Nonahood News: What is your job?
Ivonne Vega: I am a real estate agent. I’m a buyer’s agent and a seller’s agent, so I help people search for homes. I help them sell their house. I love being a real estate agent. I’ve been a real estate agent for about two years. I started with a different broker, and I changed over to Keller Williams. It’s closer to where I live. It’s more convenient.
NHN: What does your day-to-day schedule look like?
IV: I wake up at 6:30 in the morning. I take care of my pets; I have two dogs and a cat. I take them out for a walk, I feed them, give them treats. Then I get ready for the gym. I weight train either at the Lake Nona Performance Club, Crunch Fitness, or a community gym. I’m a little bit of a gym rat. If I’m not training, I’m practicing yoga or stretching. I head to my office between 9:30 and 10 a.m. From there, it’s meetings at the office, making phone calls, following up with people, or I’m out showing properties to people. I try to have a schedule, so that way I’m consistent with all my real estate activities.
NHN: Most challenging aspects of your job?
IV: If I have several showings in one day, scheduling them so there’s not a big time-gap in between is a challenge. I remember having one client and I was showing them 10 properties, so having to schedule each one was a challenge. Sometimes those properties are tenant-occupied. Scheduling a time to where the tenant is okay with showing the property is a challenge, too.
NHN: Most rewarding aspects?
IV: Helping my clients find the biggest investment of their lives, which is their home. I like being part of that process from the beginning to end. I get just as excited as they do. I know my clients and I help them make that decision about what type of home they want to purchase. That’s really fun for me.
NHN: What got you interested in doing this job in Lake Nona?
IV: Lake Nona is great because the office is close to where I live in VillageWalk. I love the area. It’s beautiful here. I like the convenience of the shopping, the restaurants, and the communities here are so beautiful. Plus, Lake Nona is so close to my husband’s work, it was ideal for my kids at school. It just makes sense.
NHN: When and why did you move to Lake Nona?
IV: We moved in about 2016. I thought it was beautiful here. I love the restaurants and shopping. Restaurants are my entertainment. I love to go out to eat. That’s what attracted me here, and at the time it was close to my husband’s work. I wasn’t working for Keller Williams yet.
NHN: Hobbies, collections or interests that you would like to share?
IV: I would consider weight training and yoga my hobbies. It’s my passion. I’ve been exercising since I was 17 years old. I started in Miami at a place called Living Well Lady. I was working there as an instructor teaching cardio classes and workout classes. I used to bring in a pretty good crowd. To this day, I still teach yoga classes. I teach free classes to the community every other Saturday outside the Spring of Life Church. I also teach at the VillageWalk Town Center Ballroom on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. I love teaching people how to exercise. Before becoming a realtor, I was a personal trainer, so I stay after class and I talk to people about yoga, working out, or real estate.
NHN: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
IV: In the next five years, I see myself still in real estate and helping other realtors with their careers by being a mentor to them, helping them grow their business. I also see myself still giving back to the community and teaching yoga.
NHN: What is your favorite thing about Lake Nona?
IV: It’s the restaurants, the shopping, the entertainment. Lake Nona is beautiful and very well-maintained. I’m proud to say I live in Lake Nona.
NHN: What would you say to anyone who is considering a move to Lake Nona?
IV: Move to Lake Nona! I would give them the same reasons why I’m here – for the shopping, for the entertainment, for the restaurants. I’d have to mention the gyms, of course. If you’re a gym person, the gyms are close by. There are other things out there, too. Again, Lake Nona’s beauty, how well the communities are maintained. … There’s also Medical City, I mean you have easy access to great hospitals, medical doctors; you have high quality healthcare here.
