Realtor’s Corner: Sheila Zart

What drew you to real estate?
I had worked in Human Resources for about 10 years. Around that time my husband and I decided to start a family; so, I decided to jump off of the traditional corporate ladder. That eventually led me to real estate—teaming with my twin sister starting in 2001. In 2007, I obtained my broker’s license and I’ve been operating as an independent broker since. After working in Human Resources for so many years, it was a natural progression getting into real estate. I pull from that experience and knowledge of working with people on a daily basis.
What do you do when you are not working?
Being in real estate, I think we are always ‘on-call’ and rarely never ‘not-working’. But, this business does allow for us to coordinate our time a bit unconventionally. When I am not ‘working’, I love to start my day by taking a long walk with my dog. It’s great for mind and body and sets me up to be productive the entire day. I spend many hours volunteering at my daughter’s school. I also enjoy spending time with and vacationing with my family, hiking and dinners with close friends and family.
What is your most memorable transaction?
In the past, my husband and I have helped a few families get into home ownership by purchasing homes on their behalf, renovating the homes, and then ‘flipping’ the home to these families. These are memorable transactions to me since these families could not compete with all cash investors swooping up distressed inventory. We were able to provide an opportunity to buyers who were finding it difficult to compete getting into a home. To this day I still get calls from these clients who appreciate the opportunity of what we did for them.
What’s the best part about the work that you do?
I feel the most beneficial thing I do is simply sitting down and explaining the buying and selling process to my clients. Many buyers and sellers don’t understand what an ‘escrow’ is or even a ‘contingency period’. Empowering my clients with knowledge of the buying and selling process before it starts makes everything go smoother, less-stressful, and seem a lot less daunting.
Contact Sheila Zart at 408.829.3778 or via email at Sh*********@gm***.com.