Pleasanton, CA — October 3, 2019 — NextHome is proud to announce the latest addition to the franchise, NextHome Envision. Although NextHome Envision is based in Maryland, the brokerage will serve clients across the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia areas.
NextHome Envision is led by real estate power couple Leon and Lisa Nasar. Veterans in the Maryland real estate industry, Lisa got her real estate license in 1993 and Leon followed getting his license that same year. The two met while Lisa was showing a commercial property in 1993. A few years later, they were married.
With 26 years in the industry, the Nasars have built successful careers in various real estate subspecialties. Lisa has extensive expertise in residential transactions, specifically investment properties and rentals. Leon is a seasoned business leader with years of expertise in commercial real estate, multi-family properties, office space, and small shopping center deals.
Lisa started her career with Long & Foster, a large firm that has offices across the eastern United States. Her love of real estate began as a college student when her father bought and rented out a home near The University of Maryland. Ever since, the University of Maryland graduate has enjoyed following the ups and downs of the residential investment property market. Shortly after getting her license, Lisa began working with commercial buyers. However, she soon migrated to the company’s residential and investment side where she found her niche.
“I absolutely love what I do,” Lisa said. “It’s really easy for me to help people find the right house for them and their investing needs.”
While at Long & Foster, Lisa became one of the brokerage’s top-producing agents. She remained with the company for almost 26 years.
After obtaining his real estate license, Leon started in commercial real estate. He found continued success and stayed in the commercial sector for five years. In 1998, Leon left full-time real estate to open a series of Nextel stores across the D.C. area. With three stores and all their various employees, Leon was able to put his leadership skills to work. Then, in 2005, Leon decided to sell his Nextel locations and jump back into full-time real estate with Long & Foster. During this time in his career, Leon started residential sales and quickly moved into management.
As a manager, Leon had the opportunity to promote growth at various offices for the company. Before Leon took the lead at the Spring Valley location in D.C., the brokerage was handling about $81 million in sales. One year later, Leon was able to help that same office reach a $182 million sales volume. At another office, Leon was able to help guide growth from $860,000 in sales to $1.3 billion within two years.
Leon says the success came from encouraging a friendly, people-first philosophy with his team.
“Many people have it stuck in their heads that real estate needs to be done a certain way,” said Leon. “I help agents realize that it is okay to have fun while they go out and help people.”
That relaxed culture prompted agents to strike up casual conversations about fun things that were happening at work.
“It helped people get out of their shell a bit,” Leon recalled. “Just by the simple fact that they were talking about it, their friends started saying, ‘Oh, you are in real estate? By the way, I have this need or that property.’ I helped people connect with other people.”
The success of their office caught the eye of Berkshire Hathaway, which eventually acquired Long & Foster. The change prompted the Nasars to think about the direction of their own professional lives. That’s when NextHome and its humans over houses motto caught their eyes.
“Everything with NextHome was new, fresh, and exciting,” Lisa said. “NextHome offers brokerages great technology, great marketing, and a great vibe. Now we get to bring a whole new dynamic to an area that is lacking that.”
The Nasar’s business philosophy dovetailed perfectly with NextHome’s company mission, “Enriching lives by helping people find their next home.”
“It’s all about caring about the people you are working with,” Leon said. “What makes NextHome different is the fact that the vice president calls me, and the company leaders have become my colleagues and still text me. It’s all about relationship building. You want to work in an environment where people care about each other and look out for each other – that is exactly the reason I chose NextHome. All the other benefits are a bonus.”
Lisa added that NextHome Envision wants to tailor its business to clients who want to be treated like humans, not transactions.
“We don’t want to be the brokerage that has 250 agents,” Lisa said. “We want to create a family-like environment where we are here for everybody. While we still have the best of the best, NextHome Envision is a friendly and connected brokerage.”
When they aren’t helping their clients and agents, the Nasars enjoy spending time with their two kids and refining their talents. Lisa is an exceptional painter with a love for the performing arts. Leon is a classic car collector and marathon runner who enjoys working out and caring for his garden. The Nasar’s have been married for 21 years and are the proud parents of Sam (20) and Jackie (17). Sam is studying musical theater at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and Jackie is applying for college as she starts her senior year in high school.
Please join us in congratulating the Nasars on the opening of NextHome Envision in Maryland!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.