Design Diva: In 2004, Karishma Asrani, newly married, moved to Houston from her native India. Like her husband, Asrani was a trained architect. Unlike him, however, she had never practiced or had a job of any kind. "No woman in my family had ever had a job," she says. By her own acknowledgment, she knew nothing about Houston's real estate market and was quite shy when she met strangers. Nevertheless, she discovered a talent advising several of her husband’s builder clients on design issues. Impressed by her ability to explain the advantages of different floor plans and materials, one of them suggested that she try her hand at selling houses.
She shoots, she scores! Asrani earned her real estate license in 2005 and began distributing flyers around her neighborhood. Within a few weeks, she had scored her first listing. By her second year, she was closing 40 transactions for a combined volume of $6 million.
Patience, patience: Knowing how precious buyers are today, Asrani gives them lots of latitude. "My buyers might see as many as 50 listings. I don’t like to rush them."