It takes a lot to be a realtor, and, in our series “What’s It Like to be a Realtor,” we go behind the scenes with our team members to learn what it really takes to be a realtor. Through the series, our team members share how they started in real estate, what motivates them in their role, and which complex issues they see in real estate today, and so join us as we sit down and talk with Carlos Alvarado.
What drew you to your job?
“I saw an opportunity to serve the Latino community differently and to create a business with my wife. Since I was young, I gravitated toward entrepreneurship opportunities and owning a brokerage made perfect sense after a couple of years of working for other Brokers. Once we opened our own Brokerage, we started to realize there were ways we could do real estate in a different way than the typical Brokerage models. That has been an awarding aspect of owning our own company.”
What did you do before real estate?
“Growing up, I worked in the restaurant industry, and before I came to Madison I owned my own restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. I learned a lot about customer service and business and those skills transferred well. Moving here, I decided to switch careers and got into banking at Park Bank. After three years, I partnered up with my wife who had been working in real estate and that’s when we started growing our real estate business together.”
What’s something you wish you knew when you started in real estate?
“I wish I would have known more about the racial justice inequalities within the real estate industry. I wish I had learned more about the history of how communities of color, specifically Black people, were explicitly discriminated against by our government, the home mortgage lenders, Realtors and others.“
What’s something you wish more people knew about real estate?
“I will sound repetitive about this but I wish people knew more about the barriers that communities of color face to create and build wealth through homeownership. Historically, redlining was used to create a wealth barrier for communities of color, but the though the practice of redlining was made illegal years ago, there are many other ways discrimination still happens today. In fact, since the fair housing act passed in 1968, the wealth gap between communities of color and white communities has increased, not decreased. Once you see this disparity in our country, it is easy to see that we need to do something differently.“
How do you stay updated on real estate market trends?
“As the Owner/Broker it is imperative for me to stay up to date on the market trends. I do this by staying informed, educating myself, analyzing the market, maintaining a strong networking within the local real estate professionals and actively working with my clients.“
What’s one of the hardest problems in real estate today?
“One of the hardest problems in real estate is the lack of collaboration between all players within the real estate industry. We focus so much on building our own business and miss opportunities to help others reach their full potential through collaboration.“
What gets you out of bed everyday to be a realtor?
“I’m most passionate about my direct work with my clients and the agents in our office. It’s the people I work with on a daily basis that gets me excited to start my day. Watching them reach their goals, whether it’s the house they are buying or the business they are growing, drives me to do what I do. Plus, I get even more excited when my clients or the agents on our team learn to grow their wealth by purchasing their own income properties. I truly love sharing the experience I’ve gained as a real estate investor so more people can experience the life opportunities that come from building wealth through real estate.”
