Frank Aazami found his calling as a luxury real estate agent in Phoenix, where he has been involved in some of the region's priciest home sales.
It wasn't his first calling.
Aazami, who moved from Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty to Compass Inc. earlier this year, has owned restaurants, worked in radio marketing and been a landlord.
But he feels most at home now, as the head of the Private Client Group for Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty.
He's one of Phoenix's top luxury agents; in the past year, Aazami has completed more than 50 transactions that have a total value north of $200 million, according to Homes.com.
Aazami is involved in some of the priciest listings across the region. Some of his notable listings include a $20 million compound estate with a go-kart track in Gilbert and completing a record-high transaction in Phoenix's Biltmore community.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Did you always want to be a Realtor?
Being a Realtor was never on my radar. What inspired me to go get a license was in the last crash in 2007-2008. I went through a lot of open houses and met people that were selling real estate. No one that I met had the intention of saving clients from losing their home.
I told myself, I'm going to see if I can get lifejackets and save one life at a time. And that's how my business grew because some of the agents weren't comfortable asking the personal financial questions. I built nearly my entire portfolio of clientele through the down market.
When did you start to feel like an Arizona local?
I moved here from the East Coast in 2007. It didn't take me long to get acclimated because when I landed here, almost everyone I came across was also a transplant. Everybody brought their experience and helped grow our community here. It was a talent show. Phoenix's residential real estate market became a better environment as a result.
What’s your strategy when it comes to finding the right home for your clients?
Our job is to funnel. There could be 20,000 listings at any given time. We find the right floor plan, the right style and the right value. Whatever it is that the client is wishing for, we funnel it.
I'd ask you, What is your daily activity? Do you need to be close to schools, work or amenities? There are people that travel a lot and need to be close to the airport. The better we can funnel our search, when that opportunity presents itself, we're first on the line, we'll grab it before the next person does. Maybe there are options they never considered.
What is your home like?
Just before the pandemic, we bought a home in a community called Clearwater Hills in Paradise Valley. It's got a lot of topography, and we back to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. We bought it to tear it down, but then when the pandemic came, we decided to just remodel. We just kept the bones of it and just dressed it up. It's a smaller home on a larger lot that has great views in both directions.