Informational Interview

By:  Elizondo Mendoza

Fin-180
Dr. Hansz

         I had the opportunity to interview Frank Llano who used to be a real estate agent here in Fresno for about five years.

Q: How did get involved in real estate?

        “I got into real estate through a friend that worked as a real estate agent.  At that time I was looking for a job and he thought that I would be good at it since I have good people skills and I enjoy working with people.  At first I didn’t know what to expect because I never attended college and I didn’t know if I was going to do well or not, but everything worked out fine.”   

Q: Do you think not attending college hurt your performance in anyway?

        “I actually don’t think it did as much because I had a mentor in my friend who showed me the ins and outs of the profession.  I met many people that chose not to go to college because they already had the guidance they needed in relatives and friends who had been working in real estate all their lives.  I know I didn’t go to college, but I personally encourage people to attend school first, therefore they can get into that frame of mind of learning and networking because to stay competitive one always has to keep learning and evolving.  I think school also gives people the opportunity to learn about the different professions in real estate, therefore ones they get into the field they have the opportunity to diversify. ”   

Q: What did you enjoy most about working in real estate?

        “As a real estate agent I really enjoyed getting out there working and interacting with people.  I worked in real estate for 5 years right before 2008 and my first three years I worked really hard.  I was literally working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  I worked hard to build a stable foundation of relationships by being honest, networking and always looking for people wanting to purchase or sell homes.  At that time the economy was doing really well and I was happy to get families in new homes.  Since I’m Latino I naturally gravitated towards the Latino community and tried to help those families that hardly had any credit, bad credit or were looking to become first time home owners that were oblivious to the process of purchasing a house.  I really enjoyed the relationships that I built with my clients and the satisfaction that I felt knowing that I was helping them.”

Q: It seemed like you really enjoyed being a real estate agent.  Why did you decide to get out of the business?

        “You know I did really well for myself the first couple of years but I think by my fourth year I couldn’t be as dedicated as I was before.  I still enjoyed working with people, but that type of work can be very demanding and I was just not able to maintain a healthy balance with my personal life.”

Q: Do you have any regrets about leaving the real estate business or do you see yourself getting back into It?

       “Now that I’m older and wiser and especially with the market flirting with stability I believe I can be successful again just as I was when I first started, but I do not think I would venture into real estate again.  I really enjoyed my brief time as a realtor, especially the relationships that I built, but now I have other goals that I want to pursue and being a real estate agent was just another chapter of my life.”

        I had a great time conducting this interview with Frank. One of the things that Frank really emphasized to me is the importance of net-working and building trustful relationships with people that one can depend on.  I would like to thank Frank Llano for the interview and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.