Tony Tostina: Big Fish in a Small Pond of Top Agents
Tony Tostina is a top real estate agent. He sat down with Open House Journal to talk about his personal real estate needs.
Q: What inspires you to sell real estate?
A: In a word, dreams. I'm inspired by my clients who have a clear vision of what they want. That helps me create a road map to make their dreams come to life. They tell me their dream and I like making it happen.
Q: What is your dream? And can you make your own dreams come true?
A: Me? My focus is always on my clients and what I can do for them. But if you are asking about my dreams, well, I like fish--the fresher the better.
Q: What does your fish dream have to do with real estate?
A: I could not find a home by a lake that satisfied all my whims and whams, so I bought land and built a custom home, including a man-made lake. I stock it with fish. A boy from Minnesota, the "land of a thousand lakes," is naked without a fishing pole in his hands.
Q: With a fishing hole in your backyard, you could fish every day.
A: I do. Every morning. Fishing is my way of meditation. It helps me start my day with a clear head, so I can focus on my clients' dreams.
Q: With all that fishing, you must eat fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
A: Oh, not really. I mostly practice catch and release. It's the act of meditating before the sun rises that I like. The fish can keep on living... mostly. I do eat a few now and then.
Q: What about winter? Doesn't your lake freeze over?
A: I'm prepared for that. I have a choice: I either put on a pair of ice skates or dig a fishing hole. A boy from Minnesota must have a hut and smoker for the winter.
Q: Hut? And a smoker? What's that about?
A: A hut is a simple shack built around a fishing hole cut in the ice. The few fish I keep I toss on a smoker to cook and flavor them. Nothing like fresh smoked fish. Yum!
Q: I'm betting the real estate needs of your clients in the Somerset Hills rarely include a fishing hut on ice.
A: That's right. We're all different. I focus on their dreams and make them happen.