By Christy Murdock
This week, the spotlight shines on Ivan Chorney, a Miami broker specializing in luxury real estate developments
How did you choose your first brokerage?
I was newly licensed and was not yet working with any broker. At the time, I was moonlighting as a bartender for a staffing company.
I was assigned to a sales launch party for Canyon Ranch. The brokerage handling the party was Majestic Properties. While working for the party, I witnessed how glamorous and how fun it was — all of the agents seemed super cool.
So, I went up to the broker and asked what it takes to work with their team and told him I want to work on a new development like the Canyon Ranch project. That week, I met with their office manager, showed up every day, put in the work and was assigned to the Fairfax six months later.
What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I wish I knew that my only limitations are in my mind. There is no sale that I cannot handle and there is no level of wealth that I cannot work with. I have all of the intangibles to work with the best and sell with the best. Anything that I do not know, I am willing to learn. I am constantly growing, learning and taking courses.
Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career.
A high point in my brokerage career was selling my most expensive property ever which was a $20.5 million home on Palm Island, Miami. In order to get there, I am constantly working on myself and my own belief systems. I had to gain the confidence to know that I could handle something of this caliber.
I was also tenacious with follow-ups and made sure that I was constantly reliable and resourceful for
my clients.
What’s your top prediction for 2023?
In the Miami market, real estate will be much more resilient and robust than people think. There is a lot of sensationalism in the news and it is easy to get pulled into negative thinking. From my boots-on-the-ground perspective, there is a very low volume of super prime real estate in A+ locations and there is still a lot of demand due to business-friendly government and tax issues in home states (ie. wealth tax).
Miami is a constantly evolving city that is becoming a real player on the world stage with culture, restaurants, amazing weather, all major sports and amazing world-class architecture.
What’s your top tip for freshly licensed brokers?
I recommend adopting Tony Robbins’ Three Keys to Mastery: immersion, mentoring and repetition. The best way to get all of these things in one place is to join a top team where there are people that have been through what you have already been through and can help navigate you through the hurdles. I spent a lot of time grinding in the beginning and think that if I had joined a team, then I could have been more successful.