Agent Spotlight: Kastro Vafaei

When Kastro Vafaei made the leap from personal training to real estate, he knew he’d landed in the right place. 

It’s no surprise that Kastro, an agent known for his kind nature and way of treating everyone like family, found his home with Dexter Realty. He also found success. By Kastro’s second month of being a licensed REALTORⓇ, he was already busy.

While his personal connections and incredible work ethic no doubt played a role in that early success, he likes to say it’s due to Dexter and our Yaletown Office’s Sharon Wayman (who assists in managing that office), who answered every one of his roughly ten calls a day, and was always ready to help him take that next career step. They both laugh and joke that they’ve taken to counting the calls—and that she’s usually wishing him a good evening by call number nine!

To learn a little more about his road from personal training to real estate, and to shine a light on one of our many outstanding agents at Dexter Realty, our Design Team (DT) connected with Kastro:

We met up with Kastro, his partner Tori, and their completely adorable bull terrier Oscar at a park just outside Dexter’s Yaletown office. We were ready to ask some questions, point our camera in Kastro’s direction and share a part of his story.

DT: Is there a moment when you decided to make the switch? 

Kastro: I’d been in the fitness industry for 15 years and was starting to feel the many, niggling injuries I’d gotten over that time. I knew I’d never completely stop working in fitness, because it’s a huge passion of mine, my mom inspired me to step into real estate. She’s a mortgage broker and I’d already learned a lot about the industry through her—not to mention being able to serve her connections.

It’s clear that family isn’t just a word Kastro tosses around in a bio or on social media—family is tremendously important to him. When he talks about his mother, the affection and respect for her and her profession couldn’t be more apparent.

The day was sunny—if a bit chilly—and we had a lovely walk across the grass with Kastro, Tori and Oscar. The trio made photo-taking remarkably easy, and they shared stories with casual ease. Oscar did try to steal the show, but we were able to stay focused on Kastro… mostly.

DT: How has your move to real estate supported your life with Tori? Does it give you more time to do things together?

Kastro: My last job wasn’t a Monday to Friday, 9-5 situation, so the transition to REALTORⓇ hours has been somewhat easy. And if I get a chance to spend more time with Tori and Oscar, I will take it.

He jokes a little about how fewer injuries has opened up his schedule, and how that time has largely been taken over by his dog-dad duties. Well, that, and his out-the-gate success. It’s clear his clients are keeping him busy!

We wanted to know a little more about that success, and what his first two months as a licensed REALTORⓇ have been like. 

DT: Favorite real estate moment to date? 

Kastro: Doing my first deal in-house with another REALTORⓇ from Dexter!

Well, no real surprise there. Dexter agents are famous for supporting their colleagues and collaborating with each other. Of course, that led us to wondering about Kastro’s future plans.

DT:  Where you see yourself at the end of 2020, and where do you see yourself in five years?

Kastro: I’m taking it one step at a time, but I am working on building a good client list and getting my name out there. In 5 years I see myself having my own team at Dexter.

No doubt about it, Kastro has plans. And from what we can tell, they are off to a glowing start. 

As we’re wrapping up our time together, he reiterates how happy he is with the move, and how much he values his mother’s guidance in making that decision.

Kastro: The main reason I got into this business is because of my mother—she is a mortgage advisor and she was always asking me when I was going to make the switch. I finally did it and I’ve never looked back.