New Agent Enjoys the Challenge

Changing jobs always takes guts – and deciding to become a realtor at the end of 2009, when the market wasn’t too hot, struck Deb Halsey as the perfect career move.  “I was bitten by the ‘house bug’ when I bought my very first apartment in Manhattan,” said Deb, “And that was during a down market.” Deb, husband Chuck and fat cat, Nickie, moved to Greenwich six years ago. “We wanted to buy a house but had some concerns about the housing market,” she said, so they ended up renting in back-country Greenwich after making offers on a couple of houses that ended up in a bidding war.

Learning the ropes as a brand new real estate agent takes time. “I do a lot of desk duty in the Raveis office and I listen to everything that goes on. It’s the only way to learn – listening to the agents who have been in the business a long time,” she said, adding that a thorough knowledge of all the neighborhoods in the town is crucial. She makes a point of visiting as many of the realtor open houses as possible in order to familiarize herself with what is on the market.

Marketing is very important, Deb said, and explained she is becoming an expert in social media, has started writing a blog and is learning to use youtube. “I had a rental cottage and what was special about it was the owner of the main house would allow the tenants to use the grounds. I made a short film of the beautiful grounds, posted it on youtube, and someone called the next day and made an offer – they’d seen my clip!” she said.

Deb’s first career was in the fashion business, and she traveled constantly. “My last really fun job was as director of sales for Paul Smith and I would travel regularly between New York, London, Milan and Paris,” she said, noting that she loved her job until September 11, when everything changed. Flying became a hassle and the job was no longer exciting so she quit – and met her husband soon after.

Deb and Chuck are still looking for a house of their own but much of their spare time is taken up with sports. Both are avid skiers and golfers, and they love skeet shooting. “I used to work for Beretta and I opened up many of the Beretta showrooms in the premier gunrooms in this country, selling the beautiful Italian clothes,” she says, laughing. Deb Halsey is a lady with tremendous energy and charm. Her new career suits her well.

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