Tireless Marelly — a leading local agent

Patrick Marelly, a leading real estate agent in Fallbrook, admits he's not leading a "balanced" lifestyle.

"I'm 24/7 and my clients come first," said Marelly, CEO of The Marelly Group - Realtyonegroup. "I pretty much work seven days a week. I'm somewhat unbalanced that way. Luckily, my wife, Julie, is very understanding."

Marelly said "a lot of hard work" and a talented staff has propelled him to be among the leaders in units sold, dollar volume and new listings.

"I have a very strong team and very strong administrative staff," said Marelly. "We are very professional in our approach. Clients that deal with us, always say, ‘your staff is terrific.’ "Marelly said another key to his success has been his approach to real estate.

"I’ve treated this business like a business from day one," said Marelly. "We spend a ton of money marketing our products, which basically, our product is our clients’ homes. Last year we spent a little more than $200,000, just marketing our listings and looking for buyers. That helps us be number one. We treat it like a business and spend the necessary resources."

Marelly, who was a lender for more than 20 years, opened the Marelly Group in June 2010.

"I decided to do the real estate aspect of it," said Marelly. "In our first full year, 2011, we sold 85 homes, and did really well."

The Marelly Group enjoyed a very successful year in 2015 and is off to a great start this year.

"We did 87 transactions last year and were definitely number one," said Marelly. "This year were running away with it. We’ve done three-quarters of all the business we did last year. By June we will have significantly passed what we did last year. The market is better (this year) and we are doing better. We’ve doubled our listings."

Marelly, a native of Michigan who came to California to get away from cold weather, says his office handles all types of homes.

"We do everything," said Marelly. "This month we closed on a home that’s $199,000, a little condo, and a $1,399,000 home. We do both ends of the spectrum. The biggest thing is we really are focused on selling our listings."

Marelly said the key to selling a home is to make sure the price is right.

"When you’re selling, pricing the property correctly right out of the gate, is the most critical," said Marelly. "Second is hiring somebody that has the resources to market that property like a business. For instance, if I’m going to put a home on the market, I have to have the best photography and the best staging. The home has to look great from day one. You have to make sure the curb appeal is there because you only have one chance to make a first impression."

When it comes to buying a home, Marelly said it's his job to make sure his clients are ready for competition.

"It’s a sellers’ market, so the buyers have to get really good coaching as to how to present themselves in the best light to that seller," said Marelly. "We do the work for them. We have all sorts of techniques that we use to put buyers in the best light. Of course, they have to be pre-approved and ready to roll, and they have to write the cleanest offers. We try to make sure their contingency periods are as short as possible."

One reason Marelly is so successful at his job is because he enjoys doing it.

"I love the job," said Marelly. "I like dealing with people. I really do, and the job is not boring. I love challenges and I love complexity. It uses my skill set. I’m a problem solver. Every situation has issues that come up, every one of them. And the fun part is figuring it out and making it work. It’s rewarding."