Lengthy earlier than he determined to embark on a profession in Lengthy Island actual property, Randy Katakofsky had his sights set on the manager suite. However simply because the Wantagh native was wrapping up his undergraduate research in finance and banking from Hofstra College, a fateful second despatched him down an altogether completely different path.
Whereas working as a valet parking supervisor at a Lengthy Island mall, Katakofsky helped to thwart an tried automobile theft when he answered the sufferer’s cry for assist and chased the would-be thief throughout a number of lanes of visitors to a close-by electronics outlet, ultimately corralling him with the assistance of different bystanders till the police arrived.
“It was like a film,” he recalled. “We went again to the scene, and the lady provides me an enormous hug and thanks me. It was actually cool.”
That probability to assist somebody in misery—and certain, the sense of satisfaction that may include it—impressed him to pursue a profession in legislation enforcement.
“I all the time needed to be a C-level government—90 p.c of my household is in enterprise,” he mentioned. “I nonetheless acquired my diploma, however nearly instantly after, I took the check to enter legislation enforcement.”
Since retiring from legislation enforcement in 2015, Katakofsky has discovered a equally gratifying line of labor in actual property. After a stint with Century 21, he joined Douglas Elliman’s Plainview workplace as a realtor in 2018 and have become an affiliate dealer in June 2021. However whether or not it’s closing a case or closing a deal, Katakofsky thrives in serving to folks to resolve issues.
“I prefer to put every thing collectively for my purchasers—it’s like a large puzzle,” he defined. “I inform them that my job isn’t nearly getting them the best doable value; it’s to get them the perfect take care of the least quantity of stress doable.”
The transition from legislation enforcement to actual property wasn’t with out its challenges.
“You’re going from a authorities construction, the place nearly every thing is written in a several-hundred-page information, to being an unbiased contractor,” he mentioned. “However Douglas Elliman has an infinite coaching division and hands-on administration group, so you’re by no means actually alone right here. There are brokers all over the place that can work with you and information you to the end line.”
For Katakofsky, that sense of help and presence is palpable throughout Lengthy Island.
“If I would like to satisfy a consumer in Mattituck or The Hamptons, my enterprise card is like my library card,” he mentioned. “It’s my all-access move into any DE workplace to do what I’ve to do. I like the truth that we have now brick-and-mortar places of work with managers you could attain out to whenever you need assistance to resolve an issue.”
As a participant in a know-how activity pressure convened by Ann Conroy, the CEO of Elliman’s Lengthy Island Division, Katakofksy appreciates that the corporate gives the chance for “folks like myself, who’re technologically inclined, to debate options and discover methods to enhance.”
It’s an ethos of camaraderie and generosity that aligns with Katakofsky’s personal dedication to going above and past for purchasers and giving again to the neighborhood. When he joined Elliman, he started donating a share of his fee to the charities of his purchasers’ selecting. Among the many organizations he helps himself is Pay It Ahead, which distributes supply-stuffed backpacks to college students in native Lengthy Island colleges.
Whether or not he’s chasing down against the law suspect, guiding a consumer via a difficult gross sales course of or donating to a worthy trigger, Katakofsky chalks it as much as “selfishness.”
“I benefit from the feeling,” he mentioned. “So, I assume it’s a win-win.”
