After almost 20 years of working in a variety of offices, Jim Cosgrove is working from home.
Cosgrove, of Damariscotta, joined Keller Williams Realty, of Portland, as a broker earlier this month. Cosgrove joined Keller Williams after leaving Newcastle Square Realty, where he served as a manager and minority partner for almost 16 years.
Cosgrove credited his lifelong talent of sales for his success in the real estate business. Starting from the time he was young, Cosgrove sold newspapers and Encyclopaedia Britannica sets.
“I really felt like it was the only thing I was fit to do,” Cosgrove said. “Selling is just a matter of providing people with good service.”
It was this talent that led Cosgrove to pursue a career in the industry.
“At the time, my wife and I had just adopted two kids, and I had lost my job,” Cosgrove said. “We had moved here from Boston and wanted to stay here, so I needed to find a job. I decided to try real estate, and if that didn’t work, I could always try clamming.”
After a 10-week course to get his real estate license, Cosgrove joined the team at ERA Marilyn McLoon in Damariscotta in 1995. It was there he met Sigrid Sproul, a real estate agent who provided guidance to Cosgrove as he entered the business.
“She took me under her wing and taught me everything I know,” Cosgrove said. “I owe a lot to her.”
In 1999, Cosgrove was named the Lincoln County Realtor of the Year. At the time, he started to consider opening his own agency, however, a phone call from Dennis Hilton offering Cosgrove a job with Newcastle Square Realty changed his plans.
Cosgrove said he and Hilton talked about the possibility for a few weeks before Cosgrove accepted the position of manager and designated broker at Newcastle Square Realty.
During his almost 16 years with Newcastle Square Realty, Cosgrove witnessed the changes in the housing market firsthand.
“One of the biggest trends I’ve seen started after 9/11,” Cosgrove said. “Back then, one of the best things you could put in an ad was ‘absolute privacy.’ Now one of the best things you can say is ‘walk to town.’ It seems like people are looking to enjoy that sense of community.”
Cosgrove also said he has seen the industry shift from “McMansions” to smaller, more energy-efficient homes.
In 2005, Newcastle Square Realty was named the number one real estate agency in Lincoln County, a success Cosgrove credits to its recruitment of the best people and provision of the tools needed to be successful.
Cosgrove was also with Newcastle Square Realty when the recession hit.
“We all knew it was coming because we could see the market slowing down,” Cosgrove said. “In September 2008, after the government let the Lehman Brothers fail, everyone panicked. We had people calling in to cancel sales. Then the phone stopped ringing, and the whole market ground to a halt.”
Cosgrove said the housing market has picked up in “fits and stops” since the recession, however, it still is not back to what it used to be.
Although he enjoyed being manager, Cosgrove said he had started to miss selling property like he had when he originally joined Newcastle Square Realty.
“One of the best things about this industry is that every day is different,” Cosgrove said. “One day you’re selling a $3.5 million island, the next you’re selling a $78,000 trailer.”
After what he called a “differing of philosophies,” Cosgrove left his position with Newcastle Square Realty in October.
“I think it’s a fine company,” Cosgrove said. “There are just new ways of doing business that I think are exciting, and that’s what I want to do.”
Founded in Austin, Texas in 1983, Keller Williams has expanded across North America. Cosgrove said Keller Williams currently has more than 400 independent real estate agents across the state of Maine.
“They are really a group of forward-thinking, progressive, enthusiastic people,” Cosgrove said. “It’s real estate for this century.”
Cosgrove will work from his home in Damariscotta. He said it has been an adjustment, one that requires both focus and discipline, however, he has also found there are advantages of not working from an office.
“I have negotiated a deal while sitting on a dock at the lake with my dog,” Cosgrove said. “It’s a matter of being on all the time, in a way. People can email me at midnight and I’ll answer at 6 a.m. There’s no more 9 to 5.”
Cosgrove said he will continue to focus on real estate in Lincoln County and providing his customers with the best amount of customer service possible.
“To do this job, you’re really just helping people solve their problems,” Cosgrove said. “It’s not about the commission or making money. Whether it’s a $1 million home or a $50,000 home, it’s about finding what’s best for the customer.”
