Work Hard, Play Hard, and Give Back - A Real Estate Podcast

S1E4 - Nancianne Genduso: From Teacher to Top Agent

• Coldwell Banker American Homes • Season 1 • Episode 4

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In the fourth episode of "Work Hard, Play Hard, and Give Back - A Real Estate Podcast," host Michael Litzner interviews Nancianne Genduso, a seasoned real estate agent with over 20 years of experience. Nancianne shares her unique journey from being in education and a Division I athlete to becoming a top-performing real estate agent. Her passion for client education, negotiation skills, and dedication to building lasting relationships are key highlights of this insightful conversation. Tune in to learn valuable strategies for thriving in today’s competitive real estate market.

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Mike Litzner:

Hi, welcome to the Work Hard, play Hard and Give Back a real estate podcast. I'm Mike Litzner, your host and broker of Coldwell Banker American Homes, and I have with us here, as our guest Na ncianne, Genduso, a longstanding real estate agent at American Homes. For what do you say? 20 years now?

Nancianne Genduso:

Oh, a little over 20 years.

Mike Litzner:

Over 20 years.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yes, definitely I hit that two decade mark.

Mike Litzner:

Yes, exactly, exactly so. So happy to have you on the show today, nancy, thank you for joining us. Just before we get started, I just want to remind everybody please stay to the end. We have our drop the mic question and please like and subscribe whenever you get a chance. So, nancy, let me ask you real quickly. So you know it's a real estate podcast, so why real estate? How'd you get into real estate?

Nancianne Genduso:

Well, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate you, I adore you and and Tom and I've stayed with the company so long because they are amazing to work for. It started actually me searching for home with my beautiful wife, denise, over 20 years ago. We were searching, searching, searching. I was like I found this really intriguing. I really liked the process. I connected with it. I love old homes. I like you know talking to people just going through the whole transaction and after we closed on our house, basically I said, all right, I'm going to get my real estate license, took the course passed the test, and the rest is history. I've been doing it and loving it and enjoying the whole process.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, so what excites you most about the real estate business anyway? What is it? The people, the contact.

Nancianne Genduso:

It's all of it. I really like the interaction with people. I like educating them and taking them through the process. It's a big, big decision to own or buy or relocate or invest in a property. A lot of people don't know what it takes to be a realtor and all the behind the scenes and what you need to do. So I just like talking to people, walking them through the process. This is what you need to do. So I just like you know talking to people walking them through the process.

Nancianne Genduso:

This is what you need to expect, depending on the market that we're in, and give them, you know, the update of like, listen, like, in the market now everything's going over asking this bidding wars. How do we prepare our buyers to be competitive in the market? How do we give them that, that edge? How do I take them and make them rise above the pack, to make them stand out and get an accepted offer and if you're a seller, you're in a great position. But I have a seller now who needs to sell and buy. So that is extra layer on top of it and to really to guide them, because they're totally freaking out. They're like, how am I going to find something? How? So, again, it's one step at a time. We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves, but we get that, that education in the beginning. We sit down and have a consultation. Hey, this is what we expect, this is what the business is going to call for, to get them as prepared as possible.

Mike Litzner:

You have a teaching background Correct, so you have a master's. What's your master's in?

Nancianne Genduso:

My master's is in deaf and hard of hearing special education. So I went to LIU downtown Brooklyn. I was on a full scholarship Division. I athlete for softball, yeah. And so was my brother hey Mike out there. Hey Mike, hey Mike. So he was a Southport pitcher and I was a second baseman because of my little size, yeah. So, yes, I got my undergraduate in elementary education and social science. I did a dual major and my master's I did at Hunter. College in special ed I was on an academic scholarship for that.

Mike Litzner:

So it's interesting you really touched on two different things that I think translate well into real estate, so one would be sports Absolutely. So would you consider yourself a competitive person?

Nancianne Genduso:

Absolutely, to be a division one athlete, you have to be. You have to have a certain personality, a drive, a dedication. Growing up, I'll give kudos to my brother. He watched me a lot and so he really was my catalyst because I was able to get in there with the boys and keep my own. You know, whether it be basketball, whether it be hacky sack, whether it be, you know, stickball, stoop ball, I was able to keep up and I think that's really what led me to you know where I am today.

Nancianne Genduso:

I mean, I was on a traveling team, all boys traveling team. I went to Catholic school in Brooklyn, yeah, and so I played with the boys and to me, I was like this is what I'm supposed to do, right. And so I just dedicated myself to that and I was like, hey, I like this, I'm good at it. And then I made this all boys traveling team, was the first girl to make an all boys traveling team. Okay, until they, uh, told me in high school that basically I have to switch from. You know, before I got into high school, I have to switch from baseball to softball, which was like crushing. I was like, really, I was like I only played baseball and I switched to softball and it was like softball is pretty competitive at that level?

Nancianne Genduso:

no, it is and fast pitch, absolutely. But it was just that transition, thinking that, oh my, I was only doing this and now I have to relearn and do that. You know, do something else. Um, but listen, it's all, it's all good and it really set the tone for who I am today. And really having that passion, that drive, that competitiveness competitiveness.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, it's kind of growing. It helps you compete a competitive market like real estate.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yes, I'm like bring it on. I'm doing it, I'm doing it.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, excellent, they say teachers make really good real estate agents actually, and I believe the reason they translate so well is you know, as a teacher I'm assuming and you can correct me if I'm wrong here but you have to communicate ideas and information to a group of students, you know, irregardless of what size of the class is, and with you know, being an agent, you have to communicate to buyers and sellers. You know consumers who are making huge investments you know yeah.

Nancianne Genduso:

So what parallels do you see you know from your teaching experience that have helped you be a better agent experience that have helped you be a better agent, being organized, being able to again follow up, communication, team building, organization all that comes into play because you have to relay what you know and impart that on the people who really don't know anything. So you really have to take them from step one all the way to the end and, of course, in the home buying it's that 15 step. You have to take them through and then really teach them along the way and, like this is the next step, this is what we're going to do, so that they really have an understanding of what they're getting themselves into. So there's a lot of different skills that you know, teachers, that definitely translate over.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, deploying.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, exactly, it's like we're going to go, I'm going to take you and we're going to make you knowledgeable After this you're going to, you know, be ready to take it on yourself.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, yeah, exactly what lane do you see yourself in? Where does Nancy Ann, you know, succeed? What makes you? What about the business? Is more brings out that passion in you. What?

Nancianne Genduso:

about the business brings out that passion in you. I think it's just taking what I know and taking it to the maximum level and being able to. You know, I just love just connecting with people. Again, it's that education background just letting them know what's going on, being available for them, picking up the phone, phone answering texts, getting back to people in a timely fashion, setting up those appointments, making everything as seamless as possible for the buyer or the seller to say, oh my god, they're very on top of it. Well, yes, because they don't know what we go through behind the scenes and everything that we do to get them that appointment, to set that up, to make sure that that it looks like, hey, we're just going an appointment and we just set these things up and go through. And then the next step and setting up and talking to attorneys and making sure the communication is always open and making sure everyone's doing what they're supposed to do. So that's really our A-type personalities.

Mike Litzner:

I would say yes, it is, yes, it is.

Nancianne Genduso:

To make sure that I know we project manage a lot and I also call myself a project manager. I tell people, I make sure again, I look over everything, making sure that even though they're supposed to be doing something, are they really doing it. Making that call hey, did that go out? So again, there's a lot of different pieces to it that people just don't realize.

Mike Litzner:

You know what's interesting is, a really good agent will make it look easy to a seller or a buyer in the process. And we know it's not. It's definitely not.

Nancianne Genduso:

I know.

Mike Litzner:

But that's the secret sauce. So when you could make it seem easy to them, you know that means you're killing it. You're doing a great job behind the scenes, Thank you I appreciate that, but it's also for your teaching and guidance too.

Nancianne Genduso:

I mean, caldwell Banker offers phenomenal training and just a camaraderie. Love the people in my office, our manager, and it's just a joy to work every day and being around people that uplift you Professionals right.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right Professionals that are also just uplifting, and that there's not competitiveness, even though you would think that there's competitiveness and should be, but it's not. It's more like all right, how can I help you out? How can we help each other? How can we bring each other to the next level and make Hallwell Banker the great company that it is and people want to come in and join?

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, I think company culture is one of those things that gets overlooked because there's always a different training class and stuff. But I always say there's two sides to learning, so there's two sides to learning. So there's the information side, but there's the application side, which is really gets overlooked very often and stuff. So some of the best opportunities to to grow, I think it just by brainstorming with other professionals who share the same challenges, right. So I love what you were saying about how the you know the the crew in your office, as we would call it the crew.

Nancianne Genduso:

Everyone loves getting together, everyone enjoys one another's company and it takes it outside the office. I mean we have bowling nights, we have axe throwing nights. We go out and socialize. We go to people's houses, they have parties, I mean it's just a beautiful thing to have a company that is so supportive and that everyone gets along, and it's just, it's fun.

Mike Litzner:

And it's, it's uplifting. Yeah, you know it's funny because, um, I remember, uh, attending a convention and, um, my wife had asked something about. She's like, you know you want to come and she goes. Well, you know, you guys kind of like sit around at the bar talking real estate all the time and I'm like, yeah, you know it's kind of like where you get your best learning from. It's that networking and, you know, really connecting with other people who share those same challenges. Right, and you're always learning something. You think?

Nancianne Genduso:

you know everything but really you pick up something from someone talking or you ask them a question and always willing to to help you out and give you that answer.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah.

Nancianne Genduso:

So how many offices do we have? Now I want to tell people you you know, because you started off with what one one office.

Mike Litzner:

Oh yeah, tommy, uh um 36 years already. So, uh, 36 years, yeah, that's a testament to this man right here. So we have 23 locations now and about 1200 agents.

Nancianne Genduso:

So I mean it's great, and so you keep acquiring. So what is so? Why do you feel like you want to keep acquiring companies? What is the the big game plan for Coldwell Bank or American Homes?

Mike Litzner:

So I think the focus is on growing market share and making sure our brand is seen as the leading company or brand in the marketplace. But it's not just. I feel like Arlene is not just that, but it's also having the most professional. So when we come back to this education thing, one of the things we talk about is a lot of brokers say, oh yeah, we want to be the best, but then they don't have training or they have high fees or cost to training which are just stumbling blocks for agents to engage, especially the newer agents who haven't established their pipeline in their business yet. And then you're giving more and more.

Nancianne Genduso:

You're free marketing. I mean free marketing exposure and training.

Mike Litzner:

So you've got to remove those excuses and barriers for people to be, for agents, to engage and learn. So if you really want to be the best, everything we do should be driving towards that goal. So the acquiring is well, who's out there? Who's doing a good job, a great job, who's good people? I have that integrity and the focus that our agents have. So I don't want to acquire every company, but I want to you know if I see an opportunity that makes sense right there they'll.

Mike Litzner:

They fit with our company culture and they would benefit from our size, scale and scope and our tool systems and support. I think that's the opportunity bringing great people together and growing right so ever, ever taking that next step and keep going yes, exactly that's what I like yes, what tools and systems do you most like plugging into that American homes from the jet platform, as we call it, our jet platform?

Nancianne Genduso:

Oh, the CMA. As far as Moxie, creating custom CMAs able to put in specific things that will connect with you know who we're working with, depending on who we're working with Our marketing, as far as our contact lists and how we can create custom, you know, flyers or connections or email lists and stuff like that to constantly keep in communication so people don't forget. You know, hey, there's nancy and sold me that house 20 years ago, blah, blah, blah. Uh, so we want to be a top of mind awareness to people. So it helps us, you know. You know, send holiday cards, reminders, all like.

Mike Litzner:

You know all that good stuff you know, what just just tapped into is one of the most overlooked segments of our business, of a successful agent's get-repeat business. You know I always say referrals happen by design, not by accident.

Nancianne Genduso:

That's most of my business, like really 95% of my business is repeat referrals.

Mike Litzner:

So A. It means you're doing a good job because you know you're lucky if people appreciate or compliment you. If you do a good job because you know you're lucky if people um appreciate or compliment you if you do a good job. But if you do a bad job they you hear from it and they tell everybody.

Nancianne Genduso:

So I did word of mouth gets around pretty easily.

Mike Litzner:

Yes, yes it travels faster on the bad side. So you have to be, you know, committed to giving the consumer a a experience number one. But then so many consumers I forget what the exact number like. 90-something percent of them say they would use the same agent again, but less than 30% of them actually do so it's that disconnect, where a period of time goes, whether it's 7, 8, 10, 15 years, and then they forgot who their agent was. So how do you stay connected to your sphere?

Nancianne Genduso:

I text people on holidays. I check in if there's an event happening. If there was, like a flood or something like that, I'd have clients in a flood zone. I'll check is everything okay? I send out calendars every year. I give calls, depending on the people. Some people are more texting than phone, but I really try to just reach out and check in how are the kids, how's the dog? You know what's the family up to, just to say hi and just to check in to let them know that hey, I've been thinking about you, what's going on in your life, and just, you know, have that rapport. I have clients, you know since day one, that I'm still in contact with and that we have great and they they refer me business. If they have people, you know people that looking to buy, sell or relocate, um, so that's the beauty of it, it's this again, it's the connection. It's it's really not about closing a deal and making money, right, it's really about the longterm, you know connection that you have with those people and they become your friends Really.

Mike Litzner:

I always say that, um, if you try to sell people stuff, they spot you out.

Nancianne Genduso:

Oh, they sniff you right out.

Mike Litzner:

Right, exactly. But if you try to help people right, the money takes care of itself. Yeah, yeah.

Nancianne Genduso:

I have people who call me. I just have this question, whatever. I'm like, no problem, oh, my, my brother, I'd have him call me, no problem, and I'll call you know, even if it's not in my uh area, I'll just give them general information that I know or I'll get them to someone who who can help them. Right, that's what I love. I like seeing a smile on people's face and just like, oh, thank you so much. I mean, those are little things that I love. That, yeah, that I appreciate. It's not, it's not about you know. Oh, I have to get the next, next client. What I'm going to get the next client from, I feel like, if you put you know, a good karma out there, good juju it comes back to you, you know so.

Nancianne Genduso:

I always believe that and I firmly believe that you know you put the good out, it'll come back to you yeah, Now do you ask your sphere of influence for referrals? I do. I've just been really blessed and grateful that every year I have a flow of business and I'm appreciative, but I do have to.

Nancianne Genduso:

I mean, this market is a bit tough because there's not enough inventory. We have a lot of buyers but not enough sellers. So yeah, I'll call. You know people who I think might be selling or relocating, and hey, do you know anyone? So yeah, I do reach out and stuff.

Mike Litzner:

So you know. It's people you know who are in sales, kind of think it's intuitive that people should know that referrals are important and yet people who aren't in sales, it's not so obvious to them. So I do think it's important that we include or make it clear that referrals are important to us and that we appreciate yours.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right.

Mike Litzner:

So it shouldn't be done in a pushy way, but in a nice way.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right, if you know anyone. Yeah, I'm here for you If you have any questions. You know anyone you know? Please keep me in mind.

Mike Litzner:

Right, right If they don't know what's important to you and they forget about it then is it their fault, right, is it? Their fault, right how dare you Exactly. How dare you not pass my name on Right exactly?

Nancianne Genduso:

you know, with covid and everything that happened, everyone seemed to jump in and get their real estate license, yeah right. And so everyone was like, oh, I know, an agent now, but really, what sets you apart from just all those other agents? So, um, so, what's that?

Mike Litzner:

what's that? Uh, nancy and jen do so, apart from other agents oh, it's my negotiation skills.

Nancianne Genduso:

I love negotiating. That's a big part for me. I love you know showing people like why do you need to pick part for me? I love you know showing people like why do you need to pick my buyer? If it's my buyer, you know, this is what we have, this is what we put in place. So you know, having, you know, not just a pre-approval but a commitment in place, the terms are super important. It's not just about the number. So we have to come up with a customized game plan for each buyer. And then when I present it this is all the good things we can do the inspection within 48 hours. We can close within 30 days. As soon as the title is clear, we have the commitment, we are ready to go. If the seller needs time, we can give them extra time.

Nancianne Genduso:

So all these things, I always try to think outside the box. Sometimes we'll give a credit towards the seller's moving to again just be that little extra, something different that people might not think about. So we always try to come up with something a little bit different, to try to sweeten you know what, what the actual offer is, to make sure that you know everyone's here, what's going to make us go right there and they're going to say, ok, we like you. You know and have you know Bruce Biersack from Contour Mortgage. I always have him call the agents to verify everything, to be a step ahead of him, so they don't have to reach out. They already reached out. Tell them that they're ready to go. This is everything. Is checks all the boxes and we're ready to go.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, so you know what One of the most overlooked portion of negotiations, as you just said, is. Everyone thinks it's all about the final number and, yes, the dollars and cents are important, but you got to always remember you're negotiating price and terms, absolutely you know. So what's the likelihood we're going to get there? What type of mortgage you're going through? Are we going to have appraisal problems?

Nancianne Genduso:

Exactly, and especially in this market. The appraisal is huge. Everyone's waiving appraisal, you know waiving inspections, which I think is crazy, but you know that's another thing. As a listing agent, when I get offers in, I'm shocked. People send me offers, don't even call the follow-up, did you get it? Not even like you know. Oh where am I? Nothing. They just send you offers. I'm like what is going on here and it's like very strange.

Mike Litzner:

There's no doubt the right agent. Negotiating increases your odds. I know exactly what you're talking. I've seen these agents they're like ghost agents. Well, it feels like this often to offer that shows up right and no one knows anything about it I'm like who is this and what bank are they using and what's the terms?

Nancianne Genduso:

and there's nothing written in the offer. It's literally like yes, here's the amount, and if you get the pre-approval, you're lucky, and then there's nothing else written. Okay, so so like when can you close? What's?

Mike Litzner:

you know, and they're competing for a house against other offers and they're surprised that they didn't win.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right and they're like and then they call you like three days later and it's like well, how come I didn't hear from you? It's like very, it's very bizarre. So, anyhow, it's just taking, you know, different approach to making you stand out.

Mike Litzner:

I want to tap onto one other thing real quickly. So cause you were talking about the negotiator right and negotiating skills, you were recently involved in the. Tv show the negotiator Lux.

Nancianne Genduso:

Negotiator Lux on revealnet. It's a streaming service. I was called by a producer. They were looking online. They developed a show called negotiators Lux that talks about people, places and properties, and so they took agents from across the country and they highlighted people, places and properties whether it's restaurants or a house or some type of event that's going on. So I was called by a producer. I went through the whole process. I was on the show for the first season. At the end of the first season, I was called by the owner and they offered me my own show which is awesome.

Nancianne Genduso:

Awesome. But I was like dumbfounded. I was like, oh my God, my own show. What does that mean? So my new show coming out. It's called Extraordinary New York. It will also be on Revealnet. You can get it from Fire TV, roku, apple, android app and it's about people's passions and how do we find people's passions and bring community together, how do we find our extraordinary in our ordinary lives. So that's coming out soon and I hope everyone tunes in. Actually, we should have you on the show.

Nancianne Genduso:

We should do a whole thing on Caldwell Banker and part of American Homes and the foundation that you have and giving back.

Mike Litzner:

When that's part of your series series. It's a work hard play hard give back.

Nancianne Genduso:

So okay, you guys heard it first here. I got my invite, I'm waiting. She's got my invite right here. Mike, I got evidence. That's right, right here oh, that sounds exciting.

Mike Litzner:

It's a what is it? What was the like most aha moment when you got involved with the, with the tv show?

Nancianne Genduso:

it was just the fact that I had created a show that I wanted to create that had creative freedom and to really collaborate with people. Again, the whole collaboration and coming up with what the show, what I want to feel the show to be. I wanted to be happy uplifting. You know, a lot of times you look on social media and these shows it's all about.

Mike Litzner:

You know who's who's got what drama I?

Nancianne Genduso:

didn't want that. I wanted something to be like people are getting inspired. Let's inspire people. Let's bring people together. Let's bring people, community together. Let's let's do a referral from a friend or reading in a paper something that sparks your interest. How do you take that and make it into your passion and and just really share it with the world and have people just know about it?

Mike Litzner:

So, nancy, part of our podcast is not only work hard. You shared some really good insights on the real estate side and we know it's a lot of hard work, but we play hard and I think we play hard. We like to kind of focus on the human side. Sometimes I think as realtors, we're this sales community and the consumer or the outside people don't really understand the human side of it. So what is what is Nancy Ann do to relax or to have fun?

Mike Litzner:

Well, I'm old school Italian. I like to mow my own lawn with my little black socks, the sandals the open tooth, I know.

Nancianne Genduso:

And Denise makes fun of me all the time. She's like oh my God, really. Yeah, I like to do that.

Mike Litzner:

I like the garden, I know. And Denise makes fun of me all the time. She's like, oh my God, really, you're out there mowing the lawn. Yeah, I like to do that, I like to garden.

Nancianne Genduso:

I do I knew it I know it, tomatoes. I like to garden oh, yes, I have a fig tree, you know, yeah, herbs and stuff, so, yeah, so I like gardening, I like mowing my own lawn. I'm a big scotch and cigar person, so I like to, you know, have friends in the backyard and just relax and unwind. It's amazing how you connect with people. I've traveled all over the world and connecting with people over scotch and a scar.

Nancianne Genduso:

It's amazing, and how you know, even though we're worlds uh, you know different that we're very much same yeah we all have a commonality, yeah I have a 1959 morris minor, an antique car that I like to take out and take a spin in um. So I kind of you know those, I of you know those.

Mike Litzner:

I like a good meal.

Nancianne Genduso:

I like a good meal. I like to go out with people you know, so you know a little foodie, you know so it's like you know favorite restaurant Ooh, I like meat in Rockville center, izaka meat bar in Rockville center, but I have like a open palate. I really like a lot of different things.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, so it doesn't matter if it's seafood or.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, it doesn't matter. Well, all right, I should. All right, let me correct myself. I don't like really fishy fish, so I should correct myself. But yeah, I have a good appreciation for.

Mike Litzner:

For fine foods.

Nancianne Genduso:

For yummy food. Yes, exactly. How about you? What's your favorite favorite place? There's so many good ones.

Mike Litzner:

Yes, yes but, um, I also like that northern italian. So sometimes when people talk about italian food, so you'll appreciate that you go to a place and if it's, uh, drowned in tomato sauce and mozzarella, then it's italian. But I'm like, if you get into really northern italian food, it's it's really a lot more seafood and stuff like that. So absolutely yeah, you get some really good, get some really good stuff.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, so Italian food here. I went to Italy many times and my last one was in Sicily, and they have such good food. I mean it could be like a piece of tomato on a thing. It's like the finest thing you ever tasted, I mean everything is just so fresh. They use fresh ingredients instead of the preservatives that we have, yeah, absolutely Such a night and day difference.

Mike Litzner:

Yes. So let's pivot a little bit, since we're talking about, like you know, some of the home, life and stuff. So you and your wife Denise have a son right? Absolutely yes, isaiah. So tell us about Isaiah.

Nancianne Genduso:

So Denise always wanted a child and so obviously we're a non-traditional family. So we tried other, alternative ways of getting her pregnant and it just didn't happen. So we decided to go the adoption route. So once we decided and agreed upon that, we said, okay, how are we going to do it? Because it's public and private adoption. So we went the private route.

Nancianne Genduso:

So we went through an agency and we had to put in paperwork which is quite extensive and if you're not familiar with the adoption process, it is quite a lengthy process. They do background checks, you have to go through interviews, social workers, you know it's quite extensive and the paperwork is quite extensive. So basically you have to make videos. So this particular agency agency, you create a video and then the video is shown to prospective birth moms and they watch the video and they basically choose you from the video. Wow, uh. And then the paperwork is so detailed because there's a lot of questions related to what if the birth mother, you know, had a drink in her first trimester? What if she smoked crack in the third trimester, like there's very specific questions that you have to answer, and so that kind of hung us up for a little while. That process of trying to figure out. Oh my God, do we say yes to this and no to that? So that was a little process. Then, finally, when we put our paperwork in, we're like, all right, it's going to take. You know, it could take a year or it could take two years. We've heard stories. We literally put the paperwork in and they said okay, you know, have your phone. You know if we have to call you any questions.

Nancianne Genduso:

Denise was working, she was with the family. You know, she does educational consulting and she's also a professor at Queens College. A phone rang and she's like oh, you know, I'll get to it. You know what? Maybe I should just check the message. And the message was basically from the social worker. He said, oh, give me a call when you get a chance. So she calls back and the woman's like oh, you're having a baby. And she's like yes, I know. And she's like no, you're having a baby.

Mike Litzner:

And she's like what.

Nancianne Genduso:

And she's like, yeah, due at the end of, you know, the end of July. And got the call and they're like no, no, she's having it now and like, what like. So, yeah, it was like this crazy.

Mike Litzner:

So he was a newborn we.

Nancianne Genduso:

We had him day one, yes from, yes, from pennsylvania. They have like a 10-day wait period, so we had a have isaiah and then we had to keep him in state for 10 days until they released us out of the state. Uh, so you know, it was a beautiful thing. We got to stay in a hotel, you know, the three of us. We had family come up to visit and so we just fell in love with him the first day. And now he's 13 and not only is he african-american, but, uh, he's gonna be like six something. He's huge. We didn't, we didn't even think of that. We're like, oh, non-traditional, we have a black child and he's gonna be like six something so he's twice the size.

Nancianne Genduso:

Oh my god, already at 13 he looks like he's literally you know, know 19. He's like he's a big, broad guy. Yeah, but he's amazing, he's.

Mike Litzner:

How hard is it Like? I guess they don't really give us much training on how to be a parent, when, when, but I think sometimes when you go into the pregnancy, you have nine months to think about it.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right.

Mike Litzner:

So wasn't it like wow, here it is, Try by fire.

Nancianne Genduso:

It was like literally like you're having a baby and then we're like we got on the phone and started going hey, help, he's like you get this, you get this. We get to the store buy my baby, getting all the stuff, packing everything, getting the room set up. It was just like it was a whirlwind, but we were supported by our family and friends. It was a beautiful thing and got us all together. Wow and yeah. And now he's into surfing, he's into karate, he likes boxing When's he getting his real estate license.

Mike Litzner:

Believe me I already tapped that.

Nancianne Genduso:

I was like listen, what do you think You're going to come? You know we could be a little team.

Mike Litzner:

He's like oh, here we go.

Nancianne Genduso:

But yeah, he's a great, great kid.

Mike Litzner:

Oh, that's great. Yeah, that great. So, so it's a, it's a. It's a heartwarming story. I'm so happy to hear it. I've met him he's a fine young gentleman so thank you so much.

Nancianne Genduso:

I really appreciate that he is. He is a great kid and I'm blessed so yeah, that's fantastic.

Mike Litzner:

So, nancy, can you share with us, uh, maybe a funny um childhood memory, something that maybe shaped you or affected you?

Nancianne Genduso:

Ooh, um, I would have to say it's not really funny, but you know, having an older brother, you know there's always that sibling. You know not rivalry, but you know siblings sometimes, you know, have a little something, something you know.

Mike Litzner:

I'm one of seven kids and I'm in the middle, so yes, I know what you're talking about.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, so my brother again. He was two years older than me and a lot of times he watched me. So in the neighborhood that we grew up in, we were always at the Mr and Mrs Nobomoto house, which is Queens Village, where they lived, and there was a park there and we always played in the park and then we'd always go back to Mrs and Mrs Nobomoto's house and usually they would give this lovely Japanese meal, which that's how I learned to use chopsticks very proficiently. But they had a basement and of course, you know, little sister always, you know, wants to be in with you know what's going on.

Nancianne Genduso:

So I guess I must have ticked them off with something. I don't even know what it was, but in the basement they had a ladder and basically I was afraid of the dark. So this is how cruel they were. They tied me up to the ladder and like, literally like a Hawkeye, tied me to the ladder and they went upstairs and shut the light and left me tied up in the basement on the ladder. So how cruel is that? Yes, thank you, michael, for you know the trauma that was inflicted on me.

Mike Litzner:

I want to be clear Not this, this, michael, no no. Brother Michael, brother Michael.

Nancianne Genduso:

But I love you, you know that.

Mike Litzner:

But yes, I know it always happens. So how long did they leave you there for?

Nancianne Genduso:

I don't know, it felt like an eternity.

Mike Litzner:

Three days.

Nancianne Genduso:

It sort of felt like, oh my God, but yes, but yeah, and I still have a fear of the dark, but you know, whatever, but yes, but that was the one little little thing of a memorable experience.

Mike Litzner:

I wouldn't say it was funny, but I guess it was a little funny because if you're you know, if you're on the outside looking and that was pretty. It's a pretty funny thing, yeah, but yes, I could see how that could scare you, yeah but you know that's again doesn't kill you, make you stronger.

Nancianne Genduso:

There you go. It does so. Yeah, yes it does.

Mike Litzner:

There you go so one of the things I want to pivot into is um, we talk about, you know, working hard and playing hard, but we also talk about giving back. So so, charity or community service, and sometimes people think immediately it's always dollars and cents and you know your time is hugely valuable. So what does giving back mean to you?

Nancianne Genduso:

just taking the time to be available to people to, if they need support, something to help them with the support, or if they're not sure of something that they want to do, a event or charity, to just be available to help them in any way that they need. Um, the heart of american homes, uh, very much involved with since the beginning yeah aside from that, I do children international.

Mike Litzner:

I've uh adopted what is children at international children?

Nancianne Genduso:

International is an organization all over the world that basically you get to sponsor a child in need in an underdeveloped country. So for the last I don't know, it's over 20 something years I've sponsored children from Ecuador, so after depending on what age I get them at. So basically you write letters and they write letters back to you and you send a monthly donation to help them, you know, with the clothing, education, just to support the families. So I've been with them for a very long time and just other charities that people you know have to just try to be a part of it and try to support for walks or, you know, again, not just monetary but donations and whatever else they might need. Yeah, so you always want to just try to be available to people you know in their time of need. Or again, if you're just, you know, having somebody who unfortunately passed away and you have a good foundation or something, Having been given the opportunity to form Heart of American Homes Foundation is one of the biggest joys really.

Mike Litzner:

It's something that I guess when you're younger, you don't kind of think in those terms. Like you know, that's something that we're going to do, but what I love about it is that every office elects a member to the board of directors, so the agents really have ownership of this and literally 100% of every dollar raised goes back into the community. So it's housed completely within the American Homes offices, rent-free. There's no paid employees.

Nancianne Genduso:

So there's literally no overhead Right. Everyone's donating their time.

Mike Litzner:

Their time, their money and when we do fundraisers. So, yeah, we tend to raise in excess of $100,000 a year and 100% of our money. I know it's amazing, look at this Heart American Homes. So, yeah, we tend to raise in excess of a hundred thousand dollars a year and a hundred percent.

Nancianne Genduso:

I know it's amazing. Look at this hard american homes foundation donate. So tell them one thing, uh, that you did for a family, that it was a need, so something that happened this year, that well, you were able to do there's a simple process if somebody's in need, they get a, submit an application and does get vetted by a committee member or board members.

Mike Litzner:

They want to make sure that people actually have a need Absolutely. And because it's a private foundation for local, we don't like to sponsor other charities per se and we don't give out more than $5,000 to any one event. But like there was a person who had a medical problem and was on disability and had a very expensive medication, okay, she wanted to go back into the workforce. She lost her Medicaid, which is a pharmacy you know which paid for the medicine. But then she had another episode and she obviously couldn't work all of a sudden and it takes six weeks before they will put you back on and they couldn't afford the medicine.

Mike Litzner:

So we paid like six weeks worth of the medication, which was in the thousands of dollars, by the way, I'm sure. So that is a very important gap to fill for somebody who Literally their life depends on it. Yeah, exactly so. It's things that you kind of don't really even anticipate it happens. You know what they say man plans and God laughs, you know.

Nancianne Genduso:

And it was also a house fire that you also covered for a family who lost a house during a fire. So those are other types of events that you can.

Mike Litzner:

Yeah, for some of the expenses in the short term until the insurance kicks in.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, those are all type of episodes, yeah, so if you have anyone in need that you know, submit an application for Heart American Homes. You never know, listen yeah exactly. You could be the next one to be covered.

Mike Litzner:

We do accept donations, and it's heartofamericanhomesfoundationcom.

Nancianne Genduso:

There you go, easy to remember.

Mike Litzner:

Yes, exactly, very, very simple. So it's definitely a passion of ours and so happy that we're able to do it, but again, collectively we do so much more than individually, and that's really what the real opportunity is. I love the way the agents rally around it.

Nancianne Genduso:

Right.

Mike Litzner:

Every event you know and how much fun have you been to the night of the races, oh my God.

Nancianne Genduso:

the casino night oh my God. I felt like I was like woo, give me some more chips, I go.

Mike Litzner:

Yes, it was so much fun. That's the best part about it. We're really doing a wonderful thing by having fun.

Nancianne Genduso:

Absolutely, see, you can merge the two very beautifully right, have fun and raise money.

Mike Litzner:

Right, play hard and give back Exactly. We're all in one event.

Nancianne Genduso:

Exactly.

Mike Litzner:

So that's great. Well, I really appreciate, Nancy, that you took the time to be here tonight.

Nancianne Genduso:

Absolutely it's my pleasure. I am grateful and I thank you very much for inviting me.

Mike Litzner:

If someone is interested in working with you or reaching out to you, how do they reach you? How do I get Nancy Ann?

Nancianne Genduso:

On social media. On Instagram, it's JenDusoNancyAnn. It's just my last name, first name on Facebook. Linkedin, it's just my Nancyann Janduso. You can call me on the phone 917-445-0687. But yeah, I'm usually fine on social media. I have a YouTube channel. Same thing, nancyann. You can look up my name. So, yeah, I'd be happy to help you buying, selling, relocating, investing. I'm here for you every step of the way.

Mike Litzner:

That's awesome. Thank you, that's awesome.

Nancianne Genduso:

That's awesome.

Mike Litzner:

And you do great work, thank you. You're not going to find anyone who's going to care more than Nancy.

Nancianne Genduso:

Thank you so much.

Mike Litzner:

No, thank you. So wait before we go, I'll drop the mic question. It's time for the drop the mic question. If you could expose one lie about the real estate industry as a whole, what would it be?

Nancianne Genduso:

It's easy the lie. It's easy the lie about real estate. It's easy, it's definitely. I like that one. It's that it's an easy business and it's definitely not. You have to have some thick skin.

Mike Litzner:

You have to have a lot of you know, chutzpah and drive and passion, see like there's certain percentage of people seem to get into our business because they watch like an hgtv and like, oh, I like houses, that's right. Oh, I like decor. And it's like you know they getTV and like, oh, I like houses, that's right. Oh, I like decor. And it's like you know they get in and like, wow, this is work, oh yeah, yeah, it's not easy.

Nancianne Genduso:

Yeah, people just see that snippet and they're like, oh, I could do that. I can show them a house and then it's sold. But no, behind the scenes there's a lot going on and if you don't easily go wrong and this is someone's biggest investment of their life- so important to get it right. It is so important to get it right because it's your, your name and your reputation and you can really, you know, make it go south for somebody.

Mike Litzner:

Very much so yeah, that's awesome. Well, I again so appreciate you being here and sharing with us today. So um just remember to like and subscribe and um pay attention for our next episode that's going to be coming up. So thank you for joining us today.