Rob Serbin, community realtor

By F. Josephine Arrowood
Sun contributor

He seems so familiar to you. His name is on signs all over Leelanau County, his picture regularly appears in local ads, and you read about him in newspaper articles on good causes. Who is this guy, and why do you feel like you should know him, trust him and follow his advice?

Rob Serbin has carefully built a reputation for excellence during his 16 years as a realtor, community activist and business booster. On a busy May morning, the realtor has two closings pending — one in little more than two hours — that is, if all the pieces of the structure he has worked to put together over weeks or months hold fast, if the lenders follow through, if the timing is right. It’s all hurry-up-and-waits, what ifs, and occasional last-minute bombshells that require expert defusing.

He speaks in measured, even soothing tones on the phone to a banker, whose eleventh-hour request for yet another addendum to a sale would have most people cursing or tearing at their hair. He grins and shrugs, but his eyes are bright and alert. It’s all part of the complexity of the real estate game, and Serbin seems to thrive on its many challenges.

“Use whatever sports analogy you want,” he offers. “You’re running up and down the court, you’re on the offensive, the defensive. But there’s a responsibility when your name’s on the sign!

“It’s a ton of work,” he continues. “Some of my mentors say you’re basically unemployed until you make the closing [of a sale]. That can be three days, 45 days — we’re working on a deal now that’s been in the works since January of 2011. From appraisers to bankers to inspections, you just don’t know — it can keep you on the edge of your seat.”

But he finds deep satisfaction in a job well done for his client. “You finally find what they’re looking for, it’s a hallelujah moment. People that are so demanding, or people who are incredibly grateful — it’s not necessarily about money at the end of the day, it’s about being able to help someone. It’s cool, that gratification.”

He says, “I want to make it clear that I’m incredibly indebted to my family, friends, staff, and clients for the measure of success we’ve had. Both my step daughters, Erin Lane and Annie Rollo, work for me part-time. My wife Peggy Day — because of them, I’m a happy guy.”

The son of a Coast Guardsman in the air division, Serbin grew up all over the country, including kindergarten in Traverse City, North Carolina, Oregon and Alaska. He returned to Traverse City and attended Northwestern Michigan College, but discovered that the student life didn’t suit him, so he dropped out and went to work.

“At 18, I hadn’t a clue as to what I wanted to do. I’d gotten my pilot’s license; my dad was thinking of going to Alaska, maybe start an aircraft business venture there and I could do that, but then he got into business at the TC airport, so that didn’t work out [for me]. I always thought if you worked hard and applied yourself, you’d get ahead,” he says, values that have stood him in good stead in his current career as well. He worked at Big Boy’s, then the Park Place Hotel, where he started out as a breakfast-lunch waiter, moved up to tableside cooking, and helped to manage the Top of the Park. His eight-year stint at Oryana Food Co-op was one result of meeting local hippie Phil Thiel on Old Mission Peninsula, where Serbin was renting a house with friends.

“One day we came into the kitchen. Phil was throwing all the food in a box: ‘Look at this crap, look at the labels!’ He was a real foodist even back then,” he laughs. (Decades later, Thiel now owns the Cedar City Market, continuing his mission of spreading the word on good food.)

“Food and wine are big here now,” Serbin notes of the continued strong interest in Leelanau, helping to drive the real estate market, among other parts of a tourist economy. His real estate career began in 1996, during the boom times of both land sales and the construction industry in the county. He was working as a carpenter when realtor John Martin recruited him. After earning his license and working for Martin’s company for a dozen years, he started his own business in February of 2008, ironically just as the housing market and the economy in general were going into seizures.

With the economic downturn, he’s seen “some attrition” in the real estate field. “If you ask me, I’d say about 20 percent loss of realtors. Some were retiring, others found it too difficult to make it work. But that year, one of my people had his best year ever! It’s definitely not for the weak of heart. You can’t be too bothered, you’ve got to be efficient, deal with time — it’s a precious commodity — but something new comes in every day. I feel really lucky.

“It was time to make a break,” he continues. “When your name’s on that sign, you have more responsibility: your salespeople, the staff, the taxes, the closings. Our least expensive deal, about $10,000 for some land, to a $5 million deal for lakefront property — it’s not about the players involved. We’re good buyers and good sellers. The steps are parallel: if you list something, you’ve still got to take the steps. It can be exceptionally gratifying; it can be a lot of work, it can be trying at times.”

He acknowledges, “It’s hard to be perfect for everyone all the time. ‘Keep your head down and feet moving,’ is the football analogy.”

His commitment to hard work and ethical practices carries over into his service work for the Lions Club of Cedar-Maple City as well. “When I was first getting into real estate, an older neighbor asked me to join,” he recalls.

“He told me, ‘This is not about workin’ it for what you’re doin’ careerwise!’ The objective is, ‘We serve,’ primarily helping with sight and hearing issues, but it’s about helping people in the county. One night my wife called me about 7:30 p.m. to tell me a fire truck had just gone by — a house was on fire. We usually will write a check for people after a fire, for [immediate] needs. I called the Lions Club treasurer and he said, ‘I’ve already written the check.’ While the house was still burning!”

Another memorable experience involved helping a boy with a degenerative eye disease obtain a special-needs computer; the lad repaid the Club by performing a piece of music on his horn, which he’d been learning for about six months.

“We have the pancake breakfasts; we do a raffle every September: Glen Noonan buys a steer from the Northwestern Michigan Fair, pays to have it processed into a half and two quarter shares. We do three scholarships a year for Glen Lake High School students. It’s cool to do it — it’s a feel-good.

“We can only be responsible for what we do, not what others say and do. There’s enough [jerks] in the world; you treat people the way you’d want to be treated.”

Recently he has taken on the added responsibilities of the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce presidency, and calls it “a time of transition,” both for the group and the community.

“Marge Ives and her late partner Joanne Rettke used to do the website, brochures, the walking map. Now we’re going to have to pay to have that done; you’re limited by your resources. My eyes have been opened wide. There’s a bunch of newbies, including me, in charge now, and it’s a challenge to bring [the Chamber] into the technology age. We have a website, but it needs upgrading. Some people have died, or retired, or moved on.

He goes on, “I say this a lot, ‘The more you know, the more you know you don’t know!’ We need to know who we are and where we’re going. In real estate, over 90 percent of people look online before calling a realtor. If you don’t have the ability for people to have access to your business, you’re missing the boat.”

About the increased interest in Glen Arbor and the Grand Traverse region overall, Serbin states, “Certainly the “Good Morning, America!” designation (as the ‘Most Beautiful Place’) was huge. That, and the new trail through the Lakeshore — we need to be ready as business people for the onslaught. By upgrading our systems and making information available, so people can come to the area, they can know what it’s all about — making it convenient. It’s a short season; let’s put on our game faces and make ‘em feel welcome.”

A woman once chided him, “Rob, you sell out, getting into real estate!” His response? “I’ve got the ability to help people out, the opportunity not to become the ‘evil developer.’ So I have the chance to influence how this area grows, to guide people. We live in such a beautiful place — that’s what this area is all about!”