When Kelsey Charles was only 18 years old, she took a huge risk by flying to Hawaii and enrolling in college in the most expensive state in the union. Being alone with no family, friends, job, connections, or even a roof above her head, she managed to survive and thrive to become a successful real estate business person.
Following a tough start in life, she earned the Rookie of the Year award from the island’s largest real estate brokerage firm in her first year. That is the fantastic story of how Charles managed to fight for survival in a harsh economy and became Hawaii’s top-selling millennial Realtor. She eventually founded The Kelsey Charles Team, along with her husband, and reached the $60 million mark in sales volume in just three years. Working with Real Broker, LLC, she is their top agent in Hawaii and in their top 10 agents nationally. Although a new publicly-traded company, Real Broker, LLC operates in 40 of 50 states, plus DC, Canada, and is continuously growing as it expands to more markets.
Life has been challenging for Charles. She grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin, where she fell into opioid dependence at a young age. Still, despite her struggle, she has never been ashamed of doing intricate and time-consuming work. Despite the challenge of not attending school regularly so that she could help her mother earn money for the rent, she still finished high school with honors and scholarships.
Having the strong desire to be set free from opioid dependence, she took control of her life. She decided to go through opioid replacement therapy to recover from her dependence. In due time, with tons of perseverance, she beat addiction after meeting her husband and starting a new family of her own. Now, she has been clean for over a decade.
Charles got married and dropped out of college to focus on raising their newborn child. During her second pregnancy, money was scarce. “It was like Soviet-style poverty,” she remembered, “making bread out of flour and water – couldn’t afford yeast – for a few nights.”
Charles then decided to drive Uber to make at least $5 per day just so her family could eat. She knew the military community’s needs best because her husband had faithfully served in the Navy for nearly 10 years before receiving a full medical retirement. That insecurity motivated her to earn a real estate license despite knowing the risks of starting a business.
Years after acquiring her license and formally entering the industry, her track record shows that she did more than just take a risk figuring things out. Her track record shows that she did not just survive the industry but literally thrived in the industry. The Real Broker, LLC top-seller created a Facebook page, Buying Home, Hawaii, and her own lead generation system. That allowed her to sell $12 million in her first year as an agent, $25 million her second, and $60 million, cumulatively, thus far.
Her future goals include earning her broker’s license, diversifying her clientele, helping grow Real Broker, LLC, and contributing to Oahu’s critical housing shortage by learning to invest in and repair dilapidated properties while helping other investors and agents do the same.
