Title: Realtor

Company: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Location: Norwalk, Conn.

Thana van Rooyen came from South Africa worked for the travel division of American Express, where she put together tours; she designed tours for different groups and put together packages that included costs. One of her largest customers was AARP. With the restructuring of AARP, her position was eliminated, and Ms. van Rooyen turned to a career in real estate, where she would be able to “take care of herself,” as well as help her customers realize their dreams. Trained as a teacher in South Africa, Ms. van Rooyen learned about the travel industry and then took on the challenge to learn everything about the real estate business. She took many courses and received her license for residential real estate in Connecticut.  She enrolled in William Pitt Training and also learned from her mistakes.

The biggest challenge Ms. van Rooyen’s overcome is that most people believe women are in real estate to only “show houses,” when there is so much more involved. Her greatest strengths include being creative, packaging a property for sale, and matching a buyer with a home that is also a sound investment. Her strengths are also in being a communicator, as well as her strategic planning abilities and her integrity; she is a very honest person. The relationships that Ms. van Rooyen forms with her clients are important and a source of pride. In fact, she says that one incident of a seller who wanted a certain price for her property continued to work with Ms. van Rooyen after the listing expired. The client had confidence that Ms. van Rooyen was the one to get the job done and lead to a successful sale, even after the expiration date.

In years to come, Ms. van Rooyen wants to continue to enjoy the real estate business, and work with expired listings to see if she can work with these clients and increase her own listings. She is inspired by her inner drive to support herself and teach those around her what she has learned. She is lifelong learner who takes pride in her independence, and she enjoys sharing what she learns and has experienced.