Industry Recognition

This was such a crazy time in all of our lives. I remember the first half of 2020 was a nightmare. Work was the furthest thing from all of our minds as we instead shifted focus to making sure all of our friends and families stayed safe. it truly felt like we were living out some crazy disaster movie. As we approached May of 2020, we started seeing people getting back out there. Armed with our masks, sanitizers and PEAD's, we braved this "New World".  There was a mass exodus of people wanting to cash in equity and move out of townhouse or condo style living into Single Family homes with backyards. Bolstered by low interest rates and the opportunity of work from home, the remaining months of 2020 and 2021 had me scrambling around working on over 60 transactions. To have helped so many great friends with their housing needs was my primary concern; but I would be lying if I told you I wasn't honored to have received this call. I was approached to be interviewed for the magazine and it was a lovely process.

https://www.thetop100magazine.com/raymond-lee

Here is the article: 

"Raymond Lee never thought he wanted to get into real estate. Back in 1989, his mother paved the way for his immigration from London to Southern California. Lucy Lee was a realtor, and so her son was exposed to the business from an early age. “I thought my mum’s job was so boring!” he remembers.  In hindsight, real estate was always the natural choice for Raymond. He started in the business in 2001, working part-time at a loan brokerage started by a friend, while also working as an analyst with a small tech start up firm. His experience cold-calling people about their mortgages got him into sales; he quickly realized that he enjoyed sales more than his life as an analyst. So, when he was laid off from his full-time job, it was actually a relief for him to move into loans full time. He opened an office with several agents, but soon realized real estate felt more natural and certainly more fulfilling. “I became a resource rather than a commodity,” he says. While he managed to continue closing four or five transactions each month, he soon longed for his own company. So, 15 years ago, Raymond founded Clarity Capital Group with a couple of his peers, and since then has worked with hundreds of residential clients on the Peninsula and South County regions. Since July 2020, he’s closed over 60 transactions. A hectic period and one he couldn’t have done without the two most important women in his life, his partner, Patty, and his daughter, Alanna; “Without their love and support, these past 18 months would have been impossible. They are literally my entire reason for going to work every day.” 

Raymond focuses solely on residential real estate and though he works with both buyers and sellers, he especially loves working with buyers as he feels that’s where the most meaningful relationships are born. “I point out everything I have learned over the past two decades, good or bad, and am always transparent with them so they can make the best decisions,” he says. “It is so much more than just the closing of the transaction; it is the journey and the long-term relationship.” Those relationships are things Raymond values above all else; they have led to countless repeat and referral customers. He goes above and beyond for each of them, creating spreadsheets to help him analyze data for the best possible course of action, as well as previewing many houses before showing them to clients. One of his priorities is to ensure clients never overpay for anything. Even his bachelor’s degree in management information systems helps him today by giving him an underpinning of analysis and detailed information he can pass along to clients so that they can get the fullest picture possible. “I listen first, second, third, analyze, then I talk,” he says. 

One of the most important reasons clients feel so comfortable with Raymond is that he’s never in a rush. “I don’t push for them to buy or sell; they’ll never get that pressure from me,” he explains. “My clients control the throttle.” He always keeps in mind something his father, a restaurant owner and entrepreneur in London, told him: “If you do a good job, they will tell three people. If you do a bad job, they will tell 100.”