While it's a bit boring, let's start with my biggest (and only) accomplishment of my 20's. I earned my associates degree in Early Childhood Education from Middlesex Community College in May of 2011. I took a year-long hiatus after losing my father before I enrolled at Fitchburg State University part time in 2012 to finish my bachelors degree. I was the oldest person in most of my classes at the ripe-old age of 25 and was one of the only students who worked full time in the restaurant industry and commuted to campus. Part time enrollment was a snail-like pace, and it took me over 2 years just to finish my junior year. I loved the idea of helping build our country's future by educating the youth. However, the massive dysfunction of the education system, the political climate, and ridiculously low pay that teachers receive were major reasons for why I never returned for my senior year. With that chapter behind me, I dedicated myself to the restaurant & made it to the top of the career ladder (lol) when I officially became a bartender. The quick money, 4 day work week, and holding the most coveted position somehow made the stress and disrespect "worth it."

It took me a very long time before I realized that the restaurant life had not only ruined any chance of normalcy in my sleep schedule, it was also the perfect environment for the disease of addiction to rear its ugly face and THRIVE. I felt my life had absolutely no purpose. My sick brain literally thought I'd never have to pay back those student loans & it did not care about how they affected my credit score. It did not become clear to me until I got sober that this ridiculous mindset was because I didn't think I'd be alive to see my future. Sad right? I wish I could go back and shake myself awake 10 years earlier! Better late than never - by the age of 30, the addiction was reduced to just a nagging in the back of my head with no substance to feed it. A win is a win, no matter how long you were losing for! 

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Fast forward to February 2019, I was beyond tired of putting energy into a company & community that couldn't have cared any less about my well-being. The nights and weekends work schedule gets old when most of your friends operate around their kids' school schedules. I was craving more out of life, so I posted on Facebook, "People who work in offices and have a salary... how does one start a career like yours?" A friend of mine's step-mom reached out immediately (I used to babysit her kids back in 2008-2010) and got me in an interview with her Real Estate firm. I honestly did not expect to take it if I was offered, but I thought, "what do I have to lose?" And so I began my first ever 9-5 job, with benefits, as a listing-side transaction coordinator. I did not know a SINGLE thing about real estate, but I was like a sponge. I soaked up every bit about the paperwork & compliance aspects, the listings/MLS & marketing aspects, and also everything I heard from the 50 agents who were buzzing by my desk every day as they spilled the transactional tea. I was still working one shift a week behind the bar to make ends meet, with hopes of quitting as soon as I could afford to.

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After passing my real estate exam in March 2020, just before the pandemic, I became licensed. However, red flags at my firm led me to switch to a transaction coordinator role in wholesaling, which proved overwhelming but extremely educational. I learned so much about the creative side of real estate investing as wholesaling is truly an entirely different world within the industry. Despite my absolute best efforts and dedication, I was let go for “underperforming.” I thank them every day for that move!

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I thank my lucky stars everyday that Jon Bombaci reached out to me in the fall of 2020, remembering me from the first brokerage. My last shift behind the bar was October of 2020 and I haven't been behind one again since. 

By March of 2021, I was a full-time accounts manager for Candor Realty. I've worn many hats over the last 3.5 years as an office admin, TC, marketing director, listing director, meetup host, agent trainor, agent etc. Beginning in 2023, I've slowly replaced myself under most of those hats with fantastic employees so that I could focus on growing the leasing arm of the Candor Group, Simplified Rentals.

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In addition to rentals, I'm dually licensed in MA and NH. I've closed many transactions over the last 2.5 years and currently have $1.1M under contract to close next month! 

 

In just 5 years, my life completely transformed. I went from being broke and in debt to building savings, improving my credit, and finding purpose. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth it. My advice: you’re never too old or damaged to start fresh. Be kind to yourself, and if you’re not valued where you are, leave. Your tribe is out there, and opportunities come from showing up with an open mind.

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Heather Carroll
Heather Carroll General Manager of Simplified Rentals | License ID: 9569092

+1(978) 761-5977

165 Thorndike St, Suite 2002, Lowell, MA, 01852, USA

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