Featured in Bergen County Real Producers, August 2020

BERGEN COUNTY

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BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL: Vicki Gaily's Success through Anything Life Throws Her Way Working 24/6 with Nina Eizikovitz Rising Star: James Harris Partner Highlight on The Magnusson Group

Cover Photo by Melissa Griegel Photography

AUGUST 2020

Getting to Know

vicki

gaily Renowned realtor Vicki Gaily and I met up at the Mill Pond estate to talk about life, family, and of course, real estate. The home, at 116 East Saddle River Road, is once again for sale and it was a perfect setting to sit outside and discuss her career and what life looks like today.

Vicki and her husband Paul reside in Saddle River. Their family includes their daughter Jennifer, and their two adorable dogs Tia and Mia, shown on the cover. Vicki’s mantra is “when you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.” And it shows in the success she has had, and continues to have, in her four decades of selling real estate.

cover feature Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography Written by Melissa Griegel

In these unique times, what sets the current market apart from past crises?

The week I started in the business the interest rates went into double digits for the first time to 10%. No one wanted to buy houses and agents thought they would never

10 • August 2020

@realproducers

realproducersmag.com

make another sale. I was too new in the business to worry about it and I started advising my clients that if the interest rates go up then 10% would look like a bargain. If they go down, then they can refinance and take advantage of the lower prices now! They took my advice, and I sold a lot of houses that year.

Then, guess what? In 1981 the interest rates were at 18 ½%! That’s when my husband and I bought our current home in Saddle River. This was the best thing we could have done. We all know rates came down over the years and there was a lot of refinancing.

October 1986: The stock market crash. Again, lots of panic and lots of uncertainty. No one knew if we would ever work again. It was a long recession but in 1992, it was basically good again. Late 1990s – another recession – but life went on. September 11, 2001: I still can’t even talk about it. Too tragic, but one foot in front of the other and we moved forward.

September 2008: The Global Financial Crisis. The worst financial crisis in my career and in the market I specialize in. It didn’t fully come back, however, we had a great year last year in the luxury market!

We were poised for another great year this year and then our current crisis – COVID 19 – the Pandemic…

Bergen County Real Producers • 11

Getting to Know

vicki

gaily Renowned realtor Vicki Gaily and I met up at the Mill Pond estate to talk about life, family, and of course, real estate. The home, at 116 East Saddle River Road, is once again for sale and it was a perfect setting to sit outside and discuss her career and what life looks like today.

Vicki and her husband Paul reside in Saddle River. Their family includes their daughter Jennifer, and their two adorable dogs Tia and Mia, shown on the cover. Vicki’s mantra is “when you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.” And it shows in the success she has had, and continues to have, in her four decades of selling real estate.

cover feature Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography Written by Melissa Griegel

In these unique times, what sets the current market apart from past crises?

The week I started in the business the interest rates went into double digits for the first time to 10%. No one wanted to buy houses and agents thought they would never

10 • August 2020

@realproducers

realproducersmag.com

make another sale. I was too new in the business to worry about it and I started advising my clients that if the interest rates go up then 10% would look like a bargain. If they go down, then they can refinance and take advantage of the lower prices now! They took my advice, and I sold a lot of houses that year.

Then, guess what? In 1981 the interest rates were at 18 ½%! That’s when my husband and I bought our current home in Saddle River. This was the best thing we could have done. We all know rates came down over the years and there was a lot of refinancing.

October 1986: The stock market crash. Again, lots of panic and lots of uncertainty. No one knew if we would ever work again. It was a long recession but in 1992, it was basically good again. Late 1990s – another recession – but life went on. September 11, 2001: I still can’t even talk about it. Too tragic, but one foot in front of the other and we moved forward.

September 2008: The Global Financial Crisis. The worst financial crisis in my career and in the market I specialize in. It didn’t fully come back, however, we had a great year last year in the luxury market!

We were poised for another great year this year and then our current crisis – COVID 19 – the Pandemic…

Bergen County Real Producers • 11

If anyone told me in early February that I would be working remotely from home, unable to show properties for months, and be taking classes and giving talks on national panels on something called Zoom which I never heard of, from my house, practically in my pajamas, I wouldn’t have believed it! But here we are, trying to ease back to work in what we were all hoping would be BUSINESS AS USUAL. I don’t think so, it’s more like…

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL Business truly is unusual these days.

Let’s put on our mask, gloves, and booties and have our clients put theirs on, bring our Eau de Lysol, arm ourselves with alcohol wipes and sign off on our COVID -19 addendums. Then as long as there are a couple of people and no children, and everyone has their booties … come on in!

As far as driving people around and touring them, I do it differently now.

The clients follow me in their car and we have our Bluetooth systems on and I explain the area and the neighborhoods that way. It works well!

People like the privacy of their own car anyway. We do more virtual tours and photo slideshows to make it easier for the buyer to view online. We are more digital and interactive with social media.

The best thing we can all do is call and check up on our family, friends, neighbors, clients and associates just to make sure everyone is doing ok.

I think we are going to end up with good numbers this year. We are all busy and people really seem to want to move, for all different reasons.

I’m optimistic.

What do you think about the “New Normal”?

To me it implies that the “old normal” was better. This is going to be an “Improved Normal”. We want to use what’s happening now as a springboard for better business practices and giving back to the community.

We should all pitch in together to make our buyers, sellers and co-workers feel comfortable in this unique environment.

This isn’t about the money and the commission, it’s about the human connection and using what we have been learning about ourselves.

What have you learned about yourself from this?

Well, for one thing, I realized I had no balance in my life. I thought I did, but realized that wasn’t the case. I do a lot more for myself now which I find gives me more productive and focused time for my work. I realize how important home is.

Our home is our sanctuary, our shelter, our protection, and gives us peace. It truly embraces us and we need to cherish it. My home has given me the space and the calm to reflect on this rather confusing and chaotic time we are in.

I really have been enjoying working remotely and most of my friends and clients are as well.

The other thing I’ve learned is, as a group we need to be more compassionate and understanding as we interact with our buyers, sellers and our fellow peers. Like I said earlier, this is not “Business as Usual.”

“ ”

From Cottages to Chateaus…

Every Home is Special to Us

The forced quarantine has changed so many things for me. I was on a never-ending treadmill before and I am enjoying my time with my family more and more and I’ve learned to say “no” to the

12 • August 2020

@realproducers

realproducersmag.com

Bergen County Real Producers • 13

If anyone told me in early February that I would be working remotely from home, unable to show properties for months, and be taking classes and giving talks on national panels on something called Zoom which I never heard of, from my house, practically in my pajamas, I wouldn’t have believed it! But here we are, trying to ease back to work in what we were all hoping would be BUSINESS AS USUAL. I don’t think so, it’s more like…

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL Business truly is unusual these days.

Let’s put on our mask, gloves, and booties and have our clients put theirs on, bring our Eau de Lysol, arm ourselves with alcohol wipes and sign off on our COVID -19 addendums. Then as long as there are a couple of people and no children, and everyone has their booties … come on in!

As far as driving people around and touring them, I do it differently now.

The clients follow me in their car and we have our Bluetooth systems on and I explain the area and the neighborhoods that way. It works well!

People like the privacy of their own car anyway. We do more virtual tours and photo slideshows to make it easier for the buyer to view online. We are more digital and interactive with social media.

The best thing we can all do is call and check up on our family, friends, neighbors, clients and associates just to make sure everyone is doing ok.

I think we are going to end up with good numbers this year. We are all busy and people really seem to want to move, for all different reasons.

I’m optimistic.

What do you think about the “New Normal”?

To me it implies that the “old normal” was better. This is going to be an “Improved Normal”. We want to use what’s happening now as a springboard for better business practices and giving back to the community.

We should all pitch in together to make our buyers, sellers and co-workers feel comfortable in this unique environment.

This isn’t about the money and the commission, it’s about the human connection and using what we have been learning about ourselves.

What have you learned about yourself from this?

Well, for one thing, I realized I had no balance in my life. I thought I did, but realized that wasn’t the case. I do a lot more for myself now which I find gives me more productive and focused time for my work. I realize how important home is.

Our home is our sanctuary, our shelter, our protection, and gives us peace. It truly embraces us and we need to cherish it. My home has given me the space and the calm to reflect on this rather confusing and chaotic time we are in.

I really have been enjoying working remotely and most of my friends and clients are as well.

The other thing I’ve learned is, as a group we need to be more compassionate and understanding as we interact with our buyers, sellers and our fellow peers. Like I said earlier, this is not “Business as Usual.”

“ ”

From Cottages to Chateaus…

Every Home is Special to Us

The forced quarantine has changed so many things for me. I was on a never-ending treadmill before and I am enjoying my time with my family more and more and I’ve learned to say “no” to the

12 • August 2020

@realproducers

realproducersmag.com

Bergen County Real Producers • 13

things that are not important to me, without having to give an excuse. I actually learned that from an old friend years ago but never practiced it.

When was Special Properties Founded?

Right after the recession around 1992, I took a workshop in NYC led by Oprah Winfrey. That planted the seed for the possibility of Special Properties. I was on an appointment with a client for a listing and they said to me that they wanted to give me the listing but that “you only handle big houses” and I told them that, “Whether it is a Cottage or a Chateau…Every Home is Special to Us. We give every listing our full attention and have a great marketing program for each category.” And then I said that “Every home is a Special Property” to the owner and we feel the same way. That was my “ah-ha” moment!

I opened up a division of the company I was with (Brook Hollow Group) which my partner Jerry DeCrosta founded in 1978. I called my division, which started out with my listings, “Special Properties division of Brook Hollow Group” with the tagline “From Cottages to Chateaus…Every Home us Special to Us”. Now we are an office of approximately 30 licenses.

I publish a magazine with the trademark Cottages to Chateaus™. That’s how it all evolved. It is still a work in progress but a true passion of mine.

Do you have a favorite real estate story?

I have so many that I should write a book! The estate that we are at now is one I handled in 1987. Unfortunately, that was the year I was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer. I went through 8 months of chemo at Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center and took this listing and worked through the entire 8 months while going through the treatment.

Where do you enjoy spending your down time?

Hands down – Manhattan. There is nothing like it! My daughter lives there and we could each write a book on our favorite neighborhoods. The museums, galleries, shopping, eating, eating, eating, walking in Central Park and neighborhood after neighborhood, people watching, studying the real estate and architecture. There is so much to do; it never ends.

To sum up, what is the best part of your job?

I love bespoke marketing which is really about finding the best way to showcase each individual listing. “From Cottages to Chateaus…Every Home is Special to Us,” is the foundation of Special Properties. To bring out the special qualities in each home that we represent.

I love working with buyers and sellers. Each brings out differ-ent aspects of the job and above all, I think it is important that all parties walk out feeling good and knowing that everyone was treated fairly. One of my famous CEO clients taught me that. And it is absolutely true. That’s the only way a transac-tion should close - with everyone happy!

14 • August 2020

@realproducers

realproducersmag.com

Bergen County Real Producers • 15