It was 2010 and the real estate market was foundering in the wake of the Great Recession.
Both Ron Posner and Adam Stein had spent their careers in real estate and both were struggling to find a foothold in a changing landscape. By chance, Posner’s wife ran into Stein for two consecutive days — a party one day and a funeral the next — and she decided the like-minded men ought to meet and introduce themselves.
“She said we would be a good match,” Posner said.
A friendship — and a business partnership — was formed. For three years the men bought and flipped 120 houses, selling all but a few to landlords. By 2013 the market was recovering and they were ready to start a new business.
Stein Posner, a real estate company, was born.
“Our message has always been the same: we want to make a difference in people’s lives,” Posner said. “Real estate is our widget, but we are a human being company.”
In 2019 they became a franchise of Century 21, now called Century 21 Stein Posner, which allowed global colleagues for local buyers or sellers who wanted to buy or sell in, say, Paris.
Still their mission never waivered: Treat customers and employees like your family, and the business will follow. Today they have 90 agents, all independent contractors ages 18 to 75, who use the company’s leadership for mentoring, training and old-fashioned hand-holding. Century 21 Stein Posner conducts about 40 transactions a month, both buying and selling, according to the owners.
This year, Century 21 Stein Posner of Boca Raton was recognized as the top ranked small workplace in the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Top Workplaces competition. There were 167 companies of all sizes surveyed. Small businesses are defined as 124 employees or fewer.
Posner said they are a success because of their commitment to its contractors. “They have to have an amazing work environment,” he said. “They know they are part of something bigger than themselves.”
He also credits the open-door policy: “If an agent needs me at 10 p.m., I answer my phone.”
The Realtors apart of this team specialize in properties in Broward and Palm Beach counties, but listings go as far south as Miami-Dade, and north into Martin and St. Lucie counties.
The employees are respected, Stein said, and it’s because of the way they are compassionate to the customers, particularly understanding that real estate is generally expensive.
“It’s the largest financial transaction of somebody’s life,” Stein said. “It’s not something you do every day.”
And then there’s the moving itself, which is considered by experts to be one of life’s biggest stressors, after death of a loved one and divorce.
“We are helping change people’s lives,” Stein said. “It’s exciting, but unsettling. They are uprooting and moving. Change is stressful. We help people navigate that.”
The pair say they train their agents: “We don’t sell houses. We solve problems.” The problem to solve is: “I live here and I want to live there.”
To help clients, the Realtors are trained to know who needs credit counseling, and where to send them. For clients who don’t really want to be there — those being forced to relocate because of a death, divorce or job loss — “it takes love, grace and patience,” Stein said. “It’s not, ‘here’s the bathroom, here’s the kitchen, sign here.’”
To keep the Realtors on their A-game, there are seven staffers who have job titles such as “director of agent experience” and “director of happiness.” There’s training on marketing, how to advertise, required mentorships for the newest Realtors to gain confidence, community events to bond as a group, weekly staff meetings dosed with inspiration, and financial encouragement for partners going through a dry spell since all Realtors work on commission.
“The vibe, the culture, we’ve created an environment where people can thrive as people,” Stein said. “We’re all going through a human experience.”
Said Posner: “We care about our humans.”
While he won’t use the word “mandatory” — he can’t make anybody do something — Stein made it clear that only those Realtors who want the full training experience will join. He calls it “quality control.”
And even though the real estate agents are independent contractors, Stein and Posner regularly turn away prospective additions if they are hobbyists and doing real estate as a side hustle to beef up their income coming from their real job.
That person is not a good fit, the duo say: “You wouldn’t want to go to a part-time surgeon or a part-time lawyer,” Stein said. “The consumer deserves an exceptional experience every time.”
“I love houses,” will not help a prospective Realtor from signing up with this firm. “I want to help people” is the right response.
On any day, their firm has dozens of listings. That includes a six-bedroom masterpiece in Boynton Beach listed for $1.3 million and a two-bedroom oceanfront condo the size of a house in Boca Raton listed for $1.1 million. But they don’t just dabble in luxury, but standard homes in Fort Lauderdale, too.
As interest rates continue to rise as the federal government tries to bring down inflation, there are fewer transactions each month. “If you don’t need to buy or sell now, you’re not,” Stein said, as those seeking to downsize, or buy a home to rent, or buy a vacation home is now on hold. Each week they have classes to talk about the current market trends such as these “and how partners can adopt and adjust.”
One of their partners is Allison Kaufman, a former marketing director, who went back to work and started this new career after her daughter turned 8. That was six years ago and now she’s now one of the agency’s most prolific partners.
“I came for the culture,” she said. “It’s a culture of caring and not competition. There’s enough business out there for everyone. We celebrate wins.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at . Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
