Rising Stars: Meet Brenda Sanchez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Sanchez.

Hi Brenda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I can say I didn’t have your typical start in real estate. I’ve done every position in real estate because I was most eager to learn, but opportunities are limited when you don’t have a degree and not in a position to be a full-time realtor with no money. I knew my passion was real estate and construction. I obtained my license in 2013 and lacked the confidence and means to begin sales right away and worked at the FedEx office while attending school. I honestly knew school wasn’t for me and continued to pursue getting a job in the real estate field and I received a rejection for years. I finally landed a temp job in 2015 and began working at Doc Magic which is a loan origination software company for three months which led to me working for Greenhedge escrow. While working at Greenhedge escrow I learned about the escrow process; the company also had an in-house sales team that handled the properties they purchased to flip from the steps of the courthouse all the way to close they had a great system in place. I was able to understand the systems larger investors had in place to become major players in the market and most importantly reduce costs and make great profits. I was unfortunately laid off, but while I was working at Greenhedge I learned about loan doc signings. I worked as a loan doc signing agent for three months and absorbed everything there was to know about loan programs, structuring deals, financing and most importantly connecting with clients.

While working as a loan doc signing agent I mapped out a plan to break into construction. I found out an entry-level position in construction normally is a project coordinator, but again I had no degree and no past experience. I was able to get someone to vouch for me, made some changes to my resume and hit the ground running. I always knew you can put me in any environment and I would excel. Real estate and construction came naturally to me. I landed a position at CBRE (the world’s largest real estate services and investment firm) within three months of being laid off and began as a Construction Project Coordinator servicing Southern California Edison Account working on projects as small as 5 million valued up to 500 million for build-out of substations, data centers, service centers, etc. I submerged myself in every single process and function within project management. After two years there was no growth opportunities, due to the lack of having a degree. I was fortunate enough to be recruited by JLL (second largest real estate commercial services company) as an Associate Project Manager servicing the Bank of America account where I began to head my own interior and exterior renovations. During that time, I knew it was time to take my real estate sales career much more seriously and I poured everything into sales. I wasn’t focused on perfection but simply helping clients understand their options I went from having absolutely nobody willing to give me a chance to having too many clients to juggle all at once. I applied everything I knew into my business at that point because it wasn’t about perfection it was most important for me to educate my clients then just sell a home.

I have seen so many bad loans and negotiated deals as a signing agent and I wanted to set myself apart from other sales agents seeking to make a quick buck. I had a great income therefore money wasn’t the motivation. I went to sell 5 million in sales which isn’t great, but not terrible and continued to grow year after year. I understood if I could help and educate during my journey then I would be successful. I was then recruited to work for Cushman and Wakefield as a Project Manager focusing on the interior renovation of Banks anywhere from 200k upward of 5 million. Everywhere I worked has always been strategic I’ve taken the bits of knowledge I’ve gained from the largest competitors in the industry in order to learn and apply it to my own company one day. Why not get paid to learn? I’m now pursuing my General Contractors license because I understand the need for minority contractors to be in construction space and have the opportunities to work on these larger and smaller commercial and residential projects. I’ve always been inspired to create opportunities and honestly be the underdog and come out on top. I never let my background stop me and I was never fixated on being an overnight success. Building a legacy takes time.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road whatsoever. Let’s be honest I’m a black female that works in two dominant male industries with no degree and no technical background. In real estate sales, I’ve dealt with people who don’t want to take you seriously because you’re young and don’t believe you’re as knowledgeable as you truly are or men that find you attractive and truly have other motives. In the construction industry, I have no technical background I never worked as laborer, I don’t have an engineer or architect background so I wasn’t the ideal selection when it came to getting the job. I’ve been constantly in a space of having to prove myself, but I’m not complaining it truly has been motivating and I pray I’m fortunate enough to help put those like myself in these positions one day.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m currently a Full Time Realtor I never box myself in as luxury agent, buyers or sellers agent. I sell real estate and I do it well. I want to educate my clients. It doesn’t matter if you’ve purchased 0 properties or 100 theirs always something to learn. I believe what has set me apart I always strive to create a win-win deal. Of course, I want to service my client and assist them with achieving their goal in order to do so I need to understand the lender/underwriter, I need to understand escrow and understand the other party in the deal and how to create the best case scenario for a successful transaction and a strong deal. Therefore having worked in every sector, my knowledge base goes beyond plugging in a few items on the purchase agreement based on being a realtor. I’m currently expanding my construction business. BAS Construction Co is now taking on residential projects for minor to major remodels. I’m currently most proud of completing a major rehab on my investment property using the BRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat). Many realtors don’t own any real estate but preach on the importance of ownership and I want to be authentic and share my journey which includes the good and bad. I now have over 200k in equity in my property in as little as six months and I’m in the process of building out an ADU to generate additional income and equity. I truly had to bet on myself and my capabilities to pull off such a large project with my own money.

How do you think about happiness?
Time spent with my family and friends makes me happy. I can lie and say real estate and construction, but I believe that’s what I’m passionate about doing and theirs a difference. There’s an excitement from the work that I do and it comes natural, but I’m truly my happiest self when I’m surrounded by the genuine love and happiness of my family and friends. My biggest wish is that my passions will allow me the freedom and means to do more of what makes me happy and create timeless memories with those that I love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brenda-sanchez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.asanchez/?hl=en