Think about the stress, the exhaustion and the level of miserableness you’d feel after spending 10-plus hours driving 630-plus miles from Detroit to New Jersey in a car accompanied by three children, a spouse, a mother and two dogs. As you finally arrive in the driveway of your new house, the comfort of home kicks in, immediately followed by the dread of knowing you have to run out to get food and other household items, games to entertain the kids and a celebratory bottle of champagne.
For Syma Chowdhry and her family, the comfort was greater than expected. They were able to lay back, relax and unwind as they toured their home in person for the first time. That’s because they made the right choice to partner with the relentless Christine RomeoDiSantillo of CENTURY 21 Mack-Morris Iris Lurie who, on behalf of her clients, always elevates, gives 121% and, in this case, went above and beyond for her clients by stocking the refrigerator and pantry, leaving coloring books for the kids and champagne for the adults.
These personal touches, coupled with leveraging the right tech to exceed client needs and expectations, are helping RomeoDiSantillo grow her real estate business.
“I couldn’t ask for a better experience,” says Chowdhry. “Christine earned our trust and loyalty then, and now, when we send her family referrals, it’s because of the way she values us, treats us and cares more about us as friends than clients or the commission she most definitely earned.”
RomeoDiSantillo is all about raising the standards of the residential real estate industry and the expectations and experiences consumers should receive—and “they most definitely deserve.” With the Chowdhry family, the relationship began with a phone call at 9 p.m., despite two children needing to get to bed. “I don’t care what time it is; I’m answering my phone,” says RomeoDiSantillo.
RomeoDiSantillo’s mindset led to a referral from a Philadelphia REALTOR®, only after being grilled for almost an hour about her work ethic and the clients themselves who, both agreed, are not average clients as they are both well-known, well-established TV executives who have their own mindset of what they want and expect. RomeoDiSantillo knew that they would hit it off, even if all she had was four weeks during a pandemic to find them a home. She proved this right off the bat by advising that they not pursue the first house they found and loved.
“There was a massive foundation crack that the sellers did not disclose, and I needed to make the call to them,” explains RomeoDiSantillo.
Disappointed and unsure of their next move, the clients asked, “Christine, what would you do?”
“We should cancel,” she advised.
“Are you serious?”
“I cannot sleep at night knowing that you’re living in that house.”
As fate would have it, an hour later, an agent with whom RomeoDiSantillo had a previous working relationship called to let her know that a home her clients showed a previous interest in was now available. The kicker? The seller, despite having 13 backup offers, instructed his listing agent to contact “that agent” who came to his house with the “little girl” before putting the house back on the market—a testament that screams volumes about RomeoDiSantillo and how she puts herself out to the world.
“That’s who she is,” explains Julie Lurie, office manager, CENTURY 21 Mack-Morris Iris Lurie. “She takes a great deal of pride delivering extraordinary experiences, and her client quality-service ratings affirm that she is doing just that.”
RomeoDiSantillo drove to the home, FaceTimed the buyers to showcase the exterior (she couldn’t get in), the neighborhood, the neighbors and the street location, submitted an offer and completed inspections, and the virtual closing went off without a hitch. All of this was done while her clients were still in Detroit. They trusted her to find their dream home without ever seeing it in person.
“I thrive on making a difference in people’s lives,” says RomeoDiSantillo. “The feeling of knowing that your ‘why’ is positively impacting others is what drives me forward every day.”
The Chowdhrys were so thrilled with their RomeoDiSantillo home-buying experience that they called to find out if they could complete two quality service surveys: “Christine, my wife, filled out the survey, and I want to fill out my own,” said Chowdhry’s husband, Andy.
Despite the offer, RomeoDiSantillo knew that you cannot legally send two RealSatisfied surveys for one house, but she also knows to never pass on an opportunity to grow her sphere.
“Sorry, Andy, you’re not allowed to complete two surveys, but I would welcome a Google review,” she told him.
While Andy is writing that Google review, the Chowdhry family just hired a company to open the pool, and they’re looking forward to having a Jersey Shore summer. As for RomeoDiSantillo, she continues to do what she loves: spending time with her children, helping at her husband’s Italian restaurant (RIA in Freehold, New Jersey), and growing her business by going above and beyond and making a difference in the lives of her real estate clients.
Peter L. Mosca is the director of PR at Century 21 Real Estate LLC. For more information, please visit www.c21.com.
