Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Rojas.
Jose, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Jose Rojas of Success Real Estate. I grew up in Tasajeras, Venezuela a poor barrio in the western area of the country. There was not much economic hope there, but my mother always pushed me to focus on school and studying as a way out. I never had many friends in town, but my grades were good. My mother made sure of that. When I was starting my university career, there were not any openings in the program in which I wanted to enroll. While I was waiting for the program to open, I decided to study English at the Centro Venezolano Americano de Zulia. Through that program I became fluent in English. After studying Social Communications at La Univerisidad de Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela, one of my first jobs as a journalist was translating the English international news to Spanish for the local broadcasts. I loved watching Christiane Amanpour because her English was so precise.
I worked for several years as a journalist, even having a brief on-air spot. However journalism is a tough career in Venezuela, just like here in Boston and after being laid off several times, it became clear that I needed to branch out if I was going to make a living. I had continued improving my English, so when I was not working, I began teaching English classes to the children of some of my friends at their homes. My classes became very popular because I was well known in town through my previous journalism career. I needed to rent a space to continue growing. Along with my business partner, Ana D’Agositini of Ciudad Ojeda those classes grew into a private language academy with over 120 students and 10 teachers. It was named Centro Integrado para la Ensnanza de Idiomas (CIENI) we taught English to local businessmen and oil executives as well as classes for children. The school also offered classes in Italian. That was in 1998. The same year two events took place that would send me in a direction I never could have imagined.
In 1998, Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela. His economic policies would lead to the collapse of the economy of Ciudad Ojeda, which would mean the business community who provided the bulk of the students for CIENI would soon be leaving. Also in 1998, I met an American teacher at the local International School from Boston, Massachusetts. We began dating and were married in 2000. Because of the changing political and economic climate we decided that it was time to try a new adventure and so we moved to Boston in June of 2001. I don’t think there could be two more different places on earth culturally than Boston and Ciudad Ojeda. Even though I was pretty fluent in English, when I first arrived, I struggled to understand the particular brand of English that is spoken here in the city. It was a struggle to figure out what to do to make a living and support my family. My wife is a teacher, and since I wasn’t sure how best to use my skills, I decided to become a teacher as well. I was hired to teach Spanish at a local charter school while I worked on my teaching certifications. Once I had my certification, I was able to work at the local public schools and began teaching at North Quincy High School.
Teaching was a good job, but I missed the opportunities to connect with the larger community. When I was the director of CIENI, I met with a wide variety of people during the day and felt connected to the community. As a teacher, I made connections with the students, but I felt that something was missing. Over the years, I had heard about the strength of the real estate market here in Boston, and I was always interested in the interpersonal relations involved in marketing. These skills were similar to those I had developed as a journalist all those years ago. I took a course in real estate and became a licensed agent. I began working in the market part time, while still teaching. I started at a local Century 21 franchise in Canton. Being bilingual proved a great advantage and soon I had a list of clients in the Boston Latino community. I loved the daily interaction with varied people. The dynamic Boston real estate market provided me with more success than I had ever thought possible.
My wife gave birth to twins in 2005 and the market was doing very well, so in the next year I decided to stop teaching and go into real estate full time. This would give me a chance to be at home with our twins and work on building my business, which had grown as far as it could while working on it part time. The time had come to make a leap and take a chance in the market full time, I thought. Then in October of the same year, the real estate bubble burst and the housing crisis was upon us. The challenge of taking care of toddlers while trying to grow a business was very great. Having a young family to support meant I needed a steady income. I was offered a position teaching Spanish at Canton High School. For the next several years, I continued to work in real estate part time while seeking new challenges as a teacher.
I joined the Success Real Estate team and my client list continued to grow as the housing market recovered. I found I loved the excitement of working in the market. I met many other professionals connected to real estate: attorneys, appraisers, and mortgage brokers. My network grew and in 2014, the time felt right again to make the leap and grow my business full time. I left teaching at the end of that school year and haven’t looked back.
Since then my career as a Real Estate professional has grown into a network which now includes mortgage brokers, contractors, and attorneys throughout the Greater Boston area. My most important goal is to gain the trust of my clients and strive to earn that trust everyday. The sense of connection I have gained is hard to measure. My clients have become friends, and through them I continue to serve the diverse community of Greater Boston helping people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds find first time homes or investment properties.
My journey has taken me far from the barrio of Tasajeras, but through it all I have found that a willingness to take risks and adapt to changing fortunes has been my strongest guiding principle. I have been privileged to network with people from all cultural backgrounds and through those connections build a web of support in which we can all help each other to succeed. I continue to grow professionally and personally and look forward to many years serving the real estate needs of the community.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been an interesting journey, many of the perceived obstacles turned out to be opportunities sending me in directions that lead to greater success. I have found that the support of my family has been a great motivation. They have always supported my decisions as I continue to chart my course. Along the way, I have met many people who became mentors and gave me the confidence to trust in my abilities and take risks.
A big challenge came when I first moved to this country. Although I had the support of my wife and her family, it was difficult adapting to a new culture, language and not in the least, the climate. I didn’t think it was possible to be as cold as I was that first year in Boston. I have become accustomed to the cold of winter since then, but I still prefer the warmth of summer. Most people I met were helpful and accepting, though I did encounter some prejudice because of my accent. On the whole, it was a challenging and exciting time.
Please tell us about Success Real Estate.
When I began, it quickly became apparent that there was a need for an agent to work with people in immigrant communities who were ready to buy, but had no knowledge of how the process worked. My background in teaching became a great asset here. Of course, speaking Spanish was also a great help. I worked hard to educate people and my relationship with them was more than a real estate agent, I became a trusted advisor. Through these relationships, I gained more clients as people referred me to their friends and family. To this day, referrals are the best way for my business to grow.
My clients were mostly interested in buying multifamily properties in Boston and surrounding areas, and this quickly became my specialty. Buyers were able to enter into homeownership because the extra income generated by renting a part of the home would give them the flexibility to be able to finance their investment. Selling or buying a multifamily presents unique challenges. The buildings usually have tenants and each tenant has their own personal needs and concerns. Showing the property involved getting the consent of all of the tenants to allow me to bring potential buyers into their home. Tenants always have a certain level of anxiety because the building in which they are living is being sold. There is always a period of negotiation in which I need to work with the buyer, seller, and the tenant to ensure that everyone’s needs are being met in the best way possible.
As my reputation has grown, so has my client base. My name has become associated with trust, knowledge, and responsibility. I get referrals from all over the state of Massachusetts as well as New Hampshire and Rhode Island. I now work with contractors and investors, but the heart of my business continues to be first time home buyers and sellers.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
The biggest lesson I have learned is to have a progressive attitude and not be afraid to take risks. It took time for me to learn to trust my abilities and instincts and that, at first, held me back. I have learned that there is risk in everything we do. Even deciding not to do something carries risk. We have to let go of the fear of failure if we are going to move forward in life. What seems like an obstacle usually ends up being something that pushes you in a better direction towards greater success. The greatest risk comes in being afraid to try.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1452 Dorchester Ave, 4th Floor
Dorchester, MA 02122 - Website: www.buyandsellhydeparkhomes.com
- Phone: 617-513-0316
- Email: realtorjoserojas@hotmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bostonhomevalue/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-rojas-a52a4917/
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