Welcome to another edition of our Get to Know Your Agent series. This Wednesday, our featured professional goes by the name of Vitaly. Having grown up in Moscow, Russia, and later on in the United States, Vitaly finally made his dream of escaping to a tropical paradise a reality. Nowadays, Vitaly spends his time with his family and helping others make their dreams come true just as he did. With a successful track record in commercial, investment, and income-generating properties, Vitaly is truly a force to be reckoned with.
Learn more about Vitaly Balasanov in this interview:
1. What Was Your Dream Job as a Child?
As a child, I presume that I was in primary school when I had my first aspiration of doing something. I was fascinated with cars. In fact, I still am, not as much as with real estate, but I still love cars. I love driving! I find it therapeutic. I wanted to be a driver, but not a race driver. I wanted to be a truck driver, a long hauler that would travel from country to country and estate to estate. I guess that encompassed my love for travelling as well as being able to command a machine such as a truck. Not the most aspirational dream, but that was my dream job, believe it or not.
2. Why Did You Decide to Become a Real Estate Agent?
During my college years, I was buying and selling cars on my own, and then I helped a couple of friends to purchase and sell their vehicles. One of my friends’ fathers noticed that I had a knack for selling. I convinced him to sell his vehicle and buy a different one, and he was so happy with it that he made a recommendation to a dealership owner whom he knew very well, one of the leading and biggest dealerships in Lincoln, Nebraska. He made a recommendation, and they hired me as a sales associate, so I became a certified Nissan sales associate. I had to learn about the cars, the sales process, and their philosophy... I started selling cars, and that encompassed a lot of different aspects. I was helping people to make the second most important decision of their lives (the first one being buying a house). Then I went into property management; that was my introduction to real estate. I became the property manager of a multi-dwelling unit after I graduated from college. I was managing about 3 buildings with about 400 apartments, and then I went into sales. That was right about the time when I was moving to Costa Rica to continue my calling in life: real estate. I fell in love immediately because it opened up a lot of doors and quenched the thirst I had of helping people and finding the ideal solution for their housing needs. That’s how I got into real estate.
3. What is the Biggest Challenge?
Probably the same thing that other real estate agents would say. There is almost no regulation in the real estate industry here in Costa Rica. Yes, we are regulated by the financial authority, and we all have to submit our background checks and biyearly declarations to the financial authority that oversees all monetary transactions. But otherwise, there is no regulation, so anyone can be a real estate agent here, even without proper training or knowledge. The biggest challenge is dealing with unprofessional people and also not having a database with real data from the market. We compile data ourselves based on our activities and also in collaboration with trusted colleagues in the industry, so we can compare data, prices, and based on that, we replicate a centralized real estate entry system like the one in the U.S. That is something that Costa Rica truly needs, and would make life easier for us, and also for buyers and sellers. That way the sellers won’t have unreasonable expectations about the value of the property, and buyers can be better informed about the real cost of the property and not fall victim to unscrupulous real estate agents.
4. What is the Most Rewarding Aspect of Your Work, and What Do You Love Most About Being a Real Estate Agent?
Probably getting unsolicited gratitude from the sellers and buyers. At the end of the day, helping people is the biggest reward that I get. It makes me feel good, and it definitely makes my customers feel good. In my philosophy, giving is better than receiving. By serving people, I receive gratitude, and that is the most rewarding aspect of my work.
5. What Do You Do in Your Free Time?
I don't have much free time, to be honest. I have my family and I have to work, so I try to split whatever free time I have between my family and working out to try to stay in shape. But it has been somewhat challenging due to the unusual working hours. I also like to catch up on reading. I love cooking, and it is a custom in my house to go out and grab a bite on weekends, just like I used to do with my parents. I also like watching sports like basketball, football, hockey, and almost all sports. I like to get together with friends and watch sporting events; my friends and I are always busy, so when we do get together and watch sporting events, it’s very satisfying.
6. If You Did Not Live in Costa Rica, Where Would You Want to Be?
I have no reason to leave Costa Rica; I love this country, I see myself getting old here, and I see my kid growing up here. But I have two answers. Since I visited Colombia for the first time, I have fallen in love with it. I would love to live there. Hopefully, one day I’ll own a property in Colombia, and I’ll spend my time between Costa Rica and Colombia. There is so much natural beauty, the people and the food, everything is gorgeous. And also New Zealand. I have never been to New Zealand, but I have friends there, and I have studied the country and the culture, and the landscapes seem phenomenal. I have never met a person from New Zealand, so to me it means they are so happy there that they don’t want to leave their country. And I want to be in a country where people don’t have to or don’t want to leave.
7. What is Your Most Ambitious Goal in Life?
My most ambitious goal in life is not so ambitious. I’d like to build a community, a residential off-grid community of like-minded people. Build houses, apartments, and greenhouses for agriculture and horticulture. Just be able to live off what Earth has to offer. Living a simple life somewhere up in the mountains, growing my own food, and producing my own energy. That’s a dream of mine, and hopefully, I will get it done before my days are over.
Who will be featured next? Find out next Wednesday!
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