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Elliott Morales, a broker partner at Keller Williams Realty in Norwalk, is a master of lists. One wall of his office is a whiteboard covered in neat lists of properties at various stages in the transaction process. In his Blackberry, lists of the resources he uses to help his clients are just a scroll away.
After 25 years of selling real estate in Fairfield County, Morales has built an impressive roster of professionals. "I went through many mortgage brokers and real estate attorneys before finding the right ones," he says. His list of tradesmen and builders has also been thoroughly vetted.
Helping people is what Morales does best, whether he's selling a million-dollar property or tending to a family to avoid foreclosure. "So many people are underwater on their mortgages, that I put together a team to help them get out of debt," he says. If the customer owes more on a mortgage than the house is worth, Morales' team negotiates a short sale with the bank. Many banks prefer to negotiate a reduced sale amount on a home than go through a foreclosure process and take ownership of the property. Morales' team includes a credit counselor, an accountant and a real estate attorney who develop an "exit strategy" for the homeowners.
Morales launched his real estate business in 1986 after shopping for an apartment for himself. He found the process fascinating, learned what he had to do to become an agent and joined a real estate firm. From 1991 to 2008, he also worked as a real estate appraiser. Much of the appraisal business involves homes in pre-foreclosure, so Morales realized early on that the real estate market was in trouble - and that he could help.
Today, Morales' business is thriving. From his Norwalk base, his team reaches out across the entire state of Connecticut. At the end of the day, though, it's all about service. "I get a lot of satisfaction out of helping people in distress."
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