Sean Purcell, The UnRealty Group, Solana Beach, CA

Before moving to real estate, I made my living as a stock broker and an options trader. I spent my adult life working in the financial and business fields, but my passion has always been buying, selling and rehabbing homes. When I moved back home to San Diego, I couldn't wait to get started. Once I did, however, I was shocked at how the business was run and the way clients are often viewed as simply a means to a commission. It was the Wild West and no one seemed to care just so long as values kept screaming upward... we all know how that story ended. In 2008 the markets collapsed.

In every problem I believe there lies an opportunity and this was no different; I saw the opportunity to reinvent the way real estate is done. We know we can't change every agent and lender out there; wouldn't even try. BUT, if we reach enough clients we can change the expectation people have for their agents and lenders.

I view a client the same way now as I did when I was a stock broker. Suitability is the concept that matters most. We are continuously employing new ideas in marketing and make no mistake; a real estate agent's job - the reason they are hired in the first place - is to market something. Either the house for sale or the buyer trying to purchase. Retail agents should be marketing experts, yet we see the same tired yard signs (marketing the brokerage rather than the property), the same poorly written listings and the same "I hope we get lucky" approach to representing clients. Spend some time at The unRealty Group and I believe you'll witness real estate reinvented.

Sean Purcell

(Sean graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Psychology. He spends his free time training for Ironman triathlons and listening to the laughter of those who see him doing it.)