With Design Background Galore, Sam Saladino Markets Homes With Style and Aplomb

What happens when someone who has tons of design background decides to get their real estate license? Ask Sam Saladino, a David Griffin & Co. Realtor who very literally had a now-or-never moment and has never looked back.

Saladino, who has a BA in Art History from Loyola and has an interior design business, is living his dream, selling amazing properties for friends, friends of friends, and enjoying every minute of it. He’s a full-service Realtor, that’s for sure, staging properties with a keen eye for what buyers want.

Find out more about this amazing Kessler Park resident after the jump!

 

CandysDirt.com: Where are you from?
Sam Saladino: Tampa, Florida

CD: How did you get into real estate?
Saladino: I had a significant birthday in 2012 and thought,”It’s now or never!”

CD: With a background in design, how does that frame your perspective on selling homes? Do you help clients stage their homes to sell?
Saladino: I did a lot of staging for various high-profile Realtors before obtaining my license. It gave me a great entrée into how important it is for a Realtor to advise the client and manage each property’s unique requirements. We live in a city that is design oriented and no matter what the price point, it’s important for the property to look well kept and edited.

CD: Where is home for you in Dallas?
Saladino: Kessler Park

CD: And you drive a … let me guess, Mercedes Benz?
Saladino: Ha! I can dream can’t I!? I have a 2014 Kia Forte. A family friend owns the dealership and insisted I test drive one. It was love at first sight.

CD: What’s your favorite ‘hood in Dallas and why?
Saladino: I’m lucky to have lived in Dallas long enough to have established friendships all over town. My partner and I have been welcomed into so many wonderful homes which has given me insight and interest into too many neighborhoods to call one a favorite. But I do love being a bicycle ride away from Bolsa!

CD: What was your best sale?
Saladino: A wonderful 1930 stucco bungalow in Lakewood which I sold for one of my oldest Dallas friends.

CD: Likewise, what was your most challenging or memorable transaction?
Saladino: I have to say my first sale in November 2012. I represented a friends mother who had sold her big home a few years before and had not found the right fit. She is chic, smart and exacting. Her son is an interior designer. I was in heaven. We placed her in one of my favorite vintage high rises on Turtle Creek. It has since been renovated and I’m ready to be invited to her first cocktail party!

CD: How quickly have you ever turned a house?
Saladino: Seven days.

CD: How much did you sell last year?
Saladino: $2 million. That’s in under a year in my first full year in the business.

CD: What words of wisdom do you often share with clients?
Saladino: I have been so fortunate to have had personal relationships with all but one of my clients so far. I want them to know that I am honest, trustworthy and will do everything it takes to get the deal done. If they are buyers I encourage them to look at as many properties within their price range as they can stand. “Knowledge is power,” to quote a line from one of my favorite stylish films, Auntie Mame! If they are selling, let’s polish your jewel box and get it sold!

CD: If you ever change careers for an encore you’ll…
Saladino: Become an art consultant.

CD: Do you have a second home? If so, where?
Saladino: Cedar Creek Lake. My partner purchased a 70s ranch 3 years ago. We spent almost a year renovating. Think Doris Day and Rock Hudson in Carmel. Lots of books, brass and bravado!