When Jodie Jacobson received a breast cancer diagnosis, it became a life-changing moment that would ultimately reshape her professional life and lead her towards her true passion in real estate.
“I never thought I wasn’t going to make it,” Ms Jacobson said.
“I was young, so it was aggressive.”
This determined approach became the catalyst for her to re-evaluate her life and pursue what truly mattered to her.
“I thought, okay, where do I want to be moving forward?” she said.
“What is it that I love doing?
“I want to be able to help people achieve the best results they can, given their circumstances, whatever they may be.”
Before her diagnosis, Ms Jacobson was established in the corporate world.
While undergoing chemotherapy, she completed her agent’s representative qualification in 2010, determined to go down a new path aligned with her values and life perspective.
“I went through a stage where I thought, especially when it came to the residential side, there wasn’t any customer service,” Ms Jacobson said.
“I wanted to bring business ethics and customer service to residential real estate.”
“At the end of the day, an extra 10, 15, 20 per cent when it’s your family home – the only tax-free asset we have – that’s a big difference and a lot of money.”
Ms Jacobson said her corporate background has really helped her in real estate.
“I used to negotiate deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars before I started in real estate,” she said.
“The skills are no different, it’s just the price tag that’s different.
“The same principles still apply.”
What sets Ms Jacobson apart is her authenticity, a quality she puts down to both her personal nature and her life experiences.
“I can’t lie. I found that out when I was very young … I’m very bad at it,” she said.
“Even my kids look at me now if I try and do a white lie, they just look at me going, ‘Mum, you’re just so bad at this.’”
Since joining Besser & Co in January 2023, Ms Jacobson has established herself as a top performer in Melbourne’s Bayside area.
The past year has been particularly successful, with Ms Jacobson selling between 30-40 properties in the last 9-12 months.
“We are finding at the moment, we’re getting a lot more inquiries on properties and a lot more people attending opens,” she said.
“Last year was our best year from a sales perspective since we opened, especially in the last six months.”
Ms Jacobson puts her success down to making sure properties are priced right, presented well, and receive the extra attention needed to keep potential buyers engaged.
“I tend to be able to build rapport fairly quickly with vendors or purchasers so we can get to the nitty-gritty of their circumstances,” she said.
“I can’t help them if I don’t know the full story.
“Making sure we create a win-win situation for them is what I see my job as.
“I do tend to get better results in areas sometimes when other agents have failed and I take over, because of that honesty and transparency.”
Having gone from strength to strength, Ms Jacobson still has ambitious plans, particularly around education for clients.
She’s developing resources to help people navigate the real estate lifecycle, from first-time buyers through to estate management.
“If people are able to make informed decisions, then they’re able to make better decisions,” she said.
“If they’re doing it from an informed place, it makes it a lot easier for them to decide their next moves.”