A Brazilian with more than 10 years of extensive experience in the Florida real estate market, Andrea Pointon has made a name for herself at the head of Pointon Realty, among other reasons for having made her real estate company one of the five best rated in the region, accumulating awards such as "Best of Winter Garden 2020 and 2021" from the Winter Garden Award Program.
Pointon Realty recently won one of the industry's most coveted awards, the Orlando Regional Realtors Association (ORRA ) award (20,000 members), for the brokers with the highest sales volume in the year. "In 2021 we were around 50% up on the previous year. I was very happy to see that, as a small company, we were among the top 2% of sellers. In 2022, we're almost doubling our result from last year," says Andrea Pointon.
With in-depth knowledge of the region and a close relationship with the largest local developers, Andrea navigates the various areas and intricacies of this segment with unparalleled ease. The specialist has been increasingly requested by American and international investors, including those from Brazil (which accounts for 18% of Orlando's international real estate transactions), to provide complete support to those wishing to buy and sell property. "I deal with families who want to move to Florida and who often buy multiple properties, one to live in and others to generate passive income and asset protection."
According to Andrea, the investor client is not very emotional and is very mathematical. "I'm easy to connect with, I like to talk to people and do financial and investment analysis. I think many are surprised because they expect me to behave more emotionally and less rationally. I usually end up having long-lasting relationships.
The real estate specialist says that, time and time again, before these clients came to her, they sought out other professionals and for some reason weren't satisfied or didn't trust her to close the deal. "We get new people contacting us every day and more than half of our sales come from client referrals. We have clients who have been with Pointon for more than 10 years and have already completed more than 10 transactions."
One example was that of an investor who bought a property in the Winter Garden area in 2016 for $269,000 and has just sold it for $500,000. An appreciation of 85% in 5 years. On average, property values are between US$ 470,000 and US$ 800,000.
To beat off the fierce competition in Orlando in this segment, as well as having basic qualities such as transparency, honesty and competence, Andrea also has extraordinary expertise in the area and knows how to communicate brilliantly and didactically. "I try to focus on facts and reality, not sensationalism. I'm genuinely interested in helping the client, regardless of commissions. I don't rush the client and I understand that each person has their own time. I like to explain the whole process, how it works and why it works the way it does. That way, they're usually conversations that convey security.
Trajectory
Agraduate in Tourism from Anhembi Morumbi (SP), Andrea has lived in the USA for 20 years. She lived in several countries before settling in Orlando. Fearless, soon after graduating at the age of 20 she went on an exchange program in Australia, where she did internships. She went on to work for Disney and Reebok until she set up her own exchange company and traveled the world. An entrepreneur from a very young age, Andrea points out that her departure from Brazil marked a time without the internet, cell phones and GPS. "I felt alone and had to learn and manage myself personally and professionally, and in another language."
She says that the exchange program, where she took Disney University courses such as Once Upon the Magic, opened her eyes to the importance of customer service, teamwork and planning. "The experience as a tour guide was also good, when at the age of 20 I was responsible for groups of 60 people, of different ages, cultural and financial levels and interests/expectations. All of this made me learn to think quickly, be resourceful, deal with the public and be a leader. It's challenging, because you have to be in control, follow the rules, but still be fun, motivating and enjoyable".
In addition to living in Australia for almost a year and in the USA - Orlando - since 2000, Andrea has visited more than 10 countries: Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Korea, London, the Czech Republic and South Africa.
When she had her company CSI - Choice Students International, recruiting students (from Korea, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, among others), Andrea brought them to work for companies in Orlando (a total of 300 students for 3 months, 3 seasons/year), the so-called Work And Travel Program. "I even drove down from NY to Orlando, visiting nine cities, receiving students. It was a huge logistics job, with a lot of responsibility and little margin for error."
While working as an exchange student, her need to find accommodation connected her to real estate: "With my first pregnancy in 2009, I decided to stop traveling and it was a natural transition to real estate." Today, Andrea is a constant student of the real estate market, accumulating experience and also important certifications in the sector, such as Platinum Key Certificate (PKC), Gold Key Certificate (GKC), Resort & Second-Home Specialist (RSPS), Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR) and Seniors Real Estate Specialist (RES).
The expert calls her day-to-day life at the head of Pointon "crazy but fascinating". According to her, Real Estate is always about to "explode", no matter how much you plan. The company has operational systems that allow for excellent monitoring of each client's process, as each property has different deadlines and characteristics. Andrea leads the administrative and marketing teams while serving clients and searching for properties. She also finds time to record informative videos, making Pointon's social media content consistent, current and very useful for those wishing to buy or sell real estate in Florida.
Florida is one of the largest tourist markets in the world, very much driven by theme parks, corporate events and business tourism. It is also the country's hottest real estate market. "We're seeing an economic and real estate boom and the biggest motivators for Brazilians to invest in the Orlando real estate market are the dollarization of assets and financial security," explains Andrea.
As well as her busy office routine, Andrea has her family to devote herself to, her husband who travels a lot for work, and her sons, 9-year-old Vincent and 12-year-old Alec. "Keeping calm, dealing with insecurities, believing in your instincts... It took me a while to learn and I think I'm still in the process. Mistakes are lessons and are part of life. Focus on the result," he concludes.