Kauai is where my home is,” says Trudy Vella, Broker-in-Charge at Oceanfront Sotheby’s International Realty. Today, Trudy enjoys being part of an ohana — the Hawaiian word for family — of REALTORS® and business professionals at Oceanfront Sotheby’s International Realty, number seven of the top 50 fastest growing businesses in the state and the top business on Kauai.

Active in real estate for more than 21 years, Trudy Vella’s career has charted an unconventional course. At the age of 23, Trudy won a dance contest that earned her two tickets to Hawaii, the state she would ultimately call home. There, Trudy became enraptured by the history and culture of the Hawaiian islands, and went on to co-found “Hawaiian Safari,” a successful off-road cultural tour business. Eventually, Trudy pursued an opportunity to become a property manager at a historic estate on Kauai’s North Shore. After working successfully for a few years in the rental market, she followed her passion in real estate and entered the sales side of the business, as well.

At first, Trudy wondered if she had the right background or skillset for sales, before her broker reminded her that her experience as a tour guide was not far off from her role as an agent: being an expert on her surroundings, guiding and engaging others, acting as a community liaison, and leading the way. “He told me: ‘Don’t be a salesperson, just be a tour guide!’ It was some of the best advice I’d received, and it’s something I still share with my sales teams today,” Trudy remembers. “When I work with buyers, I not only guide them to the properties that meet their specifications, I give them a wider view of the island— taking them to unique places, giving them a sense of the community and the culture.”

By 1996, Trudy was one of the first REALTORS® on Kauai to take to the Internet, utilizing a website to attract and educate her clientele and making her one of the Island’s most sought after agents. By ’99, she had earned her Broker’s License and Graduate of the Real Estate Agent Institute (GRI), and was managing one of the state’s top sales teams at the onset of the real estate boom. Today, Trudy works both independently and on the sales team as Broker-in-Charge at Oceanfront Sotheby’s International Realty, a boutique, full-service brokerage with staff that manages the market share of long and short term rentals on Kauai’s North Shore. “We have an amazing team—led by our Principal Broker, Donna Apisa — that supports each other through the trials and rewards of the business,” Trudy says. “A majority of our agents and staff have lived on the islands for decades and are deeply respected and rooted in the community, which is especially crucial in tight-knit Kauai. On an island where virtually everyone will cross your path eventually, that kind of respect and esteem is essential to success in any business here.”

Today, Trudy services the entire state of Hawaii, but has a particular niche in Kauai’s North Shore area helping a variety of clients, whatever their need—from first-time buyers and second-home searchers, to those looking to invest in vacation-home rentals, to working with sellers. With decades of experience at the helm of multiple rms, Trudy wields a veritable trove of knowledge and experience on behalf of her clients. “I think people often choose to work with me not only for my experience, but also because I’m deeply rooted in the culture and community here— it’s something that’s close to my heart and I share that local energy with my clients.”

Beyond her practical understanding of the market, Trudy is also a vested member of the island she calls home, where she shares her love of the arts with the community through singing in musicals, hosting performance soirees, and organizing grand scale charity events. In 2001, after the events of 9/11, she dreamt of and planned the Princeville Parade and Festival, supporting a variety of local charities. As a classically-trained musician and signer, Trudy hosts events that combine her passions: song, community, and the industry she serves, including multi-house tours that include themed musical events for local industry profession- als. “I think giving something of yourself is a draw in this business, and what better way to give and connect than through music?” Trudy says.

In addition to her active business and musical pursuits, she also enjoys being a new grandmother.
The traits that make Trudy one of Kauai’s top agents are myriad: her decades of experience leading successful brokerages, her love and unparalleled knowledge of the local market and communities, and her sensitivity and attentiveness towards her clients. Today, Trudy possesses the same inspiring and visionary spirit of positivity that fuelled the early days of her career. Trudy is a visionary and a leader and loves to empower and inspire others. She is a person of many talents and approaches everything she does with pure passion, contagious enthusiasm and integrity. “Back in the nineties, I had the reputation as the Virtual Real Estate Agent on Kauai, of Hawaii, and now I am known here have the reputation as the Singing Realtor!” of Kauai Trudy says with a smile and a giggle laugh. “Being able to make dreams come true is what it’s all about.”

To learn more about Trudy Vella (R, GRI) Broker-in-Charge at Oceanfront Sotheby’s International Realty, please call 808-651-8397, e-mail Trudy@oceanfrontsir.com, or visit linkedin.com/in/trudyvella or trudyvella.oceanfrontsir.com 

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