MICHAEL "BUZZ" BUSERINI
Real Estate Exec: Keller Williams

The sport of racing is not unlike the business of Real Estate, according to Keller Williams REALTOR^® Michael “Buzz” Buserini. Both racing and Real Estate require a team leader to assemble and lead a dedicated, cohesive crew.

Buzz has been racing all his life. He says, “adrenaline is my drug of choice.” He grew up racing motorcycles, go-carts, sprint cars, “modifieds,” stock cars, and is currently crew chief for a super late-model stock car team here in Vegas. He also triggers his adrenal glands by skydiving and bungee jumping.

Recently a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, while looking for drivers, invited Buzz to run laps in Miami. Although Buzz performed admirably, he felt unable to join the team because he needed to focus his energies on his then 2-year-old son. Buzz happily recalls pushing the truck to 173 miles per hour.

Professional racers spend an enormous amount of preparation time before each race. Buzz says that such preparation is also necessary in Real Estate. His 12 years of groundwork has allowed him to maintain a client list of banks and investors as well as homeowners. “Unfortunately,” he says, “right now Las Vegas is No. 1 in foreclosures.” About half of the group’s transactions involve bank-owned properties.

Buzz’s group now has numerous bank-owned properties listed and on assignment, and more coming every day. In the first seven months of 2007, his group sold quite a few foreclosure properties. He says that investors call him because they know that he has numerous properties listed.

Buzz’s team member Brian Kinsley works closely with investors to get them the best deals possible. He says that investors are looking for a short sale, and feel that they can get bank-owned properties at 70 percent to 80 percent of the LTV (loan to value).

Brian appreciates the positive attitude and supportiveness of Buzz’s team. “We all love Real Estate,” he says, “and that makes it fun.” In addition to working with investors, Brian also loves to work with owner-occupied homes. He enjoys seeing a homebuyer walk into a house and suddenly feel at home. “You can see it on their faces,” he says.

Owner-occupied homes account for about half of the transactions conducted by Buzz’s team. As in any business, most of Buzz’s clients come from connections. He says, “It’s all in who you know.”

Buzz began making connections 12 years ago when he worked for Century 21 in California. He moved to Las Vegas in 1997 and remained with Century 21. In 2001 he signed on with RE/MAX, and in January of 2007 he founded his current Keller Williams team.

Throughout his career, Buzz has worked with banks. In January 2007 he signed his first bank as a full client. As of October 2007 he has two banks on his client list, with two more in negotiation.

Joan Anderson is the newest member of Buzz’s team. Before entering the Real Estate business Joan owned a construction company. She chose to begin a Real Estate career because she liked the idea of working with new clients every day.

Team member Ann Hartman says that the team’s positivity is unlike any she has seen in the past. While some offices are competitive to the point of creating tension, Buzz’s office is just the opposite. “Everybody’s in a good mood here,” she says.

Because foreclosures are selling well in the current market, Ann says that Buzz’s team is a “popular spot” due to its bank clients. Of the 50 or so applicants to the team, Buzz chose the four who showed the most dedication and kept positive attitudes.

Team transaction coordinator Teri Burkin is in charge of ensuring that all files are properly processed and completed. She describes working with the team as a “cool experience” that inspires her to look forward to working every day. She says that the agents on the team treat her well and value her input. In addition, she says, “I feel like I’m a part of something big.”

Buzz says that maintaining positive energy is vital to the team’s success. He is therefore picky about who he allows on his team. “I hire people who have fun with their work,” he says. As a result, his office has a relaxed atmosphere with no jealousy and “no office politics.”

Positive attitudes are not only the result of good hiring practices, but also the result of good coaching skills. Buzz says that coaching a Real Estate team is much like coaching a racing team or a youth baseball team. In sports and in Real Estate, Buzz says that a coach succeeds by “respecting the players, earning their respect, and teaching them to do [things] the right way.”

Once the team has fully prepared for a sports game or a Real Estate transaction, success means devoting 100 percent of the team’s energy to the task at hand. Buzz explains, “Baseball is about having fun, not about winning…In Real Estate, sometimes a deal falls apart and you can’t fix it, but [if you’ve given it your all] then you can still go home and sleep well at night.”

Buzz coached his son Christian’s soccer and baseball teams for three years. Christian will begin racing go-carts in 2008.

In addition to 9-year-old Christian, Buzz also has a 7-year-old daughter named Karina and a 7-week-old baby named Danica. The baby is named after Danica Patrick, a driver for the Andretti Green racing team. After Danica Patrick heard that Buzz and his wife, Jennifer, had named their baby after her, the driver expressed to the couple how flattered she was and sent them autographed racing memorabilia.

Buzz says that the most important tool for success in racing, baseball, Real Estate, or any other endeavor is hard work. “Certain things you have to be gifted at, but most things just require practice.” He says that a challenging Real Estate market only allows the most dedicated agents to survive. Luck is part of success, he says, and “hard work creates its own luck.”

The Buzz Buserini team can be reached at BuseriniGroup.com.

Photography: Britt Pierson