Real estate is a huge and competitive industry; for some people, getting into it might mean dipping your toes in at first. Others, like Northwest Indiana native and Porter resident Kari Rooney, dive right into the challenge, looking to leave their mark straight away.
Rooney, born and raised in Portage, attended Calumet College of St. Joseph where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business management. After finishing her education, she started a career in marketing and sales. When it came time for Rooney and her husband to start a family, she began looking for both a new career and home.
“Real estate started interesting me when we purchased our first home in 2013,” said Rooney. “I decided to sign up for real estate classes. At the time I was doing marketing for a medical company and I decided to do real estate part-time because I knew I wanted to transition into something else once we started a family.”
When her marketing position was eliminated, she dove into real estate. She quickly made an impact, as she earned Rookie of the Year at McColly Real Estate in 2015 and was declared a Top Producer. It certainly was not easy, but through perseverance and hard work she carved herself a position in the industry. Rooney is now a broker associate for Century 21 Affiliated.
“It’s been a great transition,” she said. “They really pride themselves in being like a tight-knit family. The education that Century 21 has is great for its agents, and they have a lot of resources for buyers and sellers. It’s been a great company to move to.”
In her time exploring the industry, Rooney found that her favorite aspect of the job is working with the clients she represents.
“My favorite thing so far is working with and getting to know families in our community,” explained Rooney. “First time homebuyers are so excited, whether they’re starting a family or just haven’t been in the position to purchase a home until this time. Being able to be a part of someone’s life in the biggest purchase they are going to encounter is such a neat experience.”
Being able to turn such a huge moment into a positive memory takes a lot of legwork, and Rooney is certainly never lacking things to do. She is always looking for properties for buyers, marketing ones for sellers, and completing all other tasks to ensure the people she’s representing get the best experience possible.
“I’ve always worked in retail or customer service types of positions where I’d find the right fit for people,” she said. “Figuring out what motivates someone, or making a not-so positive situation a positive one. I think I have a good sense of reading people and that’s helped me through my career life so far.”
When she manages to find time off, her focus is on family. She and her husband have a 1-year-old daughter, so even at home things stay busy.
“She’s walking all over the place and doing what babies do,” joked Rooney. “She’s just having fun and is into everything, so she’s keeping me very busy. It’s a constant balance of work and family.”
With family being so important to her, staying in Northwest Indiana seemed like a no-brainer decision. The lifelong resident grew up in the Region, and wanted to be able to impart that experience to her children.
“I think it’s a great place to raise a family,” explained Rooney. “With all the things we have around us like the Dunes and the city, we have so much to offer here in Northwest Indiana. And living in Portage, it was such a great community to grow up in.”