Originally from Virginia, Barbara Chabanik has had her fair share of moves. And while many might let the inconsistencies from bouncing around interrupt their path or use it as an excuse not to reach their goals, Barbara used it all as one big learning experience.

 

With hard work instilled in her from a young age by her grandfather, Barbara started her career as a legal assistant. Following her husband’s career as an executive director of facilities, the two bounced around several times, allowing him to work at several different hospitals and allowing her to gain knowledge of the different types of people and how to communicate with each of them.

 

A recent move from West Virginia to Ohio had her retaking her real estate classes, and with the purchase of a new home in Pennsylvania, she’s looking to add to her portfolio and take her classes there as well! Add in her legal background, and you have one heck of a knockout with contracts too.

 

While she has already exceeded her goal for the year (with 28 sales, at $5.5M), Barbara admits real estate has vastly changed over the years. “Well, when I started out in real estate, everyone had a small office, and there were constant walk-ins and phone calls to keep you busy,” she says. “But joining a Fortune 500 company like McDowell Homes Real Estate Services has been a major game changer because you don't sit in an office and answer calls or knock on doors anymore. They give you leads and opportunities so you spend your time smartly from your home or working remotely. It’s the small to big office difference of having a support system and that family feel.”

 

With the experience from her previous career, Barbara helps navigate the contract side of the deal more fluidly as well. She also has the ability to communicate with a vast array of personalities, as her friends will admit she’s very outgoing yet forthright. She explains, “Being a legal assistant was my first time dealing with people and working on personal property agreements. I enjoy contracts and real estate because it ties into that. That's what allows me to be fast and successful with real estate paperwork.”

 

When juggling so much or moving around as often as she does, Barbara has one piece of advice … for agents of all ages and stages in their career … learn time management! “I often forget that many of my relocation clients are 40 to 60 minutes away. When you’re working with a client and have to show them multiple listings over the course of a long period, you need to have better time management,” she explains. “It’s something that I often forget, and I need to work on setting up more than one showing at a time. But never giving up is crucial in this industry! Even when you have multiple offers being made, and they continue falling through. Keep pushing forward.”

 

Together with the Clorice Dlugos team, their company supports the McD Cares Foundation — an organization where agents contribute their time to the community. Barbara admits she has personally helped scrape and paint with the organization, but they have ongoing projects all year, raise funds for the community, and help support disabled persons and group homes. The Clorice Dlugos Group Christmas party will also be supporting the local community as their efforts will be held in support of the Kendall Foundation.

 

Outside of work, Barbara enjoys boating, spending time with her chickens and German Shepard, and of course, spending time with her family (she has a blended family with five kids and now four grandkids).

 

Barbara truly feels that truth and honesty are very important in the industry. Truth, drive, and connection are her words of wisdom and direction. When she initially meets with clients, she tries to point out anything she sees that might benefit them prior to home inspections and is in constant communication with fellow agents (truth); working hard and pushing forward constantly is a motto she lives by (drive); and connecting with buyers and sellers on a level that gives them a part of you that they take with them, so they use that connection in the future.