Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Rivera.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michelle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a young and single mom of a young boy at the age of 18 I found an inner drive to continue and to strive on getting us to a better place. Living in Lowell and surrounded by the many opportunities it had to offer, but still didn’t know what my purpose was, kept me seeking. However, what I did know was that I needed to do something to better our lives and not conform. After graduating from High School as a Fashion Designer and being a young mom, I knew I couldn’t pursue the fashion industry, so I started in Healthcare as a CNA for the elderly. I then ended up caring for my father whom was living with HIV and facing terminal illnesses. Shortly after his passing, I applied for a job at Lowell Community Health Center as an outreach worker. Helping others made me happy.
Visiting jails, detox facilities and conducting outreach on the streets, educating individuals on HIV/Aids and encouraging them to get tested and even testing them myself, after I became a certified phlebotomist. That was short lived as I then became employed at Life Care Center in Billerica and then followed my heart to go visit patients at their home, when I realized I preferred being on my own and working one on one. That is when I realized independence was for me. While caring for my son, managing an apartment, bills and a job as the common person or mother would do, I would always say to myself, this is still not enough! I wanted more for my son and I, but I kept finding myself going in circles. Not making enough money. Not spending enough time with my son and sometimes sad or stressed because I was doing it alone with little to no help.
As time moved along I met who is now my ex-husband, while bartending at a local club, just to make ends meet. He is the father of my 18-year-old son Nathean and is whom helped me finish raising my late son, Luis; who was my first born. Together we built a small family. I continued to work as a home health aide and he worked at Digital, an electronic company in Tewksbury. After a year we committed and found out we were pregnant and at that point I knew I did not want to work for anyone, nor did I want to leave my second child with anyone or behind, because I felt that my older son and I lost out on quality time and I did not want to repeat that. I then decided I would open my own family home based Day Care and I did. I was successful in operating my own homebased business and I was able to spend time with the family while I assisted in caring for other children. My feel for independence and helping others grew stronger.
The income improved, but the time at home and with family was the best reward. Although my ex-husband and I faced many challenges, we were able to overcome many as well. We dreamed of having our own home, fixed our credit, saved money, took care of our children, including his 2 children from a previous relationship and we always worked on improving our situations. At least, I always did. I always had it in me to do more. He would say, I was never satisfied and that he never knew what to expect from me because we would accomplish one goal and then I had another one in the lineup. That was always me and I still believe that is me today. I am not a quitter. I always say, God did not give me this life to waste it. No, I am not perfect but if I still have it in me to do more, want more, help more and give more… Then I will.
Through all the test and trials, faced together and as individuals, I had something in me that does not let me quit. I am not religious However, I do believe in God and I do believe in his mercy, grace and power. I know he is the beginning and the end and that he is the creator of the universe and although I make mistakes, trip or fall; I will always get back up. I trust that I will and so therefore I do. I have faced bullying, rejection, loneliness, verbal abuse, mental abuse, molestation and physical abuse. I have faced betrayal and extreme losses. I have been mocked and I have been in a ton of disagreements and physical fights because of the many unfortunate situations endured in my early childhood, youth and young adult years.
I am not happy about them, but I did gain wisdom and strength from them. These are some of the reasons I believe I enjoy being independent and why I know that no matter what happens, I will prevail. I also come from a background that is full of great history and some bondage, too. My parents come from Puerto Rico. My grandfather was one of the first Puerto Ricans to come to Lowell to work in a shoe factory. My grandmother stayed back home to care for 9 children, while she worked at a Tobacco field. Strong work and survival ethics are in my roots and blood. My grandmother was a believer and she always leaned on God and prayed for her family and loved ones, too.
My mother and her siblings all made it to Lowell and although all of them, did not make it to their fullest potential, they had great hearts and they were all loved equally.
Now as for my mother, she is one of the strongest women I know, aside from my grandmother. She has faced many challenges after my father her separated due to his elicit activities. She managed to raise 3 children with the help of my grandmother. She worked and continue her education. Unfortunately, she could not be there for us all the time because of that, but she did her best and she made a dent in the community as well. She loved her family and cared for them dearly and still does till this very day. She worked as a paralegal for the Merrimack Valley Legal Services for 20 years. She helped hundreds of families throughout the community, both in Lowell and Lawrence, to be exact.
From housing matters to domestic matters and more… She traveled on a bus to Lawrence because she did not drive. But she walked all around Lowell to help whoever she could with what she knew she could help them with. And, she still does today. Although my family was affected by many struggles, faced drug abuse, alcohol abuse and HIV, we have managed to stay positive, together and remained strong. I know that does not happen to our family alone, as we have helped many other families that face the same struggles, too — but those are some of the bondage’s that can hinder a family and their growth, but I believe that believing in the higher power and not setting limits, is key! That is why, I say I know I have something in me that is stronger and more powerful than anything I have faced and he who lives in me will not fail. I believe that is not only because of what I know of my family and roots, it is my faith in God and the power of believing that we have something greater in us. What happens to us does not define us and I am living proof of that. We have a purpose and we may face challenges, but they can either be a blessing or a lesson and ultimately, when we are ready, we can put our experiences to work and fulfill our purpose here, which is to serve and improve the lives of others, if they want it.
We will face challenges and we will make mistakes, but we cannot be hard on ourselves either. We need to forgive ourselves, as well as others to move on to other levels, explore and experience the future. The power of prayer and or what many consider meditating, is real! Fast forwarding on how I got to where I am today.When I realized oh my, my baby is going to school now. He is 5! What am I going to do!? I cannot stay home. I found another interest. Mortgages. Part-time. So that I can continue to manage my home and family and still have an earnest living. I could not back peddle, I had other goals.
I needed to keep pressing. I did just that. I did a loan certification program and I did loan originations for 6 months. I learned and or discovered I enjoyed the other side…The Real Estate side.
I loved being outside doing outreach (showing homes) I enjoyed hearing stories and being able to talk about different scenarios and solutions. Which helped me prepare for what I wanted to accomplish too, home ownership. The home I lived in was rent to own, single family home to run and operate the daycare I had in place at the time, which I was slowly letting go of! Within a short time, I had my real estate license, June of 2005 to be exact. I still do. I’m a Real Estate Broker in MA today. I joined RE/MAX after having my Real Estate License for 6 months and that is when I found my purpose and passion. It is when I could apply all my life time experiences and skills to help others accomplish their goal. It hasn’t always been easy, but without a doubt, always possible.
In my lifetime of serving Real Estate, I have received multiple local recognitions as well as Top Producing recognitions and awards from various entities, like Northeast Association of Realtors. I have managed to maintain a referral based, business. I stay on top of market tools and trends and am continuously seeking ways to improve myself and my team, to better serve my clients. I believe in loving what you do and providing honest and ethical services. My business has revolved around serving my clients with excellence. My goal is to help them reach their goal and that comes naturally for me. Although in my rooky years while working long hours and making others rich, I lost a little sight of my balance as a mom & wife and I knew I had signed up for those; but I still loved to work, serve and I enjoyed the blessings that came with it all. Again, I wanted to reach goals and I knew I had to work for them and sometimes that means sacrifice, but what I learned was, one should not sacrifice the wrong things. Like family and balance. And, at times, I did. Gratefully no matter what challenges I had to face, once again, I always found my way back.
I realized staying away from negativity and toxicity means a lot more than some people assume to be true. That can be in the form of greed, as being rich is not always about money. Nice to have an abundance of it; but we must be mindful, not poor minded, simply mindful. Refraining from anyone or anything that takes you away from family or that speaks toxic into your atmosphere, anyone that is selfish, anyone that brings you closer to the elicit & wicked things of the world is considered a negative source, in my opinion. I have had to remove myself from people that used me or people with secret agendas but appear to be cute as a button and or humble. I have had to remove myself from overly religious people that wanted to create more bondages in my life. That is negativity and can come disguised. That is why I seek balance. My balance. I neglected some areas of my life when I lost focus and as a result, I am a different person for sure but improved, wiser and stronger.
I remember wanting to save my marriage at one point, because that is what I thought I should do and as a result I moved away and left my son with my mother, to finish high school, but I am back here today. And when I moved away, I lost my son to medical malpractice & I struggled with grief and regret for years. I went through denial. I also abused alcohol and ate poorly. Gained so much weight that I was borderline diabetic & had high blood pressure. But by the grace of God, I am in such a better place today, I am healthy, wiser and remain positive. Got back in shape and moved on. Today I live for my 18-year-old who is still here with me. I have my own brokerage & recently partnered with Laer Realty because I have more goals for my Team and because I’m still here and continue to strive; because I know I have more purpose. I engage in more philanthropy than ever, I give back to the community in many forms because it makes me feel great, but more importantly; I enjoy seeing other hearts smile. I sponsor a hospital that fulfills surgeries to children in the Dominican Republic in memory of my late son & I went on a mission to Puerto Rico for the disaster relief after Hurricane Maria left it in shambles. I do this on my own time, but I also do it with the small portion donated from every transaction I close on behalf of my clients, to the organization The Sito Legacy Fund, which I established in memory of my late son; because my clients bless my business, so I want to make sure that I bless others someway somehow, too. I also extend scholarship to local students and artist and I am always seeking for ways to help. I also do it with intention and all with Love!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t believe that my journey has been easy over all, but I do believe that all the challenges and struggles I have faced started at an early age and although they may have continued throughout my lifetime, they all taught me one thing; Don’t Give Up! Fight Back. As the years go by and I face a challenge, I know I will find a solution and I will prevail, because the word says that God will never forsake us and I believe that. I deal with them differently today. I would argue or fight back, with my own will. Today I am wiser and getting better at it. Some of my biggest challenges was losing my father at 18 and my son at 35 who was only 16 years old, in 2009. I have, however, overcome some of the hardest things that can ever happen to a woman or a mother but in turn, have a respect for life’s values that many still don’t understand, today. I have chosen to take the struggles and challenges endured to make me, not brake me. I use them as leverage to help me and help others not to give up on their dreams and goals. I shed light on what I have learned from my challenges so that they too, keep the faith, because I also believe that one mustard seed, goes a very long way.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Michelle Rivera Properties – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I have over 25 years of experience serving families and the communities. 13 of those years have been in Real Estate. Helping individuals buy or sell what is the largest investment of their life, is a serious task for me. I am here to make an impact on the lives of my clients and I committed to doing so when I swore to be an ethical REALTOR. I also have a full staff team and a large and strong network circle, that continues to grow. I specialize in Short Sales and First Time Home Buyers, but I am also skilled and very knowledgeable with Foreclosures, HUD Homes, Commercial Leasing and Sales, Small Business, Mobiles Homes, Military Friendly and Rentals. What makes me truly different is that I care about what happens in the life of my clients and not only throughout the transaction, but long term. Every time I receive a referral it gives more confidence and motivates me to do even better because they are not just a sale, they are lifetime relationships…
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am currently working on a few things, one being my NH Brokers License and I am working on expanding my services to other locations, not yet to be disclosed. I have been engaging more in commercial sales and leasing as well as some business opportunities, type of transactions. I am also excited because I have a personal partner in my life that shares many of the same hardships and value’s I have, both on a personal level and on a professional level. He is strong willed, determined, loveable, funny and very business savvy. He is very much involved in the community and he believes in God, too! He is the owner of Luna Taxi and Lucos Transportation here in Lowell; but he also has over 15 years of Real Estate experience on the construction and landlord side, which in turn gives me even more motivation to keep believing and elevating in life and in business as he adds value all around. We have a blended family with all our adult children, but we also have a dream together and that is to get married and have a baby girl, God willing! Together, we are a power couple and our missions are to offer the best to our family, friends, colleagues and the community. We will continue to do what we do best. Which is to put God first, Dream, Believe & Achieve, but more importantly fight back whatever we face with boldness and courage as he has sent us to do, but this time around stronger and wiser; through the power of prayer.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9 Central Street Suite 301 Lowell MA 01852
- Website: www.MichelleRiveraProperties.com
- Phone: 9785513212
- Email: michellerivera77@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleRiveraProperties/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mriverasells/
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