Jeanette Rachuig is the true definition of a successful REALTOR®. Earning her license in 2015, she has only seen success in the transactions she has made and the relationships she has built. Phyllis Browning Company has been her brokerage firm for the past two years, and with the company’s prestige and Jeanette’s passion, they have become a distinguished power house. With the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world took a major hit as did every facet of the business world, including real estate. However, amidst this erratic time, Jeanette utilized her devotedness, perseverance and optimistic attitude to help a family find their dream home in the highly desired neighborhood of Rogers Ranch in North Central San Antonio. Her path to get there though was not an easy one.
Jeanette first meet Terri and Chris Behling in May of last year. This family from Florida had decided work with Jeanette in hopes of finding a home in the city of San Antonio. Buying a home in the Alamo City was contingent on them selling their house back in Florida. Chris was looking for a job transition and their daughter had decided to attend UTSA. Nonetheless, the Lone Star State was beckoning them, and they wanted a house that reflected their ideals and dreams. With their first exploratory trip to the city, anticipated hopes filled the air. They viewed about 25 properties in three days, nothing striking a chord in them. With no house winning their hearts, the family headed back to the Sunshine State. Jeanette kept in touch with them, something she strongly emphasizes as being the key in establishing a strong clientele base. Months and months pass and arrives mid-March. The pandemic is raging through the world and coincidently, the Behling family reaches out saying now is their time to come back to Texas and look for their dream home.
The whole family came down for a week and for three days they were kept busy viewing house after house. They viewed a total of 17 houses in the first two days. Jeanette said there was a small percentage of home owners who would not allow them into their home. The ones that did though, had Jeanette and the Behlings dressed in nonwoven fabric masks and surgical gloves. However, the pandemic fear was not an overbearing worry in Jeanette’s mind, her focus was on pleasing her clients and giving them what they wanted. On the third day, they viewed five more homes and still nothing. Jeanette now knew she had to reach out to other agents who might know of a home fitting for the Behlings. Finally, a home in Rogers Ranch came up and Jeanette scurried the family over on the first day it was listed on the market. As they stepped into the foyer, the Behlings knew this was their home. They put down a full price offer and a contingency on the house since they had until May 1st to sell their home in Florida. All was on the path to success until the listing agent called Jeanette saying there was another offer.
When you think it is the end, it never really is. A day after the Behlings made their offer, Jeanette gets a phone call that there is another proposal. Against their original plans, the Behlings had to pull the contingency and put another 5,000 into the house. This was a big risk since they were not even confident they were going to move here with their other house on the market and Chris’s undecided job transfer. The only thing the Behling family could do was go back to Florida and wait. “Faith and trust in the Lord,” is what Jeanette held on to as they faced this uncertain time. The hands on the clock had never moved so slowly. Fortunately, the Behling’s home in Florida was sold earlier than expected! With that wonderful news and Chris securing his job transfer, they were able to close on the house and move into their new home in Rogers Ranch. Jeanette could now take a big sigh of relief. She had just helped a family move into a new home during a time where the normally fast paced and functioning world had come to a halt.
Jeanette says a phone call never guarantees a buyer out of it tomorrow. You have to go through a journey with them. Looking back at this experience, she recounts the numerous moving parts it took and truly how rewarding it was to help a family who she had been in communication with for a year find their dream home. “You have to become who they need you to be,” Jeanette highlights as her driving mindset. Being there for this family and asking the necessary questions is all a part of the job. On top of it all, navigating this process during a time the world has never seen before of course had its own challenges. However, Jeanette stresses that in the real estate industry and being a female agent you always have to be safe. Even with these new circumstances, she treated it like any other day.
Success can be defined in many different ways. To some, it is their resume of accomplishments and to others it is living fully. Imbuing with heart and honesty, Jeanette sees the success in her story as the gift of a home to a beautiful family. The real success here isn’t the completed transaction, but assisting this family in the long process of buying a home. To make others happy, especially during this abnormal and difficult time, that is the true success.
