Before beginning a relationship with new clients, Bea Wolfe said she likes to spend time getting to know the people whose home she will sell or whom she will help find a new home. (Jim Slonoff photo)
Bea Wolfe already was familiar with at least five languages when she moved to the United States from Europe three years ago. She quickly learned yet another - the language of the U.S. Realtor.
"I had to learn to understand everything," said Wolfe, who despite her extensive background in the field was unfamiliar with the terminology and laws of her new home. Originally from Hungary, Wolfe began her real estate career in 2003 before taking on a series of positions that put to work her degrees in agricultural engineering. While she found much success climbing the corporate ladder of a Fortune 500 company, Wolfe said she drew tired of spending her days behind a desk and missed her life in real estate.
"My calling was always back to real estate," she said, and immediately after her two-week mandatory quarantine upon arriving in the United States in July 2020, Wolfe took the first steps toward obtaining her real estate license.
Now a broker with @properties, Wolfe said her international real estate experience allows her to bring a different perspective to the role of suburban real estate broker.
"I moved here with my suitcase, my two kids and my husband," Wolfe said.
Having lived in several different countries and having moved six times in five years, Wolfe is no stranger to change and the stresses that come with it. She said she understands that whether families are moving across town or to the other side of the world, buying or selling a home always comes with a certain amount of stress and emotion.
She's also familiar with the role that a single friendly face can play in making a new place feel like home and wants to be that person for her clients.
"I'm a relationship-based agent," said Wolfe, who keeps in touch with buyers and sellers years and even decades after the deal is closed.
Although she saw $5 million in sales during her first year, Wolfe said money is not her driving force. Her focus is on matching the right buyer with each home and finding the right home for each buyer.
Always one to do her research, Wolfe said she was the 1,547th real estate agent in Hinsdale when she obtained her license. She knew right away that she would have to do something to set herself apart. One of those things is her recently obtained Senior Real Estate Specialist designation. She is one of only 16,000 agents in the U.S. to obtain the certification, which equips her to help older adults make the right real estate decisions as they age.
Wolfe said she became aware of the real estate needs of seniors when she received a call from an older couple who were ready to move.
"They were 82 and 83 years old," she said, and while they were healthy and independent, she realized others were struggling without help. As an SRES, she knows how tax laws, probate and even Medicare enter into an older adult's decision to buy or sell.
"There are so many different needs," she said.
"This is my calling," Wolfe said of her real estate career. "I want to be the best at what I'm doing."
- by Sandy Illian Bosch
