Mother’s Day: Mother and Children Realtors® Who Work Together

They say a mother knows best, but what if she’s your boss?

This Mother’s Day, there are a few Realtors® who got into the business following their mother’s footsteps and they talked about what it’s like.

“I swore I never would get into real estate,” said Al Perry, a managing partner of Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia and PAR vice president. Perry’s mother, Marie, who died in 2020, started in the field in 1977 when her husband died.

Al and Marie Perry

“She had to find a job with flexibility because she had two kids,” said Perry. He recalled going to his mother’s office after school and doing his homework there because she had more real estate work to do.

“When I got out of college, I said I would never work in real estate, but I had interest in real estate investments,” he said. Perry went to work in “corporate America” and hated it, so he decided to get his real estate license and work with his mom.

“I thought it would be something to do in between finding other work,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d fall in love with the profession.”

His first homebuyer client was a recent immigrant who didn’t think she could afford to buy a home. With Perry’s help, she was able to and gave him a big bear hug at the closing, and went on to be a repeat client.

“My mom always said help people accomplish their goals and you’ll have them for life,” said Perry. “That’s what hooked me. It was more rewarding than anything else. You can build a career and have that type of reward on the backend.”

“That was all stuff my mother nurtured in me,” added Perry. “She taught me how to stay focused on the client. She had a very motherly way with all of her clients; I took that from her and carry that forward to this day. I enjoy being an advocate for our clients, which is a direct correlation from what my mother taught. Getting clients to feel comfortable with you is something she was so good at. It has served me very well too. She’d go to the grocery store and come home with two leads.”

“We worked together my whole career and we drove each other crazy,” he said. “But I learned from the best.”

For mother-daughter real estate duo Dot Rhone and her daughter Carey Smith, both of Century 21 Covered Bridges Realty, Inc., in Bloomsburg, it was a surprise to both of them when Smith began taking classes to get her real estate license at age 21.

Carey and Rhone

“She hated it when she was young,” recalled Rhone, also a PAR district vice president. “She made me take the Century 21 signs off the car. She was mad I was always on the phone.”

Smith said, “My mom did such a great job and was so successful. I hated it prior, but when I was 21, newly married and pregnant, I was working at a bank and wanted some flexibility with a newborn.” So Smith started in the real estate business with her mother.

“She is really driven and I am proud of the way she has attacked her career,” said Dot. “One of the things that I am most proud of is Carey’s work ethic by working hard and making sure she does it completely and accurately. She works hard for her clients and has followed in my footsteps regarding the importance of education and staying up-to-date. She has earned many designations and is involved at PAR serving on committees and as a co-chair of YPN, as well as in my office and in her community.”

Although Smith took a few years off from real estate, she eventually returned to working with her mom full-time.

“There are good days and bad,” said Smith. “My mom and I are close. It’s definitely better this time around. I was still new at real estate and had babies at first. Working with her now is a lot better. My hardest challenge is that she is the owner,” said Smith.

With Rhone being the owner, Smith is responsible for all of her own leads. When Smith returned to the real estate business about six years ago, she focused on social and media and strong relationships with her clients.

“My first year I was only back about six months and I was over $3 million in sales,” said Smith. “I just kept building. That is the hardest thing for me. I am successful, but I work morning to night.”

“I find that I push her hard,” said Rhone. “I always have and I push her hard because I know she can do great things.”

Smith added that Rhone is “very driven.” “She is the best that there is,” said Smith. “For me, working with her, I get to learn from the best.”

Smith is now working on getting her broker license. “For me, that is to follow in my mom’s footsteps when she retires.”

Lorraine DiDomenico of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty in Butler never expected her daughter Pina to follow her path and go into real estate.

Lorraine and Pina DiDomenico

“Pina wanted to be an attorney and I told her she needed to pay for it herself, so I suggested she start to work in real estate with me to earn some money first. It’s been nonstop ever since,” said Lorraine.

Pina, also of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty in Butler, recalled getting her license and falling in love with the business, she said. “My mom has some pretty big shoes to fill, but 26 years later, here I am. When you have a parent in the same field, you want to live up to their standards, but you want to be your own person. She threw me out there with the wolves; she was such a mentor.”

Lorraine said she has enjoyed watching her daughter’s career grow. “She is such a hard worker,” she said. “She  has taught me to be a little bit tougher and she is so meticulous, making sure we cover all bases. Our customers and clients do come first, we believe hands-on is the way to go.”

Watching her mother still get excited every day to go to work inspires Pina. “You have to be real and honest,” said Pina. “My mom taught me how to value the customer, whether they are buying a $50,000 house or a $500,000 house. People are buying their American dream, so we give them the white-glove service, no matter the price of the property.”

“It’s been a joy,” added Pina. “Of course, there are trials and tribulations between parents and children, but we have so much fun. We have that precious time together, I get to spend my days with my mom.”

Jacqueline Smarto Williams of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty in Greensburg always knew she would go into real estate, just like her mom Janice Smarto, also of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty in Greensburg.

Smarto and Williams

“She encouraged me to take my real estate license test when I was in college,” said Williams. “I was going to get my business degree, but I knew real estate was something I wanted to do. She used to take me with her to appointments when I was growing up. I already knew the housing business.”

Smarto, a past PAR president, agreed. “She was raised in it, so it was just kind of natural. When she got started, she used to say I was too demanding and mean, but she was always determined to do it herself.”

However, Williams said being around her mom has been a blessing, as she continues to learn, even after more than 30 years in the industry.

“She is the best to learn from,” said Williams. “I am still learning from her after all these years. I was never afraid to ask her questions because she was my mom. It was easy to go to her. But I never got any special treatment, trust me.”

“She taught me to always be available,” added Williams. “Real estate kind of becomes your life; it is not a 9-5 job. You don’t go home and forget about it. My mom taught me to treat people equally. She is the best in the field. She never stops. She has lots of energy and she loves what she does.”

Smarto appreciates Williams’ tech-savviness and her willingness to help her mom out in a pinch. “It’s nice to call her when I need something. I couldn’t get a lockbox open the other morning, and she came right over to help me out.”

Smarto, whose father was also in real estate, said education is so important to her, as she continues to add designations to her name. “I want to be the best I can be,” she said.