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Emily Garcia Real Estate Services - Sotheby's international Realty
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“Real estate gave me a new life,” announces Emily Garcia of Santa Fe’s Sotheby’s International Realty. It’s a bold statement, but true. Emily’s extraordinary story of renewal and second chances continues to affect every aspect of her life and business. Real estate gave her a new life when she desperately needed it; in turn, she brings a grace, joy, and new life to real estate.
Twelve years, ago, Emily was an accomplished businesswoman with experience in fields ranging from construction and building materials to publishing and tourism. Fluent in Spanish, German, and Italian, she had lived and worked in several countries abroad. And she was madly in love with her husband, Steve Weinberger, a joyful man who loved life. Their adorable toddler son, Isaac, completed the family.
On the side, Emily and Steve bought old fixer-uppers, which they would remodel and rent or sell. “This will be our retirement,” they told each other, as they eagerly looked forward to the future.
And then it all changed. Steve suddenly got sick and died. He had no insurance. Emily was left alone with a toddler, and a half million dollars in medical debt, and her own grief.
“I had no idea what to do when my husband died,” Emily says. “So I thought, ‘What’s important?’ And the answer was my son. I changed my life to be there for my son.”
Emily read that children who lost one parent often feel like they have really lost both parents. The remaining parent is so busy just surviving that they cannot be there to nurture the child. She determined that this would not happen to Isaac.
Steve and Emily had run a company that distributed periodicals and tourist publications to the Santa Fe community. “After my husband died, I realized I was stuck with a business I did not want. My work kept me away from my son, so after running it for two years I sold it and wanted to start a new life,” she explains. After two years of traveling and doing business consulting around the country Emily... show more and Isaac decided to return home to Santa Fe.
As for the medical bills, Emily explains, “I had no desire to declare bankruptcy; it just was not right.” The remodeled houses that she and Steve had planned on using for their retirement instead became the means for paying off debt. Emily sold all the houses she owned, using most of the money to pay off debt, but keeping part of it to reinvest. With it, she bought more houses and did more remodels, then sold them and repeated the cycle. It took eight years, but she paid off every penny.
“It was hard, but we kept on living,” Emily says. In fact, she made a life for her family that was better than ever before. With a constant reminder of how short life can be, she made sure that she and Isaac spent as much time together as possible, and that her son could experience beautiful things. It took a lot of creativity, but she found ways.
“I wanted my son to grow up in a lovely house,” Emily says. So she became a home tender, moving into a house, fixing it up, then helping the Realtor sell it. Not only were they able to live in a beautiful surrounding, but Emily was also able to eliminate the overhead of renting or owning a home. Likewise, she wanted Isaac to attend private school. She funded it by teaching foreign languages, English, and art part-time at the school every year from kindergarten through eighth grade. “I loved teaching, and it also let me spend more time with him during the day and be a part of his life,” she says.
“After my husband’s death, we had even more passion and lust for life,” Emily believes. “We thrived in a situation where we easily could have struggled, because we kept our priorities straight.”
This is where real estate came in. “Real estate gave me a way to create my life,” she says. Like many working parents, she appreciates the flexibility of the profession, but it goes beyond that. It lets her use her extensive business experience to nurture and care for others. “Being a Realtor helps me to blend all of my skills, bring all parts of my life together,” she says.
Emily certainly excels at the business side of things. She has a degree in business from Northern Illinois University and many years of experience. “I buy and sell homes in a professional manner, but what I do is much more than that. I’m a businesswoman first, but it’s how you do your business that matters,” Emily believes.
Quite simply, Emily helps her clients build a new chapter in their lives. “Because I was able to do it for myself and my son, I know what if feels like to start over,” she says. Emily helps her clients feel the same passion and possibility that she discovered in her own life.
The most important thing is community. “I’m Puerto Rican, and we believe in community!” she exclaims. Emily invites her clients into her home and into her own life, then goes on to introduce them to others. Each month, she hosts an event for her client base. It could be a small dinner party in her home, a casual picnic, or an evening of wine and appetizers at an elegant local restaurant. She carefully selects who she will invite to each event, searching out people she thinks will click and become friends.
These get-togethers are perhaps the most enjoyable part of Emily’s job. Emily works with many couples and singles who have relocated to Santa Fe from out of state. They are often retired or semi-retired. They are eager to make new friends, but without jobs or children in school, the traditional avenues are closed. That is where the parties come in: Emily invites a combination of newcomers and old-timers, creating a mix where people will mingle, talk, and find out how much they have in common.
Every new client’s needs are different. When she is working with a family with young children, Emily first introduces them to the local public and private schools. Next, she might set up a picnic at the local park with other local parents and kids. While the kids play, the adults mingle and share tips. A dad who is searching for a local optometrist? A mom wonders where to find a violin teacher? Someone probably knows a good one.
If Emily is working with an older, single woman, she takes her around to all of the neighbors, knocking on doors and meeting people. “Inevitably she will make at least one friend that day, and she is more secure living alone if the neighbors know her,” Emily explains.
Emily frequently invites clients to join her and her son on their Sunday morning breakfast tradition. Every week they meet up with an older woman friend (“our second mom and grandma”) at a favorite restaurant for a leisurely breakfast. They invite along whoever is in town looking at houses, and usually call up some past clients as well.
How do these past clients feel about the Sunday breakfasts? “They love it!” Emily says. Very rarely does someone turn down an invitation. “They are thrilled to meet new people. Usually they remember when they were the newcomer and they came to breakfast and were taken care of, so now it’s there turn.” Oftentimes it was at these breakfasts that Emily’s clients met their first friends in Santa Fe. Furthermore, after moving to Santa Fe themselves, her clients are in love with their new lives and new home and eager to share. “The people who choose to work with me are the kind of people who love community,” Emily sums in up.
Sunday breakfast and the monthly events are intimate, cozy affairs, but at least once a year Emily also hosts a huge bash. After Thanksgiving but before the Christmas rush, she invites everyone: current, past, and potential clients; her lender; her handyman; and her neighbors all show up. The parties are legendary. Emily loves to cook, and she lays out a feast. Several of her out of state clients who own a second home in Santa Fe come into town specifically for the event. “Everyone meets so many new people at these parties,” Emily says.
This is what Emily means when she says that real estate brings all parts of her life together. She shares her own passion for life with her constantly expanding circle, creating new connections along the way.
Emily’s business is predominately referral-based, so the clients who work with her have already heard all about her from friends. Frequently, they walk in and say, “I’m so happy to finally meet you. I can’t wait to get started!” It means a lot to Emily; she feels that a good Realtor can change a stressful transaction into a fulfilling and exciting time of life. Of course, when a Realtor wants referrals, she must keep in contact. “You need to feed your business by feeding the network. People are happy to give referrals, but you do need to ask and let them know what you want,” she explains. Every time someone sends her a new client, she sends a thank you gift, and she also mails out handwritten notes weekly to keep in touch.
“I don’t cold call. Instead, I only deal with a warm or hot network,” Emily explains. If she meets someone she likes, she will pass on her card, but only if they connect. She stays in touch by sending out a quarterly mailing to the network. It consists of information that would be of value to her clients. “Generally I don’t send information about myself or my sales; honestly, I don’t think they care about that!” she says. Instead, the mailings might include a news clipping on fabulous new things to do in Santa Fe or data on the housing market.
This information has real value for her network. People frequently call her asking for extra copies to pass around. Out of state buyers who own a second home in Santa Fe especially love to give them to friends in their hometown, sharing their love for the Land of Enchantment.
The connections are hardly one-sided. “People never stop calling me, and that’s what I want. When I work with a client, I see it as a lifelong commitment to a relationship and a community,” Emily explains. As the center of an expanding network, she always knows whom to call to connect people to others who can help them. Out-of-state clients who own a second home in Santa Fe often tell visiting friends to call Emily with their questions. Need to know where to go for health care, a hair cut, a good meal? Emily is happy to help.
How can one Realtor handle so much? One way Emily does it is to hire excellent full-time assistants. Her recent assistant, Melanie, was “absolutely wonderful.” She walked into Emily’s office as a client; the two women clicked and decided to extend their relationship. Melanie will soon be moving on to a career in photography, so Emily just hired Isabella Bernard and is optimistic about the relationship.
Meanwhile, she is collaborating with Jan Sekas, another agent from Sotheby’s International. “Jan has the same integrity and concern for her network that I do,” says Emily. Working together, they can still give each client the same close personal attention as the business grows.
Emily also works closely with her mentors; other professionals in the real estate world. Sherry Finney of Wells Fargo Mortgage, Margaret Bertan of First American Title, James Armijo of State Farm Insurance, Peter Meek a Property Inspector, and Joann Schilling a Design Consultant. These individuals share Emily’s attitude towards business: “excellence in real estate with a touch of grace.” “There are always difficulties, it’s how you deal with them that makes a difference in the client’s experience,” she says.
As with the rest of her network, her associates are a community. “We feel like a family,” Emily says. “Business is first, but the frosting is that we enjoy working together. I learned that life is short, so you should appreciate the people you meet along the way.”
Emily is dedicated to her clients, but she also strives to keep balance in her life. As she says, “You must do things to nurture yourself or you’ll have nothing left to give to others.” Sometimes that means setting boundaries; Emily has not missed a single one of her son’s Tuesday afternoon soccer games since he was five years old. “If my clients want to meet me on Tuesday, I work with them to set up another option. If that’s not okay, I’ll suggest they find another Realtor,” Emily says. In fact, in all her years of real estate that has only happened twice. “The kind of people who work with me respect me for putting my son first because they want the same kind of balance in their own lives,” she believes. show more
Twelve years, ago, Emily was an accomplished businesswoman with experience in fields ranging from construction and building materials to publishing and tourism. Fluent in Spanish, German, and Italian, she had lived and worked in several countries abroad. And she was madly in love with her husband, Steve Weinberger, a joyful man who loved life. Their adorable toddler son, Isaac, completed the family.
On the side, Emily and Steve bought old fixer-uppers, which they would remodel and rent or sell. “This will be our retirement,” they told each other, as they eagerly looked forward to the future.
And then it all changed. Steve suddenly got sick and died. He had no insurance. Emily was left alone with a toddler, and a half million dollars in medical debt, and her own grief.
“I had no idea what to do when my husband died,” Emily says. “So I thought, ‘What’s important?’ And the answer was my son. I changed my life to be there for my son.”
Emily read that children who lost one parent often feel like they have really lost both parents. The remaining parent is so busy just surviving that they cannot be there to nurture the child. She determined that this would not happen to Isaac.
Steve and Emily had run a company that distributed periodicals and tourist publications to the Santa Fe community. “After my husband died, I realized I was stuck with a business I did not want. My work kept me away from my son, so after running it for two years I sold it and wanted to start a new life,” she explains. After two years of traveling and doing business consulting around the country Emily... show more and Isaac decided to return home to Santa Fe.
As for the medical bills, Emily explains, “I had no desire to declare bankruptcy; it just was not right.” The remodeled houses that she and Steve had planned on using for their retirement instead became the means for paying off debt. Emily sold all the houses she owned, using most of the money to pay off debt, but keeping part of it to reinvest. With it, she bought more houses and did more remodels, then sold them and repeated the cycle. It took eight years, but she paid off every penny.
“It was hard, but we kept on living,” Emily says. In fact, she made a life for her family that was better than ever before. With a constant reminder of how short life can be, she made sure that she and Isaac spent as much time together as possible, and that her son could experience beautiful things. It took a lot of creativity, but she found ways.
“I wanted my son to grow up in a lovely house,” Emily says. So she became a home tender, moving into a house, fixing it up, then helping the Realtor sell it. Not only were they able to live in a beautiful surrounding, but Emily was also able to eliminate the overhead of renting or owning a home. Likewise, she wanted Isaac to attend private school. She funded it by teaching foreign languages, English, and art part-time at the school every year from kindergarten through eighth grade. “I loved teaching, and it also let me spend more time with him during the day and be a part of his life,” she says.
“After my husband’s death, we had even more passion and lust for life,” Emily believes. “We thrived in a situation where we easily could have struggled, because we kept our priorities straight.”
This is where real estate came in. “Real estate gave me a way to create my life,” she says. Like many working parents, she appreciates the flexibility of the profession, but it goes beyond that. It lets her use her extensive business experience to nurture and care for others. “Being a Realtor helps me to blend all of my skills, bring all parts of my life together,” she says.
Emily certainly excels at the business side of things. She has a degree in business from Northern Illinois University and many years of experience. “I buy and sell homes in a professional manner, but what I do is much more than that. I’m a businesswoman first, but it’s how you do your business that matters,” Emily believes.
Quite simply, Emily helps her clients build a new chapter in their lives. “Because I was able to do it for myself and my son, I know what if feels like to start over,” she says. Emily helps her clients feel the same passion and possibility that she discovered in her own life.
The most important thing is community. “I’m Puerto Rican, and we believe in community!” she exclaims. Emily invites her clients into her home and into her own life, then goes on to introduce them to others. Each month, she hosts an event for her client base. It could be a small dinner party in her home, a casual picnic, or an evening of wine and appetizers at an elegant local restaurant. She carefully selects who she will invite to each event, searching out people she thinks will click and become friends.
These get-togethers are perhaps the most enjoyable part of Emily’s job. Emily works with many couples and singles who have relocated to Santa Fe from out of state. They are often retired or semi-retired. They are eager to make new friends, but without jobs or children in school, the traditional avenues are closed. That is where the parties come in: Emily invites a combination of newcomers and old-timers, creating a mix where people will mingle, talk, and find out how much they have in common.
Every new client’s needs are different. When she is working with a family with young children, Emily first introduces them to the local public and private schools. Next, she might set up a picnic at the local park with other local parents and kids. While the kids play, the adults mingle and share tips. A dad who is searching for a local optometrist? A mom wonders where to find a violin teacher? Someone probably knows a good one.
If Emily is working with an older, single woman, she takes her around to all of the neighbors, knocking on doors and meeting people. “Inevitably she will make at least one friend that day, and she is more secure living alone if the neighbors know her,” Emily explains.
Emily frequently invites clients to join her and her son on their Sunday morning breakfast tradition. Every week they meet up with an older woman friend (“our second mom and grandma”) at a favorite restaurant for a leisurely breakfast. They invite along whoever is in town looking at houses, and usually call up some past clients as well.
How do these past clients feel about the Sunday breakfasts? “They love it!” Emily says. Very rarely does someone turn down an invitation. “They are thrilled to meet new people. Usually they remember when they were the newcomer and they came to breakfast and were taken care of, so now it’s there turn.” Oftentimes it was at these breakfasts that Emily’s clients met their first friends in Santa Fe. Furthermore, after moving to Santa Fe themselves, her clients are in love with their new lives and new home and eager to share. “The people who choose to work with me are the kind of people who love community,” Emily sums in up.
Sunday breakfast and the monthly events are intimate, cozy affairs, but at least once a year Emily also hosts a huge bash. After Thanksgiving but before the Christmas rush, she invites everyone: current, past, and potential clients; her lender; her handyman; and her neighbors all show up. The parties are legendary. Emily loves to cook, and she lays out a feast. Several of her out of state clients who own a second home in Santa Fe come into town specifically for the event. “Everyone meets so many new people at these parties,” Emily says.
This is what Emily means when she says that real estate brings all parts of her life together. She shares her own passion for life with her constantly expanding circle, creating new connections along the way.
Emily’s business is predominately referral-based, so the clients who work with her have already heard all about her from friends. Frequently, they walk in and say, “I’m so happy to finally meet you. I can’t wait to get started!” It means a lot to Emily; she feels that a good Realtor can change a stressful transaction into a fulfilling and exciting time of life. Of course, when a Realtor wants referrals, she must keep in contact. “You need to feed your business by feeding the network. People are happy to give referrals, but you do need to ask and let them know what you want,” she explains. Every time someone sends her a new client, she sends a thank you gift, and she also mails out handwritten notes weekly to keep in touch.
“I don’t cold call. Instead, I only deal with a warm or hot network,” Emily explains. If she meets someone she likes, she will pass on her card, but only if they connect. She stays in touch by sending out a quarterly mailing to the network. It consists of information that would be of value to her clients. “Generally I don’t send information about myself or my sales; honestly, I don’t think they care about that!” she says. Instead, the mailings might include a news clipping on fabulous new things to do in Santa Fe or data on the housing market.
This information has real value for her network. People frequently call her asking for extra copies to pass around. Out of state buyers who own a second home in Santa Fe especially love to give them to friends in their hometown, sharing their love for the Land of Enchantment.
The connections are hardly one-sided. “People never stop calling me, and that’s what I want. When I work with a client, I see it as a lifelong commitment to a relationship and a community,” Emily explains. As the center of an expanding network, she always knows whom to call to connect people to others who can help them. Out-of-state clients who own a second home in Santa Fe often tell visiting friends to call Emily with their questions. Need to know where to go for health care, a hair cut, a good meal? Emily is happy to help.
How can one Realtor handle so much? One way Emily does it is to hire excellent full-time assistants. Her recent assistant, Melanie, was “absolutely wonderful.” She walked into Emily’s office as a client; the two women clicked and decided to extend their relationship. Melanie will soon be moving on to a career in photography, so Emily just hired Isabella Bernard and is optimistic about the relationship.
Meanwhile, she is collaborating with Jan Sekas, another agent from Sotheby’s International. “Jan has the same integrity and concern for her network that I do,” says Emily. Working together, they can still give each client the same close personal attention as the business grows.
Emily also works closely with her mentors; other professionals in the real estate world. Sherry Finney of Wells Fargo Mortgage, Margaret Bertan of First American Title, James Armijo of State Farm Insurance, Peter Meek a Property Inspector, and Joann Schilling a Design Consultant. These individuals share Emily’s attitude towards business: “excellence in real estate with a touch of grace.” “There are always difficulties, it’s how you deal with them that makes a difference in the client’s experience,” she says.
As with the rest of her network, her associates are a community. “We feel like a family,” Emily says. “Business is first, but the frosting is that we enjoy working together. I learned that life is short, so you should appreciate the people you meet along the way.”
Emily is dedicated to her clients, but she also strives to keep balance in her life. As she says, “You must do things to nurture yourself or you’ll have nothing left to give to others.” Sometimes that means setting boundaries; Emily has not missed a single one of her son’s Tuesday afternoon soccer games since he was five years old. “If my clients want to meet me on Tuesday, I work with them to set up another option. If that’s not okay, I’ll suggest they find another Realtor,” Emily says. In fact, in all her years of real estate that has only happened twice. “The kind of people who work with me respect me for putting my son first because they want the same kind of balance in their own lives,” she believes. show more
Recommendations and reviews from 1 person
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Referral from
March 8, 2017
Neuterme asked:Thinking about retiring to Santa Fe and want to buy property now. Any recommendation for a real estate agent? As the title suggest, we are thinking about retiring to Santa Fe, in ten years. Our master plan is to buy property and build or purchase a home but to do so now. We will rent the property when we aren't using it and then, ultimately, use it as our primary residence when we retire. So, we are looking for a real estate agent who can help us find a good location based on our preferences and provide insight regarding our master plan. We are in town this week and would love to meet if possible. Thank you for any help.
brynli replied:Emily Garcia is helping me with a purchase as we speak and has been amazing. Good luck with your plans. http://www.emilygarcia.com/
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