When they cut the ribbon for EXIT Realty Lewis & Murphy's grand opening in Jackson Heights on Wednesday, August 16, Joseph, Diane and Lou Macari will begin a new era of their real estate careers in an industry where they have a wealth of experience.
Joseph T. Macari founded Lewis & Murphy Realty Inc., nearly 60 years ago, and, now with the help of Joseph's daughter, Diane, and brother, Lou, they will become an EXIT Realty franchise owner, one of the fastest growing and unique companies in the country.
“We were looking to revitalize the office and in today's market it is necessary to have some type of national corporate identity in order to bring good salespeople into the office,” Lou said. “We felt that EXIT served our needs and the needs of the agents better than any other franchise.”
Joseph Macari founded Lewis & Murphy Realty Inc. in Jackson Heights nearly 60 years ago, and since then, Joseph and the real estate office has been a staple in the community.
“We have been a big part of the community for many years; my father was very active in the community,” said Diane, who has worked with her father for the past 20 years and will run the EXIT Realty franchise with her uncle Lou.
The company EXIT Realty began nearly 10 years ago in Canada, and currently has 925 offices with 28,000 agents located throughout the United States and Canada. Since 2002, EXIT Realty has been growing by nearly 70 percent in New York with more than 1,000 agents currently working in the area.
When Lou and Diane Macari began researching the possibility of getting involved in the EXIT Realty franchise, Lou, who has been back in the real estate business since 1999 after practicing law for 30 years, became very excited seeing a new concept that he believes will be extremely successful.
“When EXIT came along, I realized that this is an answer to many of the problems if not most of the problems that real estate agents or sales associates faced in the past,” he said. “It beats any other system; there's no doubt in my mind.”
Currently, Lou and Diane are in the process of recruiting qualified agents to join their EXIT Realty franchise, and they both explained many of the benefits agents will enjoy at EXIT that they would not receive at other companies.
At EXIT, which has a single-level marketing plan, sales agents will have a steadier cash flow as well as receive a stream of residuals from the company, which will increase their income.
At EXIT, if an agent refers another agent to work at the franchise, the referring agent will receive 10 percent of the commission on the sales the agent he referred makes, up to $10,000 per year. Therefore, an agent could potentially earn up to an extra $200,000 per year in referrals if he can recruit 20 agents who are successful at the company.
In addition, the referral could be for an agent that works at any EXIT franchise throughout the country, not just the franchise the referral agent works at.
EXIT Realty Lewis & Murphy, will have agents that focus not just on residential properties in Queens, they will also assist with commercial properties, store leases, rentals, business sales among other transactions.
“We have the exclusive Jackson Heights area as our base of operations,” Lou said, meaning their office will be the only EXIT franchise serving this area.
“Part of what has kept us in the area is the ever-changing ethnic populations that keep coming in,” Diane said. “These are the people we serve.”
Although the structure of the community has changed multiple times throughout the years, the goal for the company and the people they serve remains the same.
“Basically, they all want the same thing; they want the American dream - to own their own home,” Diane said.
Diane, Lou and Joseph Macari have a wealth of experience in real estate, but this new adventure, as well as the industry in general, continues to excite them.
“I like selling people into EXIT, into our new franchise,” Lou said. “I enjoy some of the training that we do for the new agents.”
“I enjoy the excitement of the sale still even though I may not be directly involved,” said Diane, who has been dealing with management issues more than selling the past number of years. “I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the office.”
EXIT Realty Lewis & Murphy has completely renovated their Jackson Heights office and continues to recruit qualified agents to join their team.
“It's great,” Diane said. “I am so happy we renovated the office, and we are all pumped up and revitalized, and it brings a motivating feeling, and we will have a lot of sales and activities.”
Although working with families in a business could potentially cause added stress and problems, Lou, Diane and Joe said that this has not happened with them. They said there are no ego-trips with their company, and they truly enjoy working together and believe it has brought them even closer.
With the grand opening of the new EXIT Realty Lewis & Murphy office scheduled for mid-August, Diane and Lou Macari see great things ahead. In the short-term, they hope to bring in 50 agents to the franchise within the first-year, but Lou said he has greater goals of opening other offices, possibly in Suffolk County, down the road.
“I don't think there should be an end,” Lou said. “As we grow, we should expand.”
