Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Lutzi Dellatore.
Hi Angela, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have had the great fortune of entering the real estate market at exactly the right time, with exactly the right market conditions, with exactly the right attitude, and exactly the RIGHT partner! Don’t get me wrong. Our business success is not one solely of luck but we (my husband and I) were very fortunate to have entered the market at a time when our hard work and dedication were sure to pay off. And when I say pay off, I mean 125 million in sales PLUS by our eighth year of business!
I hope this article serves as inspiration and also as a guide so that you, too, can better understand how to be extremely successful in the real estate business or any other business, for that matter! I hope you enjoy reading our “story” and find it as compelling as many of our “followers“ and customers have found it.
Our story begins on a freezing cold day in Pennsylvania where we had just purchased a beautiful mountain retreat on a half acre of land with an inground swimming pool, tons of space, and an office on the first floor, where I was able to see my clients. I was a practicing psychotherapist and Scott, my husband, was a guidance counselor. We both worked full-time jobs and took 2 to 4 weeks off during the summer months. We vacationed for a total of two weeks a year and dined out once or twice a week. Our lives revolved around work.
Both Scott and I had done various types of jobs in our fields as counselors over the years but did not consider ourselves close to being ready to retire. Because we did not have a solid plan to wind down, we found ourselves feeling concerned about our future and how long we would be able to work most weeks for the rest of our years. We noticed many of our friends who owned small businesses were able to scale back as they grew their businesses, reducing their work hours from 5 to 4 to 3 days per week.
Our daughter was about to graduate from college and our son, from high school. Neither had commitments in Pennsylvania; we knew it was our chance to escape the cold weather before they laid roots. Scott and I had been visiting the Southwest Florida/Naples area over a 10-year period and so, we were very familiar with the lush, tropical landscape as well as the fabulous weather for the majority of the year.
During that time, I asked Scott many times about the idea of moving from Pennsylvania to Florida. Scott was not enthused at first but an unexpectedly frigid couple of winter seasons eventually changed his mind. Over a 24-month period, we huddled by the fireplace, paid ridiculous amounts of money for oil and gas, and did not find the winter months to be enjoyable. Even finding an opportunity to take a walk or to breathe fresh air felt impossible. My parents, who were snowbirds at the time, were kind enough to host us for several weeks over the winter months. On our final flight home as tourists, we looked at each other and said “let’s move!”
That was all it took! Soon, our home was on the market and our new plan was underway. We moved to my parent’s condo until we could find the right home. Six months later, our home in PA was sold and we were living in a brand new community in Bonita Springs. Scott was able to find a job as a guidance counselor and I opened a private psychotherapy practice in Naples. My caseload was full within six months.
Overall, we were pretty satisfied. The weather was gorgeous – we are outdoor people; we were excited to have the ability to walk every day and to enjoy all that Southwest Florida has to offer! We loved the beaches, restaurants, weather, the happy people and so much more! Nevertheless, we were still in the process of finding our “legs”. We wanted to meet people, be more social, and do more fun things! We also wanted to be in a business that we loved, something that we loved so much that it didn’t feel like work. We both always loved real estate, buying, selling, and flipping homes. We really enjoyed our search for a new home and missed visiting communities once we were all settled in.
I grew up in the real estate business as my father bought and sold properties throughout my childhood. As a child, there was nothing more exciting to me than looking through his big book of MLS properties. I would study that book and would circle all of the properties I thought he should see. I loved it. Homes were like candy for me (and still are); every new home offers a special treat, a new flavor, and the promise of a sweet oasis. I even love the homes that need a “refresh.” At an early age, I could tell what something COULD be. I have always looked at distressed homes with hopeful eyes, believing I would be able to rehab them if only given the chance. In addition to my counseling degree, I also have a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. As an artist and as a therapist, I wholeheartedly believe in transformation.
Scott and I took advantage of our new position in life and became real estate agents for the “fun“ of it. We thought it would be an excellent way to meet people and to have a hobby/business that we could do together. Little did we know, we would be the owners of a multi-million dollar operation in only eight short years.
In the beginning, we just wanted to learn. We wanted to meet people and we wanted to make people happy!
Hosting open houses together was where we imagined it would end; we believed we would host one open house per week on a Saturday or Sunday. Hosting open houses would give us the opportunity to meet awesome people with diverse backgrounds, sell one or two homes every few months, and the opportunity to learn something new.
We joined Berkshire Hathaway, located on Fifth Avenue in Naples Florida. Scott was teaching full-time and I took advantage of my flexible hours. I attended all of the training programs that were offered by the broker. I also attended the local realtor board programs. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. At the first open house we conducted, one of Scott’s colleagues walked in and hired us to show her more homes. I remember that first glimmer of excitement. We couldn’t believe it as she was wanting to search for a home that was in the MILLION dollar range. We were nervous and very stressed as we had never even written a contract.
But we were thrown into the real estate game quickly and after that contract was executed. We were hooked. Shortly thereafter, Scott left his job because we had six pending contracts and not enough time to handle all of the business. Our business began to grow organically. We made the decision to take the reins and grow it systematically. There is so much more to tell but we went from selling 14 homes in our first year to 25 to 60 to 80 and by our eighth year, we sold over 125 million dollars worth of a real estate.
We are now the proud owners of one of the most successful agencies in the Bonita Springs/Naples, FL market. I am currently the TOP female agent in Bonita Springs. We own our own brokerage, a gorgeous commercial building close to the famous Barefoot Beach, own investment/rental properties, employ both of our adult children and a full-time executive assistant. We also supervise 12 plus people who work as Dellatore agents. We are one of the fastest growing companies in our area and we TRULY LOVE WHAT WE DO!
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most of our struggles had to do with our inability to find the right people to help. We grew so quickly that we didn’t have much time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
We now have a great staff and reliable people who we can count on but we still struggle with having downtime. When you are the owner of the company, it is very important to be available to clients and staff alike WHEN THEY NEED YOU!
As you know, we’re big fans of The Dellatore Real Estate Group. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are known as a luxury boutique real estate brokerage. We specialize in listing and selling luxury properties in Southwest Florida, particularly in the Bonita Springs/Naples area. We are known for “the Dellatore difference, ” meaning we treat people as if they are a part of our family — that includes our employees (many of whom are family members), our staff, AND our clients.
We support our community and we are proud of our reputation within the community. We are known for our seamless transaction experience, white-glove service, and cutting-edge use of technology. Our motto is Honest, Outstanding, Trustworthy! We are genuine, kind, hard-working people who aren’t happy unless our clients are happy.
What do you think about happiness?
My family, my business, hard work, food, friendship, exercise, wine, and exploring new places and things! I love to decorate and to make a home a home. I love to buy and sell homes. I love to walk through homes, I really love anything related to home! I love to help other people to become better versions of themselves.
There is nothing more satisfying to me than helping someone realize that they have what it takes to achieve a life-changing goal. I guess the most important thing to me is to make others happy. And that makes me happy!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dellatoregroup.com
- Instagram: @dellatore.group
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDellatoreRealEstateGroup
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6M1OxPUkvV4
