YOLANDA ANDRADE

EXECUTIVEAGENT MAGAZINE

Yolanda Andrade Executive Agent of the Month

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Yolanda Andrade

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She had her eye on law school, but Yolie met and married her husband of 28 years, Richard, and soon became pregnant with the first of their six boys. She put her family first and crafted her legal career around being a paralegal, instead. She went on to work for several top attorneys in different areas of law, gaining experience that has proved invaluable to her second career in real estate. “I started in personal injury and criminal work, and then did workers compensation. It was stressful, but rewarding. What I learned was incredible.”

Yolie was raised by a hard-working single mother who gave her a solid, Christian foundation, and she set out in life determined to reach her greatest potential. “I grew up in church, and my faith was always extremely important to me. I first had aspirations of being a police officer, and I majored in criminology. Then I realized how clumsy I was and how dangerous that profession could be for me, so I switched to law and got my paralegal degree,” she laughs.

Yolie has been blessed with many outstanding mentors in her life, beginning with her mother. Next was attorney David Philipson, whom she will always remember for teaching her something she still applies every day: “Don’t treat clients with sour apples; treat them with honey. You will win more people over with love and sweetness than with sour apples.”

Written by Haley Freeman - Ian Wiant Photographer

veryone knows award-winning Realtor® Yolanda Andrade as “Yolie,” and she herself has a habit of creating what she calls “love names” for the people around her. She may be one of the region’s top agents, and the co-owner and manager of RE/MAX Champions in Upland, but she is also a down-to-earth, caring person whose warmth and enthusiasm are infectious. She is committed to the success of her clients and colleagues, and about herself, she says, “I am their advocate. I always have their best interests at heart.”

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Yolie obtained her real estate license in 2006, and when she lost her legal job during the economic crisis two years later, she ironically seized the opportunity to go into real estate full time. Determined to succeed, she sought out some of the most successful people in the industry. “I got into real estate at the worst time, but when opportunity knocks, I’m a hard worker. Sandy Kohler (Broker Mom) was instrumental in my life and helped to shape me into the professional I am today. I also went to top-producers Sharon Kobold and Jack Bonafede (Papa Jack), and said, ‘What do I have to do to be you?’ I took heed, and it worked. I did open houses every weekend and did up-desk as much as I could. My first year I was Rookie of the Year and then was a top agent in the years after that. This isn’t a business where you get handouts. You have to work for it. But I believe this is where God wanted me to be, and I love it!”

Eventually, Yolie’s path intersected with that of her now dear friend and business partner, Jennifer Puglisi (love names Jenny and Pita). “She owns the RE/MAX

Champions office on South Mountain Avenue. I came over to her office in 2011, and from the moment we met, we became like sisters. I’m like the older sister she never had, and she’s like the wild younger sister I never had. She took me to dinner for my birthday that year and said if I ever wanted to open an office, she’d do it with me.”

In 2014, Yolie and Jennifer partnered to open a second RE/MAX Champions office, with Yolie as manager. From the beginning, Yolie set out to create something different – an experience unlike that inside any other real estate office. “My goal in setting up the office was to make it feel like a home. Our office has such a beautiful feel. I want people to feel love from the moment they step in.

I carefully selected the décor and wall colors. There are always candles burning, and there are real towels in the bathrooms. There are also scriptures displayed around the office. We have a community board where we post all the things we want to help with, different organizations that we’re going to be assisting. This is more than a real estate office. We’re creating community.”

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More Than a Real Estate Office Yolie’s team has grown to more than 30 agents, all of whom share her commitment to real estate excellence and community service. As a leader, she creates a supportive and progressive environment where people thrive. She is a student of real estate trainer Brian Buffini, and she sets the example by putting her priorities in their proper order: God, family, business. “I do accountability with my agents, and I try to come up with ideas and resources to set them apart. I’m accountable to them, as well. I love teaching and sharing my knowledge of contracts that I bring with me from my legal career. The fact that I’m also out there taking care of clients helps me to be a better manager, as well. I face the same challenges they do. I know I can’t have a bad day, because I’m the leader. It will have a domino effect on everyone else, including clients.”

She continues, “I love my staff. Pamela Garvin (love

name Pamee) and Lisa Dorman are so important to my success and the success of our office. I’d have nothing without those two faces of my office. They are both so positive and great with people.”

People are Yolie’s priority in every aspect of her business, and her first concern is building relationships. The result is that most of her business today comes from referrals and repeat clients who know she will always act in their best interests. One custom that sets Yolie apart is her practice of praying with her clients at key moments during their transaction, whether it is to seek guidance about making an offer, or to ask for a blessing over the keys to a new home. Regardless of a client’s religious faith, this genuine act of caring creates a bond with others and establishes a feeling of serenity around the weighty decisions clients are making.

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A“I had a Chinese client who was fresh from Shanghai.

I don’t speak Mandarin beyond a few words, so I had to pray with her in English about her offer. She is Buddhist, but afterward, she gave me a hug and said it was one of the nicest things anybody had ever done for her. It’s just the way I work. It brings peace over the situation. If they don’t get the house they wanted, it’s okay, because they will get the house God really wants for them.”

Yolie’s tireless enthusiasm extends beyond her real estate career to her busy life with Richard and their six sons: Joshua, Jeremy, Elijah, Noah (in heaven), Luke and Seth.

She describes herself as “a huge, ridiculously die-hard Oakland Raiders fan,” as well as a fan of the Dodgers, the Lakers, and a whole host of other sports and teams. She is a lifelong soccer advocate who gave up softball to begin playing soccer at the age of 30. Yolie has invested significant time and resources in the sport, supporting her sons at Claremont High School and the Foothill Storm Soccer

Club in Claremont, where she holds office as executive vice president. During her tenure with the club, she created opportunities for local disadvantaged youth from Pomona and Ontario, with the assistance of President Brian Dorman, who also coached 3 of her boys, and Claremont High School Coach Fred Bruce Oliver. Together, they helped numerous young men go on to play for local and out-of-state colleges. Helping these boys to create goals beyond soccer was something very important to her and her coaches.

In all areas of her life and business, Yolie is a force for positivity and progress. She has made RE/MAX Champions more than just a real estate office; it is a place where dreams come true. With her faith in God and devotion to her family as her key motivations, she says, “I know if I get up every day and accomplish something, I can be a blessing to someone else.”

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YOLANDA ANDRADE

RE/MAX Champions 1071 East 16th Street, Upland, CA 91784 Tel: 909-841-6737 - Email: Yolie@YolieAndrade.com Web: www.yolieandrade.com & remaxsellsmorehomes.com CalBRE # 01748163

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