Fazendin Realtors, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
How did you get involved in real estate?
When I was just out of high school, I interviewed with a real estate company. I knew nothing at that point, and they told me to go away and come back in 10 or 15 years. So, I became a plumber for about four years. I learned a lot about how homes were built and how systems work (which has helped me out a lot over the years), but eventually, I realized that I had a little bit of a bad back, and I couldn’t lift water heaters and cast-iron tubs for the rest of my life. I looked at real estate again, and that was 1999. I got my license and have been doing it for 25 years.
How did you learn about the CRS Designation?
I’ve always enjoyed the education aspect of the business while trying to stay ahead of the competition. Back then, the brokerage I was with wasn’t necessarily promoting those things, and we didn’t really have CRS agents in our office who would have said, ‘Hey, you should come with me to this event.’ I think I got a flyer about a class and went for it. My first class with CRS might have been a Chris Bird class. It took me a while, but I got my CRS Designation about two years ago. I think CRS offers some of the best education and speakers you can find in our industry.
What is your market like?
We’re doing OK here in the Twin Cities and the surrounding suburbs. It’s slowed down a bit through July, but we expect it to pick up again. We will probably end the year with about a 4% overall appreciation, which is good. We still have a lack of inventory here, just like everywhere else, but we are starting to see inventory levels increase a little bit. It’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to work. We don’t have hurricanes, a lot of wildfires, earthquakes or that type of stuff, so we’re insulated that way. We’ve got over 10,000 lakes—it’s really hard to visit even half of them. A lot of people consider this to be flyover country until they stop by and visit us. There’s a reason Prince stayed here.
What is your approach to business?
When I got into real estate, I worked with a small developer and sold new construction for about seven or eight years. After a while, I transitioned to management at the brokerage I was working with until I realized I wanted to be in sales again. I joined a more customer-oriented company and went all in with “ninja selling,” where I have an entirely referral-based business. It’s all about building relationships with the customers over time, so if a past client isn’t going to sell anytime soon, they probably know three or four people who will sell over the course of a year.
Do you participate in any community service activities?
I was a volunteer firefighter for 17 years. Currently, I sit on the planning commission for the city of Chaska. I’m also a volunteer ski patroller. I sit on the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors and I am a past president of the Minneapolis Area REALTORS®. I’ve always enjoyed giving back to the community and to the industry.
Have you had any unusual transactions?
The strangest listing I ever had was a referral from another agent about five or six years ago. One of the owners was a doll collector. There were probably 300 to 400 dolls inside the home. And they weren’t just Barbie dolls—some were the size of small children. The couple had them set up in the bedrooms at little tea tables and in big display cases, and it was eerie. I let them know that selling the house with that many dolls would be really hard, and they took 98% of the dolls out of the house. They left a few—the ones at their little tea table upstairs, which I know freaked out a few buyers.
Todd Urbanski, CRS, achieved the CRS Designation in 2023. He can be reached at todd@fazhomes.com or 612-865-3644.
Photo: Tim Gruber
