Today we’d like to introduce you to Irina Bobrenkova.
Hi Irina, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
November 7th marked my 15 years’ journey in the US. I am originally from Russia and when I came to the US I knew only a few words of English. I spent my first 4 years in New Mexico learning English and eventually got into college. I have a Law degree from Russia which was not my choice to study, but my parents really wanted me to have a good education. Going back to school I decided to choose something I would enjoy every day. After a couple of semesters, I moved to Dallas to continue my education at Collin College. Once I graduated, I worked in the Hospitality Industry for about 10 years in deferent hotels within DFW. My last job was at the Omni in Downtown Dallas where I oversaw the Spa. My Real Estate journey started after I got laid off in Spring of 2020 due to Covid. Because of the changes that were happening in the world I thought I would try something different for my job and become self-employed. For the first time in my career, I would be completely in charge of my own success. During the pandemic my boyfriend and I fully remodeled my condo in Dallas, we really enjoyed working on the house together and doing everything ourselves. After that my boyfriend let me pick a house with the idea that we would remodel it and rent it out. This was the first home I sold and it was best thing I could have done. I saw the whole process as realtor and a homebuyer, it was exciting and emotional as well since I was the client too. This was the first home we got together for us and our 3 rescued dogs. After I sold my first house things just started happening. I started an Instagram account to document my journey and some of my clients found me that way. I remember when one client reached out to me saying that she is ready to buy because after watching what we have done with our house she knew that even though she can’t afford the perfect house she can make it perfect one room at a time like I was showing in my stories. My boyfriend jokes that the house we are currently remodeling is like paying for my college because it taught me so much about underground plumbing, foundation repair, roof and even land restrictions. We can laugh now about the many problems we had with it but at the time I felt like it would never end. In the end it has been such a valuable lesson now, when I tour homes with my clients, I know exactly what to look for. It also helps me sell new builds to clients who I know can’t afford to run into the issue we did because I can explain to them all the benefits of buying brand new. I have sold a lot of new builds this year in different parts of DFW but my most exciting new build is the one we are in the process of building for ourselves. I have found such an amazing community, at this point our house is about 3-4 months out from being complete. This isn’t the best part about building though: I have sold 7 houses on my street to my friends creating a little Russian-speaking community!
When I started to learn English, I watched HGTV in hopes one day to buy my own house. Today I can tell you that I am living the HGTV dream from house buying to house remodeling. I guess I am living my American dream.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It is hard to start something new and earn the respect of people, especially when they are trusting you with their biggest investment. But I wouldn’t call it a struggle, I look at all the challenges as a learning opportunity. I believe one thing we have is our name and reputation so from the very beginning I was working to build a reputation of trust. The hardest thing I find in real estate is finding clients who want to work with me. At the beginning, I was looking up to realtors who have been doing it for years and was comparing myself to them, I wondered how they are so busy and successful, and I am not. I felt like something was wrong until one day I came across a quote that put it all in prospective, “Don’t compare your beginning with someone else’s middle”. It was like a wake-up call for me. Statistics shows that many realtors don’t survive their first year, one of the reasons being they stop believing in themselves. So that day, I promised that I will never stop believing in myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been asked many times what makes me different from all the other realtors out there? I would say that it comes down to 3 things. First, I only sell what I believe in, and, if I see anything wrong with the house, I will always point it out because I don’t just want to sell them something to make a sale and be done. I look at the potential of the neighborhood and how the property would do when they resell it and I secretly hope I will be the one selling it for them when the time comes. Secondly, I do not only sell or rent houses to others, but I am also a landlord myself and I am continuously looking to buy more properties. On a daily basis, I look at what is happening in the DFW market and can run numbers for myself and all the investor I work with. My only problem is that I like buying houses so much that the only exciting shopping for me is when I shop for a house. Third, I don’t sell real estate because I could make a lot of money and buy fancy things but rather to have the freedom of time and funds to help rescue animals. I currently have 4 rescue dogs myself and constantly bring home cats and dogs that I find on the streets. I hope to eventually buy a house with enough land to build an addition and have my own shelter with the ability to help many animals in need. In Russia where I am from, we lived in a small condo about 600 sq.ft with my parents and grandmother, my biggest dream was always to have my own place. For me buying a house with my clients is not just another transaction, it is about making dreams come true. I get so excited every time my clients walk in the door and I can see on their faces that this is the one they want to call home. In this market I see people give up finding their dream home, don’t! It is there, you just need to look a little longer. On average, from the moment I meet my clients to the time we go under contract, I give myself a week. During this week I do everything in my power to help them find the perfect home. If they are looking for a new build, I drive to the communities they are interested in and search until I find homes they can sign for right away. If it is a house with a lot of interest, I do my best on the contract so we can secure the house, especially with how the market is now with many houses having multiple offers.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think that in the next 5 years we will continue seeing a trend of people moving from other parts of the US to Texas, especially to DFW. With so many companies moving their headquarters here I think we are destined to stay busy in both residential and commercial real estate. All this speculation about a market crash doesn’t make sense to me when my own mortgage for a 3 bedrooms 2-bathroom house is less than people are paying for a 2-bedroom apartment. Why would you want to pay someone’s mortgage when you could be paying your own? I feel like people purposely misinform others to think that they need a 20% down payment when they can get a house with as little as 5% down. Just last year houses in Dallas went up by 19% so why would anyone wait any longer to buy if we know that rates are going up and the dollar’s buying power has only been going down? I think real estate is a good way to protect your money from inflation and allows you to grow equity without you doing anything.
Contact Info:
- Email: irina@rogershealy.com
- Website: https://www.irinasellsdfw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irinasellsdfw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/irinasellsdfw
Image Credits
Natalia Maroney
