For Diane Farino, the quest to become a Realtor started at an early age.

“One of my all-time favorite games as a kid was Monopoly,” she said. “Something about trading those little houses for a hotel got my creative investment mind clicking.”

So Farino started purchasing real properties when she was 19. It was vacant land in Arizona and Florida. She was thinking retirement already, but the cashflow was negligible. So she sold off those first purchases and began buying single family homes and renting them out.

She believed in improvement, so she read a lot of self-help books. The one that worked for her was Robert G. Allen, who had strategies for online businesses and real estate investing.

She purchased two six-flat apartment buildings with no money down and a commercial real estate building. She traveled to Las Vegas for an on-stage speech so she could share her experience.

“If I can do it,” she said, “so can others. That’s why I like helping newbies get started.”

Presently, Farino works out of the McColly Rosenboom office at 685 Main NW., Bourbonnais.

She loves helping others reach their goal of owning a home when they thought they couldn’t do it. Farino says she thinks out of the box to come up with solutions. After the sale, she said, clients become “close friends to me” and often refer their friends and family.

He cherishes the friendships she’s developed in the business. She’s attended birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries. She gets invited to clients’ life-changing events, “as a result of me changing their lives years ago.”

She tells sellers to focus on presentation and pricing. Declutter. Rearrange existing furniture. Photos of a home need to be high quality.

More buyers than ever, she said, first encounter a home online. Virtual tours are increasingly important.

“Pricing the home correctly from the start is crucial,” she said. “An overpriced home can linger on the market, while underpricing can lead to you leaving money on the table.”

She always does a competitive market analysis. She encourages sellers to be flexible with showings and open to negotiations.

She tells buyers these days to be “prepared and patient.” Preparation means getting your financing pre-approved. Know what you can afford and identify where you want to live, she said. Make sure you include the cost of taxes, insurance and the home-owners agreement (if you need one for an association or a condo) in your budget.

There may be a bidding war for the property you want, she said, so know in advance what your top offer will be. Don’t overstretch yourself financially.

Remember the long-term potential of the property. It might not check every box on your list, but may still meet your most important needs, Farino said,

“Flexibility can open up more opportunities and potentially lead to a better investment,” she said.

Lastly, she tells buyers, “Trust the process and your Realtor’s expertise.”

Have patience.

“There’s a lot of moving parts in these transactions, particularly if they’re selling their home and buying another one simultaneously,” she said.

Farino was born and raised in Roseland on the southside of Chicago. Her mom was the youngest in a family of 10 children in Canada. Dad was born in Poland, the only son in a group with three sisters. Together, mom and dad raised five children, two sons and three daughters, including Diane.

Both mom and dad were hard-working, with dad spending most of his life as a steelworker.

“I thank them for instilling their work ethics in me,” Farino said.

Farino herself is the mother of two, Dominic and Dionne. She is the grandmother of three, Harlow, Liana and Luca, with a fourth grandchild on the way.

She operates an internet business in the wellness category, disseminating tips on a healthier lifestyle.

“I donate and enjoy volunteering in my community whenever I can,” she said. “My most memorable event was traveling to Honduras on a medical mission trip. We just never know how good we have it until we visit areas of poverty.”

Farino recently joined an organization called 100+ Women Who Care. The idea is that 100 women each donate $100. Sometimes, she says, you might wonder if your donation makes a difference, but in this case, the group raises $10,000 quite quickly. The group made such a donation to the 71 Reasons and More Foundation, a non-profit, which is committed to mental health.

Farino loves to cook for recreation. She even freezes some dishes and invites friends and family over later. She also enjoys gardening, all kinds of dancing, oil painting and sewing. She’s made curtains for her homes and clothes for her kids when they were growing up. She made her own wedding gown and also made her daughter’s wedding gown.