HEROES
Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Di Mauro.
Paula, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Absolutely! Born and raised in Uruguay, I moved to Miami in 2004 shortly after marrying my high school sweetheart. In Uruguay I had received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the Universidad de la Empresa and then finished an Accounting degree here in the United States.
I am a “numbers” person at heart, and I became completely fascinated with the American homeownership concept. Access to large loans, payable in 30 years with low fixed rates, plus a “freeze” on property taxes for your homestead, and tax benefits for owning your home were all mind-blowing concepts. Being able to lock your housing expenses for years to come is an incredible opportunity to build wealth, and after becoming a homeowner, I got even more into real estate and started looking for rental properties.
I couldn’t find an agent proficient in the return on investment (ROI) analysis who would know what to look for and who was willing to help me the way I needed, so I became my own agent.
Before I knew it, I was helping friends from Miami and Uruguay invest in rental condos and had to start a company to do the property management. Investment properties became my specialty and up until 2018 it represented 80% of my sales. In 2016, I became a real estate broker and founded Urban Key Realty and Urban Key Property Management to provide the full range of real estate services to our clients.
Today, we are a team of eight agents. We mostly help local families find their dream home, but also assist local and foreign investors. I am even more passionate about homeownership now than when I first started. I firmly believe that where we live directly impacts our quality of life and that owning our homes sets ourselves and our children on a path towards a better future. It really is the best way to build wealth for our families.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been fun! I have the immense privilege of working alongside people I love and respect from different walks of life, with whom we have a shared vision of how our profession should run and how we want to conduct ourselves in doing so. However, I think the biggest challenge has been to realize that not everyone is a good fit for the organization and then being able to let them go. Having the right team makes all the difference in my company’s success and in each of our agent’s own success. I believe that surrounding yourself with people who are in tune with your vision and share the same values creates a synergy that drives each individual and promotes exponential growth.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Urban Key Realty story. Tell us more about the business.
I am most proud of building an extraordinary team of professional and dedicated agents. It’s also incredibly rewarding to receive referrals and repeat business. We are known for our commitment to providing the best results for our clients – whether that is in selling their home, finding them a new home, or providing amazing investment opportunities that will provide income and build wealth. We focus on value and longevity for our clients.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe nothing is inherently bad or good, not even luck. Everything is what we make of it and should never be judged on the spot. You have to allow time to pass so that you can see what your actual “luck” was. Missing out on an opportunity can feel like bad luck, but you never know what is meant to happen on your life’s path. This happened to me when I applied for a job at Fortune 500 company based in Montevideo and thought that was it – my dream life. After several weeks of interviews, tests, and successfully passing multiple stages in the selection process, it came down to two candidates, one being me. In the end, I lost. However, after a short period of despair, life showed me that this bad luck was actually a new opportunity when the chance to live in Miami presented itself. And the rest is history!
