Olivia Rush, Living Room Realty, is a teacher at heart. This month’s REALTOR® on the Rise started her career in education and uses her background as a bridge into the real industry. She advocates for her clients, just as she did for her students, and her education mindset is taking her to the top! We met up with this go-getter to learn more about what makes her tick.

I started real estate in the summer/fall of 2018. It took about 3-4 months before I closed my first deal, and after that, I just kept getting better and busier.

 

For ten years, I worked in Portland-area schools in a variety of capacities. For the first few years, I was a paraeducator in special ed settings, teacher's assistant, student teacher, and substitute. I received my Master’s in Teaching from Lewis and Clark in 2012 and taught 2nd-5th grade in 3 different schools in Portland and Milwaukie from 2012-2018. Shout-out to all my educators - if you're not a teacher, you can't begin to understand what an incredibly taxing and impossible job it is, and all of our teachers deserve more recognition, respect, and compensation.

 

I had been thinking of getting into real estate for a few years before I dove in. I spoke with REALTORS® here and there, but it was my good friend Rachel Blustein who really pushed me to believe it was a viable option for me and that I could be successful. She worked (still works!) with the Nick Shivers Team, and that is where I first interviewed and began my career in real estate. Nick, Melodie, and the entire team were incredibly supportive. They pushed me outside of my comfort zone, helped me grow my confidence, and provided me with so many opportunities and hands-on training. I really grew my chops with them. I joined Living Room Realty as a solo agent at the beginning of 2021, and I can't speak more highly of the caliber of Jenelle's leadership and the expertise and collaborative spirit of my fellow LRR agents. I've found friendship and mentorship in so many agents there (Dill Ward, Sharon Bloudek, Melissa Dorman, to name just a few!) and really feel at home at Living Room.

 

It's interesting; I’ve found there are so many parallels between teaching and real estate. Education is at the forefront of my business. My goal is to have my clients feel like they know all potential outcomes, risks, and challenges ahead of them. This allows my clients to have ownership of the process during a time when a lot of things are, in fact, out of their control. Just as teachers are gatekeepers, we are also gatekeepers to building generational wealth. Advocating for my first-time homebuyers who have sacrificed and saved up for a small down payment and finally handing them their key on closing day is an incredible feeling. I still get giddy every time. I know I've played an important role in helping them make life-changing decisions for themselves and their families. Also, I'm an extrovert's extrovert and LOVE people. As with my students, I love tailoring my services to meet the needs of my varying clients. I consider myself a bit of a chameleon in that respect.

 

I feel like most realtors struggle with this, but for me, it's striking a healthy balance between work and life. So many of my clients are friends or friends of friends, which blurs that line even more (but is also the best part of being a REALTOR®). I've known for at least a year that I need to hire an assistant, but finding a good fit is crucial, so I am slowly inching toward that goal - hopefully in 2023!

 

Through Living Room's Loving Room fund, we work closely with three local organizations that deal with issues of housing and home ownership. One of the organizations, Taking Ownership PDX, focuses on providing home repairs (mainly focused on weatherization) for Black homeowners in Portland, especially in historically Black and Brown neighborhoods. I support this organization and the critical work they are doing as a way to help promote the generational wealth that comes with homeownership and combat ongoing gentrification in these communities.

 

I am originally from Maine, but I moved to Portland in 2008 and consider myself a Portlander at this point! My mom still lives in Maine, and my sister lives in Austin (though I am long-term trying to get both of them to move here!) My father passed away in 2020. He had his own solo law practice for 35+ years, and the bulk of his work was in real estate (Maine is a lawyer state, so he performed all the functions an escrow company performs here). He was my number one cheerleader, and I like to think I'm still making him proud and carrying on his legacy. Currently, I live with my pit mix Arlo. He comes into the office with me most days (thanks to Living Room for being dog friendly), and if you work with me as a buyer, you'll likely meet him at one of our showings!

 

I like to move! I'm a runner, love my Peloton, hiking, camping, yoga, rafting, snowboarding, backpacking...I definitely like type 2 adventures. I probably feel most alive when I'm seeing live music and getting down on a dancefloor—all of this I do with the family I've created here in Portland. I have an amazing community of friends that feel like family, so when I'm not working, I'm often with them. (I'm also often with them when taking calls, pulling comps, shooting off emails...I'm lucky they understand the nature of this business and support me!)

 

Entering the real estate world, I had a conception of what the realtor community would be like. I can say I have been blown away by the GOODNESS of our Portland realtor community. I'm someone who wants to be friends with everyone, and I have been blessed over and over again to work with professional, kind, collaborative, and knowledgeable co-op agents. We all have the power and the responsibility to set the tone of a transaction (and of our industry), but it takes both sides working together to reach a win-win outcome. I can't wait to continue meeting and working with all of you!

 

Connect with Olivia Rush

 

Phone:                 207.240.8837

Email:                    oliviarushpdx@gmail.com           

Web:                     livingroomre.com/agents/olivia-rush/

Instagram:          @oliviarushpdx

LinkedIn:             olivia-rush-a84811125