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Life and Work with Rea Rowles

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Rea Rowles.

Rea, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been around real estate since I can remember. I grew up visiting my dad on job sites when he was building homes out in the east valley. I have always always always had a love and passion for creating things and seeing them come to life. Fast forward to a few years ago, I had graduated college and was throwing around a few ideas of the route I wanted to take when my dad approached me and said he needed help running all of our rental properties in Tempe. I was hesitant at first because while I knew I loved the world of real estate, I wasn’t 100% convinced I’d know enough to succeed at the position. But with the guidance of my father and a bunch of “ah-ha” moments, I fell into a perfect groove and system. I’ve been working as an office manager for the last four years now and my responsibilities grow each and every day. I manage all of our properties, assist with design work (specifically interiors, hello dream come true!) and plan our future developments in the area. As of today, actually, I’m officially a graduate of the Masters in Real Estate Development program from Arizona State University. Graduating and learning everything I did will most definitely help my future career in real estate development. Juggling work and a masters program weren’t easy, but it was SO worth it in the end. Now I feel even better about taking my career to the next level and creating a legacy form my future children.

Has it been a smooth road?
There are always adjustment periods for sure. I would say sometimes the road was a bit bumpy, but nothing that ever completely discouraged me for my career. I think it was a huge help that my father was my support as my “boss”. When you hear someone that works for their family and their dad is their boss, it either goes pretty dang great or somewhat backfires. Luckily for me, I and my dad have a great relationship so that makes working for him that much better and supportive when those bumps in the road and struggles came about.

When it comes to women and speaking to the future leaders of our society, I want to say that you can do it. I believe in you and your hard work will be noticed. Being a woman in a predominantly male field such as real estate definitely is an uphill battle at times, but when you crush it, you REALLY crush it and it makes it that much sweeter. Try not to sell yourself short. Recognize and know the value of your work and the product that you create because it’s incredibly important. That would be my last bit of advice and it’s a huge one!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Collegetown Development – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My day to day activities is always changing. Whether I’m in the office working on clerical work, or on a job site checking in on renovations/developments, it’s always an adventure. My favorite part of the job is definitely when my creative juices get to flow. This happens when we renovate a project and I get to design the interior. We’re talking flooring, paint colors, cabinets, fixtures, window treatments, the whole 9 yards-it truly is amazing and a place where I feel like I shine in my role.

We specialize in residential rentals all within 1-mile from the Tempe Arizona State University Campus. From what our current and previous tenants have told us, we are known for being incredibly personable and I believe that’s why we have such a high retention rate for our renters. They enjoy being able to create a relationship with me as their landlord and know that I’m only a text away if they need something. That would be what I’m probably most proud of and I strongly believe that’s what sets up apart from other larger apartment complexes and rental agencies. Our portfolio of properties includes houses, duplexes, and 4/5 unit complexes so instead of being one huge 200 unit complex, we are a little bit more diverse. Which is why I think I’m able to connect with my tenants on a higher level.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
As I mentioned before, know your worth.

Know the worth of the product that you are creating and the time that goes into that and don’t sell yourself short.

Your time is valuable, your products are valuable, your knowledge about the field you are entering is so so so valuable. Engrain that into your brain when you are starting out in your career and I promise it will pay off.

This translates into your hobbies as well (mine being my personal blog) but those hobbies can turn into careers one day!

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Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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