Who Am I?
My name is Geri Sonkin and I'm a broker serving the Long Island real estate community for the past 20 years. My entry into the world of real estate was quite accidental. It was the summer of 1985 when I began my search for a home for my family. My experience at the time was so frustrating. The real estate agents I dealt with often gave me the feeling that they just didn't hear me -- or worse, that they didn't care. I had this recurring feeling throughout the process that there had to be a better way.
One particular memory floods my consciousness every now and then and makes me smile. The agent I had been working with was not available on this day and she had one of the men in her office fill in for her. She had scheduled a split level for us to see in Massapequa. As we began to ascend the stairs to the front door my mother rested her hand for a moment on the stone half wall, only to dislodge the loose top stone which fell resoundingly to the floor. Embarrassed, we continued on to the front door. Once inside, my mom reached out to open one of the bedroom doors. You guessed it . . . the doorknob remained in her hand as she turned to me, quite ready to end this tour. After a few more minutes of looking at missing tiles in the bathroom, disgusting and smelly carpet and a totally original kitchen with cabinet doors coming off their hinges, we'd had enough. At that moment, the agent, standing across the room from us, mouthed "it's a dog, let's get out of here." His offhanded honesty and willlingness to admit this choice was a big mistake had a major impact on me.
During this time, like a mantra, I found myself saying over and over again, "I could do this better." So, after spending all my spare time in my search and finally finding my house . . . and after telling myself I never wanted to look at another home again as long as I lived, I found myself drawn inexorably into the business of real estate. I've spent all the intervening years trying to give buyers and sellers as much information as I can so they can make educated decisions, and I always strive to make their transition from one home to another as stress free as possible.
In my personal world, I'm mother to a wonderful son (and daughter-in-law) and grandmother to the world's most special and charming child (and I'm not the least bit predjudiced :-)). Beyond that I'm also surrogate mother to two girls of the canine variety. They fill my days with unconditional love and a sweet innocence that tends to keep me in balance even when the world would have it otherwise. And I'm lucky enough to have made some wonderful friends of the people I've served over the years. They all make my life special.
When I'm not engaged in the business of real estate (which is not often), I love to decorate (which has turned into an asset for my home sellers in that I very often stage their houses in preparation of listing them), I also love to read, write or listen to beautiful music.and just relax. And if I'm to be totally honest, I also love to shop and track down a real bargain.