The story is not a pleasant tale to tell for Ramza Coury. But to understand her drive, motivation, and ambition is to know how she went from someone with no experience in the real estate business to being a REALTOR® and Associate Broker at RPS Real Estate in Selma, California. In short, she and her husband moved from Orange County in California to the Central Valley right before the housing market collapsed. Ramza felt the agent and the lender took advantage of the couple’s purchase and almost immediately she and her husband were upside down on a $450,000 home that should have been more in line with comparable homes in the $275,000 range. And then the market crashed.

“We came to find out the agent and the lender took advantage of us, using comps from a more custom-built home. They also sold us something called an Option ARM, which we weren’t familiar with,” said Ramza of the adjustable rate mortgage.

While she fully admits they should have done their homework, she also said they placed their faith in their agent. It was so upsetting and unsettling that Ramza even went to the local district attorney to see if she had any legal recourse. Out of options, she and her husband were recounting their story one day to clients of a business they had just started. One of the clients happened to be a REALTOR® — one of the 99 percent who will do anything to help their buyers and sellers.

“He said ‘I am so sorry this happened to you’ and then he said something that struck me. ‘You have a great ethics and a great demeanor. Why don’t you become a REALTOR® and help people the way you say a REALTOR® should have been with you,’” Ramza recalled.

The rest, as they say, is history. Ramza got her license and in storybook fashion she was eventually hired by the same man she had that discussion with. Now she’s more than just a REALTOR® and broker herself – she’s an advocate, educating her clients and making sure nothing ever happens to them like it did to her. In fact, she was so motivated to enter the business and help others that Ramza said it took her 25 days from the moment she made her decision to take the test for her license and getting fingerprinted.

“I love it,” said Ramza, who covers Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties in the Central Valley along with Shaver Lake and the mountains area. “The home values aren’t high here so it takes a lot to sell as much as I need to sell. But I enjoy it so much. Even after I became a broker, I still work for RPS. I love the camaraderie. I like the atmosphere in our office. I still love it every day.”

Ramza, who hasn’t had to advertise much since most of her business is repeat and referral clients, averages around 55-70 transactions a year for an average volume of $20 million annually. She is quite involved in the community, sponsoring many local events, actively participating on the local planning commission and chamber of commerce, helping to pick a Business of the Year in Selma, and more. She and her daughter love serving breakfast at the local senior center, and when she has some quiet time you will find her with a cup of tea and a good book. And her other joy is to help her clients.

“The look on my client’s faces when they see the perfect home, the emotion when I hand them the keys and say, ‘Welcome to your home!’, well, those moments stay with me,” Ramza said. “So, eventually I’d like to have a team so I can continue to provide that kind of customer service. It’s getting to that point where I am realizing there are only so many hours in a day. I would like to pass on to a team what works best for me and help them build their businesses and pass it on to their community.”

For more information on Ramza Coury

• call (559)213-7514
• email at couryre@outlook.com.
• visit https://www.rpsre.com/agent-detail/Ramza-Coury/12

California Realtor Ramza Coury