Pleasanton, CA — May 19, 2021 — NextHome is pleased to announce the newest addition to the franchise, NextHome Choice Group, based in Union, New Jersey. The brokerage represents the 14th office location opened in New Jersey for the NextHome franchise and the 572nd NextHome office opened nationally.
NextHome Choice Group will serve clients across Union County including Elizabeth, New Providence, Stony Hill, Berkeley Heights, and Springfield.
NextHome Choice Group is owned by veteran New Jersey REALTOR® Maria Schmidt. Maria began her real estate career 23 years ago in Hudson County, New Jersey. During her first 12 years in the industry, Maria worked with franchised brokerages in both Hudson and Union counties. Her sales skills were evident from the beginning. In 1999, her first full year in business, Maria achieved almost $7 million in sales volume. She was named her brokerage’s Rookie of the Year, and she continued to build a reputation for people-first service.
“I am very dedicated to my clients,” Maria said. “Those first years, I became known as a person who is able to skillfully communicate what I know about real estate. As a result, most of my growth was referral-based.”
Maria’s unique ability to help others eventually led her to management. In 2004, she managed an office of 150 agents.
“I really love helping people through real estate,” Maria said.
Eventually, Maria wanted an opportunity to run her own small business with integrity and create a workplace that agents could be proud of. In 2012, she opened NJ Choice Realty. Although Maria originally intended to keep her office small, word began to spread about her unique leadership skills. Through only referrals, NJ Choice Realty organically grew to 15 professional agents over the years.
As her business continued to grow, Maria knew that she needed a franchise partner for additional support.
“My mentality when it comes to agents is that if they grow, I grow,” Maria said. “I want to see my agents grow and achieve, and to do that well they need a broker who can fully support them. With the support of a franchise, I knew I could spend more time helping people one-on-one rather than sitting behind a desk.”
Maria discovered NextHome through an agent she trained while a franchise manager. That agent had moved on to NextHome and Maria got to see the phenomenal resources at his fingertips.
“What NextHome offered was exactly what I needed,” Maria said.
Today, Maria is using those resources to provide attentive care to both agents and clients.
“We are going to use our knowledge and work ethic to make every client’s deal smoother and more transparent as we go through the process,” Maria said. “We will provide exceptional support and guidance.”
As NextHome Choice Group delivers excellence for its clients, Maria is also pleased that her brokerage is run on a culture that aligns with her ideals.
“NextHome had the same philosophy that I’ve always had, which is to put humans over houses,” Maria said. “With that mentality and the tools NextHome provides, I have the ability to better support the agents – and get the support I need as a broker. I feel now I have more control over my business.”
Maria is very active in serving her community. For the past 10 years, she has volunteered with homeless organizations in New Jersey.
“There are a lot of people out there who are dreaming of having a place to sleep at night,” Maria said. “As someone in the real estate industry, people having a place to call home is something that I feel strongly about.”
To help, Maria raises funds to pay for one month’s rent for families.
Maria is the mother of two grown children: Javier is an architect and Claudia works in film production in Los Angeles. Maria is also the proud grandmother of Ezra (5) and Liam (4).
Please join us in congratulating Maria on the opening of NextHome Choice Group in Union, New Jersey!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.