Real estate sales require a personal touch, and Patricia (Patty) Santella has achieved an impressive high level of success by connecting with people in a meaningful way. She listens and engages with her buyers and sellers, serves as their trusted advisor, and leverages her strong relationships with colleagues, other brokers and her vast personal network to help her clients meet their real estate goals. And, with her background as a certified public accountant, she brings an analytical approach to representing clients that provides them with added value throughout the transaction.
As a licensed associate broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Santella, who goes by Patty, has been recognized with the company’s Gold Circle Award as a top producer in each of the last four years. Although she didn’t originally set out to work in real estate, she began laying the groundwork for success in this field early in her career working in a public accounting firm.
“In public accounting, you have to be extremely diligent with your time management,” she says. “There were constant deadlines, and it was never 9 to 5. I was accountable to my clients for every hour of my time, and I quickly learned that I had to be very organized and detail-oriented – there was no room for error. I also became adept at communicating my findings and concerns to company CEOs and boards of directors. Upon becoming a CPA, I worked for major financial institutions and developed the fabric of how I approach things in a systematic, calm and patient manner that has stayed with me throughout my career. I have also kept in touch with my financial sphere and continue to network with these clients and colleagues.”
About 25 years ago, Santella and her husband, Peter, moved to the North Shore of Long Island to start a family. While she was raising her two children, she became actively involved in the local community, serving as a PTA president and a Girl Scout leader. With a passion for running, she also joined the Greater Long Island Running Club, volunteered with the North Syosset Civic Association and became active with local chambers of commerce. She recalls, “One of the moms I knew worked in real estate and told me, ‘You should try real estate; you would be great and really have the community’s trust.”
That’s how it began, and over the last 16 years, Santella has built an enormous real estate business on the strengths of her personal approach, analytical skills, strong work ethic and considerable sphere of influence.
When Santella first works with a buyer or seller, she shares and explains detailed data and reports specific to selling their home, rather than simply supplying comps, to effectively and successfully meet their real estate goals. She also shares her written marketing plan, which sets their expectations by detailing every step of the real estate process in advance.
The marketing plan begins with setting the right price, which requires a precise understanding of the specific market, current conditions and comparable property sales. “Then, the home is professionally photographed, highlighting unique features of the property and location through specialty shots and the use of drones and video,” she says. “Video adds a different dimension. It helps the special features of a home come alive, with an actual feeling of being there, and tells a story that you just don’t get from looking at photos.” Santella will also stage the house if she feels it is necessary to maximize exposure and virtual engagement with the public.
Homes are listed on Multiple Listing Service and a plethora of popular websites; digital ads are used to target buyers specifically looking in that geographic area. Santella also does a large targeted email campaign to other brokerage firms and agents, along with her sphere of influence and buyer network.
“I create a property brochure detailing special advantages and facts pertinent to the home, including approximate room sizes and descriptions,” she says. “I explain what is unique and special about each of my listings, which makes them stand out compared to other similar listings on the market. I preview active listings during the week. Previewing helps to know how my listing compares to others, and I can share that information with my seller. I do the same for my buyers. Oftentimes, I will preview homes with a particular buyer in mind.”
She also coordinates broker and consumer open houses to generate area-wide enthusiasm. Santella attends all showings and provides each potential buyer with a personal tour highlighting the special features of each property no matter the price point.
She also does direct mail to homes in the target area, informing local residents that the home is for sale and inviting inquiries.
“Once it’s on the market, communication and follow-up are critical to selling the home,” she says. Santella remains in contact with her buyers and sellers long after the deal is done, becoming friends with many of them. She keeps in touch in part through her informative newsletter, which includes market news, community events and notable sales throughout the month.
In addition to buyers and sellers, Santella has built a strong network of real estate brokers, along with lenders, contractors, attorneys and designers, for the benefit of her clients. “There are a lot of moving parts during a real estate transaction,” she says. “I align myself with the best professionals in the business. The goal is to make the purchase or sale seamless. My close relationships with other brokers and professionals allow me to elevate my clients’ experience and add value.”
Santella focuses primarily on the North Shore of Long Island – communities like Oyster Bay Cove, Locust Valley, the Brookvilles, Muttontown, Syosset, Woodbury, Laurel Hollow, Plainview and the surrounding areas. But she has sold homes as far west as Long Island City, as far east as Westhampton and as far south as Massapequa waterfronts. She concentrates mainly on the move-up market– $2+ million in her core communities – but has worked with buyers and sellers at broader price points, from $700,000 to over $25 million.
Currently, she just listed 96 Blyndenburgh in Centereach. “It’s a gorgeous home with a resortlike backyard that includes a pool, pickleball and basketballs courts, two putting greens and more,” Santella says. She created a video highlighting the property’s unique attributes, from the winding, private driveway framed by lush plantings to the meticulously designed kitchen with quartz countertops and top-of-the-line appliances. She marketed the private, luxury property to brokers in Manhattan and her sphere of influence as a more affordable, closer-to-the-city alternative to the Hamptons, as well as a horse property to the equestrian market, since it can accommodate two horses. The home quickly received several offers.
At many open houses, and other areas of business, Santella is assisted by her two children, Lauren, 23, and Peter, 21, who are licensed real estate agents. Lauren is a student in a graduate dietician internship program at Long Island University, and Peter is starting his master’s degree this fall at the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University.
“My daughter often signs buyers in and assists them with necessary NYS disclosures that we have to keep on file. I accompany the buyers on a detailed tour of the home and then my son will assist with a tour of the property and ask for their feedback,” she says. “People often feel more comfortable giving honest feedback to a 21-year-old, and they ask him questions that they might not feel comfortable asking a seasoned real estate broker. Since my kids grew up here, they can answer a lot of questions about the area that prospective buyers have.”
This appeared as the cover story for the August Behind The Hedges Powered by the Long Island Press. Read the full digital edition here.
