“Everything happens for a reason,” A.D. Diaz begins.

 

Although it was a traumatic event, A.D. can now see the blessing in getting t-boned on his way to attend classes and sign an apartment lease at UCF. That led him to stay in Southwest Florida, where he found his way into the industry that has become his lifelong career.

 

After the accident, A.D. returned to Cape Coral, where he was raised. He joined a friend in the mortgage business on a whim and soon fell in love with his new line of work.

 

“I just loved the intricacies of it,” A.D. reflects. “I became a mortgage broker in 2001 and went on to help us open three offices — one in Fort Myers, another in New York, and another in Tampa.”

 

A.D. and his partner grew the business to 75 agents, while A.D. became the company’s assistant vice president.

 

“Everything was going gangbusters. It was a great time in real estate. A lot of people were buying and building, and Southwest Florida was really growing up,” A.D. reflects.

 

And then, the financial crisis upended the housing market. A.D. split off from his company, seeking a new direction in an uncertain market.

 

“Our company was going a different direction, and it wasn't a direction I wanted to go. By 2009, I decided to get my real estate license.”

 

So began the second act of A.D.’s real estate career. He was able to thrive through the recession by developing a niche working with investors. He closed 110 homes in his first two years for a staggering average price of under $75,000. It was a strange time in real estate, but one which A.D. was able to take full advantage of. As the market stabilized, he leveraged his early success into a sustainable business model.

 

A.D. has now been selling real estate for 14 years. He has found his home as a REALTOR®.

 

“I’m most proud that 90 percent of my business is referrals and repeat business today. I just do right by people and treat people the way I want to be treated,” A.D. says.

 

A.D. closed 91 transactions for $25 million in 2022. He’s an individual agent with no assistant, preferring to handle the inner workings of every transaction himself. A.D. credits his commitment to routine as the key to selling 91 homes without support.

 

“I’m a regimented person. My parents are immigrants from Cuba, and they instilled in me that hard work is the only work. I get to the office at 6 a.m. every day and go through my routine. I stick to a schedule to be able to do the things I do,” he explains. “Having an understanding and supportive wife, Jackie Diaz, certainly helps as well.”  

 

A.D. preaches that there is no magic bullet to succeeding in real estate. Rather, he encourages agents to be humble and kind.

 

“I hope people get to know that I'm kind and willing to do whatever it takes to help them achieve their goals. A lot of people think this business is about the commissions, but there's so much more to it. I want to be able to accomplish a lot for others, not just myself.”

 

A.D. has a saying he lives by in business: “I'm in it for the connections, not the commissions.”

 

“I know I'm going to get paid. If I can do right by someone, that’s it. I treat people right and with respect, helping them achieve what they want,” he says.

 

As he looks toward the future, A.D. plans to continue applying the simple principles that have helped him become a top agent to expand his investment and development portfolio. Consistency, humility, and hard work reign supreme.

 

“I’m staying the path. I'm building a legacy,” A.D. says. “I build houses as well. I recently bought some vacant land in an underserved area in Fort Myers, and I want to build five to 10 workforce housing units per year to give back to the people that work in our cities. I want to be more than a Realtor. I want to grow as a developer, a person you can come to for anything in real estate.”

 

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A.D. Diaz is a former male cheerleader.