Karen is a 26 year old property advisor who joined Alliance on part-time basis about three years ago, while studying for her degree in Business Enterprise and working full-time at a gaming company.
“Resigning from my job in gaming to focus on finishing my degree and give a real estate career my best shot, was a decision I cannot regret”, she states proudly. Karen finished her studies last July and from then on could focus more of her energy on her work as the new Alliance brand was just being launched. “Most of the students on my course were looking for full-time jobs with a monthly salary, and it took courage, determination and massive self-confidence for me to take this decision, but I have absolutely no regrets”, she claims with a beaming smile. “People may think this looks like an easy job, but it really isn’t. We all have to invest a lot of time to be successful in what we do”, she concludes.
Living in St. Paul’s Bay and working from the Alliance Strand Branch in Gzira, Karen specialises mostly on central areas around Naxxar, Gharghur and Mosta. Asked about what she likes most about her job she replies, “I enjoy meeting so many different people and getting to deal with many interesting characters. I enjoy learning about people as every client has a different personality and perspective to teach me.”
By now, it’s not hard to realize that Karen isn’t one to let herself be daunted by new challenges. “My most memorable experience so far was when I had to attend the promise of sale signing by myself without my branch manager”, she recounts. “We had sold the house of this couple and this meeting was to sign on the sale of the new place they had bought after that.”, she continues, “I was there by myself and faced with difficult requests from the buyers. The fact that I still managed to overcome that situation without issues, still fills me with satisfaction to this day”.
In her free time, Karen enjoys spending time at home watching series and movies, or just going out for a walk, which she finds to be a great stress reliever.
Asked if there is anything she dislikes about her job, Karen replies “Sometimes I would get very excited about a particular property as if I would buy it for myself; but then realise that whatever I do, no matter how hard I try, I don’t manage to close a deal on it. It is a bit demotivating at that time, but that’s part of the job’s ups and downs I guess”.
Karen has interesting advice on similar lines to both buyers and sellers. She tells buyers “It’s always a good time to purchase the right property at the right price. Once you get a good gut feeling, never ignore it as whatever you’ll see after that may never measure up and you could end up being very disappointed”. Similarly for sellers or property owners, Karen advice is “Very often, the first good offer you get is the best one, so think fast and stay positive as you may regret rejecting it because it was the first one.
Karen Formosa is based at Alliance Strand Branch in Gzira and may be reached directly on karen@alliance.mt or phone 99698703.
