I always get an interesting reaction when people find out I work with my brother and my sister. They usually say things like “I would never be able to work with any of my siblings.”

For us, it was something that just happened.

Right after my sister Damaris graduated from college, out of the blue, she told me she was getting her real estate license. I know how difficult selling real estate can be, it’s a job with no guaranteed income, so I know it’s not for everyone. I didn’t want to put any extra pressure on her, so when she started I didn't say much to her, I just let her try it out.

At the time I owned a RE/MAX Office and my business partners did not want her to come work for us. They were worried I would show her favoritism.

So Damaris began working at a different real estate office in Queens. One day we hired a trainer to come teach a sales course and I invited Damaris to sit in on the training. When my business partners met Damaris they quickly changed their minds about her, and asked her to join our office immediately!

I know how tough selling real estate can be, somehow she managed to figure it out. Over eleven years later, Damaris is doing incredible and her clients love her.

Andy on the other hand, he was forced to come work with us (sort of). This is how I remember that conversation going.

Me- “Andy, what did you do last summer vacation?”

Andy- “Nothing”

Me- “So what are you planning to do this summer?”

Andy- “Nothing”

So instead of letting Andy "do nothing" (a.k.a. play video games all summer), we hired Andy to be our assistant for the summer.

He was 17 years old and was about to start college in the fall.

In the beginning he hated it, probably because I didn’t explain anything to him. I just asked him to go through stacks of papers and scan and organize them. He was extremely bored and wanted to quit after one day.

On his second day at work he began questioning what he was doing. He asked me, “What’s the purpose?” Once I explained what we were doing he was hooked.

He completed all the requirements for getting a real estate license before he turned 18, so he had to wait until his birthday to officially apply for his real estate license. He stopped going to college in the middle of his first semester. I still don’t feel good about his decision to quit college, but he’s also figured out how to make sales and become a successful agent. Andy always gives his clients exceptional service.

I began in 2007, Damaris in 2010, and Andy in 2015.

I love them, I see how hard they work and how much they care about their clients.

Like any family, we don’t always get along, but we’ve managed to make it work. Although sometimes it’s difficult, we always know that we will be family first, and work comes second.

We work as a family and we thought it was important for you to know that, because it’s important to us.

So, now that you know us a little bit more, I want to ask you, Who is an important person in your life that we should get to know?

I would love to hear more from you. Write back to us and tell us who those special people are that make your life a joy to live.

The photos at the top are us at a rock n roll festival & the one right below is of our photo shoots a couple of years ago!