Top Agent and Broker Karen M. Riscinto of Florida Lifestyle Realty Group Inc. is perhaps the most well-rounded and seasoned real estate veteran currently working in the Sunshine State. With nearly twenty-eight years of cumulative experience, she is ideally suited to help her many grateful customers with the often-convoluted selling or buying process.  Karen firmly believes in her chosen profession and continues to educate herself and has attained several designations: CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert), CIPS (Certified International Property Expert) & MRP (Military Relocation Professional).

Karen got her start in 1979, running a job construction site. “I started out in construction,” she says, “but kept progressing forward. I’ve been on the finance side, lender side, the developer side, and the banking side, so I’ve seen all different angles of the real estate market.” Obtaining her real estate license in 1988, she has since been providing her many customers with top-notch customer service that keep them returning to her again and again, and sending a great many referrals her way.

Selling primarily in Lake County, she does not limit herself geographically. “My motto is Have Car, Will Travel,” she laughs. “So I will go anywhere in Central Florida, or wherever my customer needs me to go.” In December of 2014, her familiarity with the region landed her a gig on HGTV’s Lake Front Bargain Hunts.  Karen also won the Daily Commercial Readers’ Choice Award for Real Estate Agent in 2016 for Lake and Sumter County.

A true entrepreneur, Karen owns two other businesses in addition to her newly-opened brokerage: a property management company which has been operational since 2009 and an interior decorating business which has been in business since 2007. The three businesses, coupled with her background in construction and renovations, dovetail nicely to provide her customers with a vast reservoir of real estate knowledge of which few other agents can boast. “I help people buy, I help people sell, I help people redecorate. If I go into a house I have a background in construction and remodeling, so I can give people advice on what they can do with their space to make it more appealing,” Karen explains.

With 75% of her business originating from referrals and repeat customers, Karen is clearly doing something right. “I think my customers return to me because I did a good job for them the first time,” she says. “Most would say that I had a great rapport with them, and in many cases we’ve become friends, and they actually refer other people to me, because basically I do for them what I say I’m going to do.”

A Premier Agent on Zillow, Karen’s customer loyalty is made evident by a slew of five-star reviews that almost unanimously sing her praises. Among the standout testimonials is this: “Buying a home from a distance (Texas) can be a daunting task. Karen’s in depth knowledge of the Mount Dora/Eustis area, coupled with her extensive real estate experience made the process much less stressful for me. Karen was very responsive in answering all of my many questions, and she was by my side through the entire purchase and closing process. I highly recommend her services.”

Extremely active in her community, Karen was on the Awards Banquet Committee for the local Realtors Board for three years, and served as chair of that committee last year. She volunteers extensively in the Mount Dora area, and is passionate about her work with Collie Rescue of Florida.  Her company also prides itself on its support of active military, military veterans and first responders. She provides these customers with a $500 credit that they can use towards closing costs or a home warranty.

When she’s not working, which is extremely rare, Karen enjoys interior decorating, refinishing and repainting furniture, working in the yard and spending time with her two collies and poodle.

For Karen, her success can be distilled down to one philosophy: “It’s not all about commission,” she says. “It’s about finding my customer their dream home.”

For more information about Karen M. Riscinto, please call 352-250-3166, email RealEstateOutOfTheBox@gmail.com or visit one of her websites: www.realestateoutofthebox.com or www.LakelifestyleKaren.Realtor