In Their Own Words: Small-Town Realtors®
By: Lee Nelson
In small and established towns across New Jersey, Realtors® live among their clients and are embedded in their communities. People know them everywhere they go. They recognize them, stop to talk to them, and ask questions about everything. It’s not always easy. Two agents reveal how they live, work, and play in their small towns—one who has been doing it for a few decades, while the other has only been doing it for four years.
Having an entrepreneurial spirit has led Laureen DiMatteo in the past to own a thriving salon in Manasquan and, later, pizzerias in the Florida Keys. But she came back to Spring Lake after her divorce, to become a Realtor®.
“I’m older now and always owned my own business. When I was a little girl, I watched my grandfather buy and sell real estate. I was a little sponge back then and paid attention. So, I took a leap with lots of determination,” said DiMatteo.”
It worked. She joined Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors®, Spring Lake, after getting her license in March 2022.
She came in with a great attitude and excels at marketing herself, states her broker manager, Christine O’Neill. In fact, DiMatteo was honored with the Rookie of the Year award despite only working a portion of the year.
“I have a great support system here,” said DiMatteo. “There is no question that is too big or too small to ask her. She will guide me, and that’s important. It helped me get to where I am.”
Through all her learning about real estate, she decided to just be true to herself and her clients.
“I knew I couldn’t fail. I was scared, of course. But having a business background helped. I used everything I learned up to this point, listened to my clients, and had faith in myself,” said DiMatteo.”
She learned negotiations and how to read people through all the businesses she owned. She knew she was up against a lot of people who had been in the business a long time and lived there a lot longer than she had. They had the confidence it takes in this business.
“I thought to myself that I could do that, too, in a market that was so crazy. You have to go for what you want,” said DiMatteo.
The biggest thing she learned about the job, and herself, is how to navigate people with all the different personalities.
“You adjust and pivot. You learn what their needs are, and sometimes, they don’t even know,” said DiMatteo. “You just have to break it all down and just guide them, and treat them the way you want to be treated.”
She admits that many of the agents she knows don’t like to work with first-time homebuyers. But she likes helping them. One of her new homebuyers took a year of guiding and hand-holding to get her into a home she adores.
“She invited me to her housewarming party, and we still stay in touch. A lot of my clients become my friends. It doesn’t matter if they are buying a $2 million or $200,000 home, it’s still a big transaction,” said DiMatteo.”
Although he grew up on a family farm, Joe Wiessner feels that a very impactful time of his life was spending the summer on the Ocean City boardwalk.
His father owned an arcade there. “Being on the beach and ocean became a different lifestyle for me. But after that, I worked on the farm and grew to love that as well,” said Wiessner.
But he could not solve the family dynamic even with his degree in agriculture from Rutgers University.
“Personalities were clashing, and I was wise enough to walk away kind of young,” said Wiessner.
“Real estate became a big interest to him after seeing some big names out there becoming very successful. “I thought if they could do it, I could,” said Wiessner.”
At age 28 in 1994, he earned his license. The irony was he left White Horse Farms to work for White Horse Realty, which was right across from the farm. Things eventually worked out, and he is now the broker/owner of Joe Weissner Realty in Berlin.
It didn’t start out well. He felt out of his element and was nervous. He didn’t sell anything for four months, and not even any rentals. He had money saved up and started buying houses and fixing them up, with seven of them as a complete novice.
“I broke even but gained a lot of experience,” said Wiessner.
He was tired of working so hard and decided again to sell homes in 1998 with government repossessions.
“I was floundering for the first eight months. But I’m a self-described late bloomer,” said Wiessner”
His broker handed him a stack of paper and told him to make 100 flyers, walk the neighborhood, and put the flyers on the doors. He was a little anxious about the whole idea because he might run into people and have to talk.
“Lo and behold, some of them would come out to talk to me. I ended up selling my first houses that way by walking around,” said Wiessner.
Then, he’d get repeat business, over and over again. Investors would want one house after another.
“I built up a pretty good trade.” He decided it was time to become a broker in 2002. He created an office in his living room in Hammonton. He also opened an office later in Winslow Township in Berlin with 7,000 people.”
The reason he’s still in his house and working in small towns is all about serenity.
“I have peace in my life. I’m still in the same house,” said Wiessner. “I can walk to a local store in no time.”
He said Hammonton and Berlin are quintessential small towns with nice downtowns.
“Everyone knows your name. It’s nice,” said Wiessner. He feels that working in small towns has helped him to never compromise his own values when things are that relational.”