There seems to be no stopping the force that is Perci Piétro.
His great grandfather was the ruler of what used to be the part of Persia, which is known today as Azerbaijan, and his grandfather was one of the top generals in Iran under the Shah’s regime. And just like his ancestors before him who led their countries, Piétro leads in the world of real estate with his innovative business model, years of unparalleled experience, and his undying passion for what he does best—deal making.
“The world is ever changing each day, and continuing into the future with antiquated ideas is a recipe for failure,” Piétro says. Rewind several years back, the modern-day visionary was actually pre-med in college. It seemed like a good fit at the time; after all, both of his parents are physicians. Yet instead of pursuing a career in medicine, Piétro attained his Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) and followed in his great ancestors’ footsteps by heading to Miami with the belief that the “best way to predict the future is to create it.” It’s a motto he still stands by today.
His first business pursuit in the Magic City was actually a trendy nightclub in South Beach called W6 Lounge, one of the most exclusive night spots on the beach. With the popularity of his VIP club, Piétro next took a chance in the world of real estate. He initially purchased several luxury condos in upscale buildings such as the Continuum, 1500 Ocean Drive and later, the Setai, Canyon Ranch, Fontainebleau and W, all the while gathering an extensive list of contacts. Along with his intelligence and intuition, Piétro opened World Real Estate Exchange, and in no time he was transacting on millions of dollars on both a private and public level in all facets of the industry.
After several years with his company, World Real Estate Exchange, Piétro became one of the top names in real estate by leading his firm’s more than 100 associates in selling more pre-construction units in residential projects than any other group in South Florida. This in turn led to his current venture, Own Realty, a full-service, international, luxury brokerage firm specializing in residential, commercial, land, business, consulting, and property management on the American Riviera. With an office on Brickell Avenue, Piétro works amongst the banks and law firms in the largest financial district south of Wall Street.
The firm’s edge is it’s one of the only true international real estate firms in all of South Florida. “Although many agencies claim to be international brokerages, most of them rarely attend global trade shows, events, and seminars. Last season we had a presence at the National Association of Realtors event in San Diego and after networking for several days with more than 20,000 attendees and delegates from around the world, we came to realize we were the only firm in attendance from Miami” says Piétro.
Piétro also has the advantage of being one of only a thousand or so Certified International Property Specialists (CIPS) worldwide and being Transnational Referral Certified (TRC). Piétro reveals, “This type of exposure and knowledge gives us an edge when working with clientele due to familiarity with many cultural and legal differences that exist between countries while conducting business globally.”
Own Realty boasts an internationally friendly website that features a “global matching system,” which pairs clients abroad with multilingual real estate associates. “Buyers go to our website, select from more than a dozen languages, and all the profiles of our company associates who speak that language appear,” Piétro explains. “The client can contact the individual directly and discuss business in their native tongue. Additionally, international buyers have the ability to search for property in their language of choice.” Piétro himself is fluent in English, Spanish, and Farsi with some background in French and Italian.
Ownrealty.com also includes helpful features like currency exchange, metric conversion, information for purchasing property worldwide, as well as information on immigration and concierge services. “It is a one-stop shop for all types of resources from a variety of restaurants to local schools as well as transaction tools for real estate professionals,” Piétro says.
The unique ideas at Own Realty speak for themselves. For example Piétro does not allow company associates to put his or her picture on business cards as sometimes seen with other industry associates. Piétro explains, “When you meet a professional such as a doctor, lawyer, banker, etc., you do not see that person’s photo on there business card. We want a potential client to contact our associates based on the impression they give of knowledge, experience, and professionalism, and not in response to a glamour shot. This is a serious business; we are assisting people with one of the most important decisions of their lives.”
As Piétro and Own Realty move into the future, they are implementing the latest multilingual techniques in search engine optimization, which will allow their website to be even more accessible to individuals across the globe. Piétro is certain that tapping into this technique will drive traffic not only from North America, Europe, and South America, but even such places as the Middle East and Asia. Piétro elaborates: “The US dollar is no longer the leading currency of the world. As the value of the dollar decreases, the desire for buyers to invest in property here in the United States from countries with stronger currencies increases. This is one of the fundamentals behind Own Realty and its focus on multinational-driven investment in the United States and furthermore in Miami.”
He also hopes to expand Own Realty into the California market to service the needs of real property buyers on the western half of our country since that state is second to Florida in international real estate buyers. “Many firms have a business model where they need many locations to penetrate a market place,” Piétro explains, “but Own Realty’s philosophy is based more on building a large network with associates and connections worldwide, which in turn covers the same area.”
All of his 50-plus company associates receive a 90/10 commission split and sellers have a choice to list property for an up-front flat fee as one of four alternative listing options Own Realty offers, as opposed to one conventional method used by other brokerages. Piétro admits, “Own Realty is not for everyone, only for those individuals wanting to make more money or save more of the money they already have.” And with that argument, how is it possible that anyone could turn him down?
Own Realty
305.995.8201
info@ownrealty.com
www.ownrealty.com
