‘RE/MAX Gives Me the Platform to Be Who I Am,’ Says Star Agent

“You’re going to be such a great salesperson. Why don’t you get your real estate license?”

Orly Chen heard this 16 years ago from a builder renovating her own home.

With her vivacious personality, community involvement and passion for helping others, Chen followed that advice – and her gut instinct – and earned her real estate license.

Nearly two decades later, as a top-producing agent and a RE/MAX Pinnacle Club Team leader, Chen continually sets goals for her business and exceeds them annually, all with the support of the RE/MAX brand.

“RE/MAX gives me the platform to be who I am,” she boasts.

Jumping in with both feet

Northwest of New York City and along the Hudson River lies Tenafly, a suburban area of Northern New Jersey lined with luxury homes that often sell for upwards of $1 million.

Inspired by the booming luxury market in her area due to its proximity to Manhattan, Chen connected with Michael Krayn, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Properties Plus in Tenafly, to see if his RE/MAX office would be the right fit for her to launch – and ultimately grow – her business.

The deciding factor in joining Krayn’s brokerage was the creative flexibility RE/MAX offered. She had the opportunity to leverage the globally recognized RE/MAX brand name while crafting her own business structure and meeting goals at her own pace.

“I told [Michael] that I didn’t want interference. I promised him that I would always do the right thing, but I didn’t want anybody to tell me what to do. I need to be in an environment where I can truly be myself,” she explains.

Upon joining RE/MAX, Chen liked having a brick-and-mortar home base to conduct business – but she loved being surrounded by top-performing agents.

From inspired to inspiring

“On my first day, before I even sold one house, I remember sitting at my desk and asking myself, ‘How am I going to set my first goal of my first year?’ I think the goal was something like $20,000 [in inventory]. Then I said I want to sell $100,000 and I reached that. The next year I set it at $200,000. Even today, after selling $140 million a year, I still set a goal of how much I’m going to sell – and I reach it,” Chen says.

With a strong work ethic, Chen is in constant competition with herself – especially now as a top-producing luxury agent in her county. She stays humble, however, reflecting on the beginnings of her career – and heeds advice to other agents that are just getting going.

“You have to be willing to work,” she says. “[Being a real estate agent is] such hard work and people don’t realize that it’s seven days a week, it’s weekends, and if your client wants you at 10 o’clock at night or early in the morning, you have to be willing to be there. If not, there is a limit to how much you can sell.”

A fellow neighbor above all else

Chen says a top priority for her has always been staying involved with and giving back to her community. After all, she and her family have lived in the county for over 30 years.

“I’m a board member of the Jewish Community Center. I’m also a board member of the Israeli American Council (IAC). When either of these organizations needs anything, they know to reach out to me,” she explains.

She also sprang into action at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to use her influence in the community to help those who were struggling the most.

“During the beginning of the pandemic, [my office] raised over $40,000 from the town for our local doctors and nurses. At a time when [no one was selling], we didn’t just sit around and do nothing,” Chen says. “We worked so hard on delivering food. We physically delivered food to the hospitals all around us. We’re always here to help – this is just the nature of who we are up in Tenafly.”

Above all else, Chen believes that being passionate about helping others is an essential quality to being a real estate agent.

“If you’re a good salesperson, that’s not enough. You need to be generous, loyal and always knowledgeable,” she says.

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