Former Supermodel Monika Schnarre Finds New Profession in Actual Property

“I feel I’m on my fifth profession,” former supermodel Monika Schnarre tells STOREYS of her current transfer into the world {of professional} actual property.

This previous summer time, Schnarre joined the staff of luxurious realtors at Engel & Völkers.

The Scarborough, Ontario native started her worldwide modelling profession when she was simply 14 years previous, a job that might see her relocate to New York Metropolis that very same yr and to Los Angeles (LA) at 19. Her numerous modelling credit embody the quilt of Vogue and the coveted Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit Version. In LA, Schnarre attended the College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and labored as a tv correspondent and an actor (she appeared on Daring and the Stunning and in “plenty of sci-fi”).  

After returning to Toronto in 2007 and residing between there and Muskoka for years, Schnarre now enjoys a slower paced life in Collingwood along with her younger son. The transition to each a much less city life and into the true property profession was a pure one for her.

Schnarre bought her first house when she was a teen — a Pickering property that she held on to for 15 years — with the cash she earned from modelling. “My mother had all the time instilled in me that actual property was a safer funding and it was one thing tangible that we may perceive,” says Schnarre. “And I’ve cherished actual property ever since.”

Schnarre went on to flip condos and houses for years in each Vancouver and Toronto, two of Canada’s priciest housing markets. She did so to complement her performing revenue. 

“Once I was residing in Vancouver, I started renovating houses with a former companion, and I cherished the entire course of,” says Schnarre. “Through the years, I’ve all the time requested myself, ‘why don’t I get my actual property license?’ Then, in the course of the pandemic, it felt like the fitting time. I used to be house for days on finish, so I had the time to review; I completed the programs in a yr, whereas homeschooling my son.”

There have been some surprises in getting her actual property license, says Schnarre. “I used to be pleasantly shocked with how in-depth they go,” she says. “I used to be anticipating to focus solely on residential actual property, however the Humber School course actually educates you by way of industrial and industrial actual property too. I do know extra about constructing than I did once I was in Vancouver. They actually educate you on all facets of actual property. Now, when somebody asks me a few dug effectively versus a bored effectively, I perceive.”

Abilities from her earlier careers additionally assist her enterprise into the skilled actual property world. “The individuals I’ve met from all walks of life actually assist,” says Schnarre. “I’m in an enviable place as a result of I’ve so many contacts — to coin an previous phrase, a really previous rolodex. And I’m very comfy assembly new individuals and performing the half.”

Not solely does her performing background assist her play the position, it provides a lift of confidence — a wanted trait in a saturated business.

“You go into these conditions the place you don’t know anybody and you’ve got an inventory presentation and you need to exude a specific amount of confidence, even when you’re new,” says Schnarre. “Performing has helped with my confidence throughout these displays. The modelling — not a lot. It hasn’t performed a job but.” 

Really, that’s not true, retracts Schnarre. “I used to be modelling for a luxurious Yorkville developer who’s promoting houses at 89 Avenue Street,” she explains. “Once I informed them I used to be entering into actual property and so they requested if I wish to promote some condos, and I stated ‘completely.’”

Schnarre says the Toronto-based alternative works effectively as a result of she travels to Toronto as soon as every week to go to her mother and father. She is presently a member of each the Toronto Regional Actual Property Board (TRREB) and The Lakelands Affiliation of Realtors, which providers the sought-after Muskoka and Collingwood areas. Along with the posh Yorkville condos, Schnarre presently has a Meaford ski chalet (or year-round house) listed, along with a single-family house in Collingwood with a swimming pool.

“I really feel a way of respect now from individuals; I didn’t anticipate that,” says Schnarre. “Folks come to me for recommendation, and I like that. I really feel I may assist individuals in actually tangible and constructive manner. I wouldn’t have met my ex-husband and had my child had I not met this actual property agent who helped me purchase my cottage in Muskoka. So, I all the time take into consideration [the fact] that you simply change somebody’s total life by the place they stay; who they date, how a lot cash they make on their investments, and their total high quality of life. You’ll be able to actually influence individuals’s lives in actually constructive methods.”

From the sounds of it, a transfer to the true property world has impacted Schnarre’s life in constructive methods too. 

“I actually really feel proud and an ideal sense of accomplishment to have my license, as a result of I all the time have revered the enterprise and understood how onerous it’s,” provides Schnarre.