looking for new agents to join our team. We prefer agents who have some experience, but we're also willing to train new agents who show potential.

Head to RobTraister.com for more info! Plus, make sure to follow Traister Real Estate Experts on Facebook and Instagram.