It’s been said that people change careers frequently, as many as 10 times between the ages of 18 and 38.
Not Rita Santamaria.
Instead of changing careers, she found a way to marry her two favorite industries, resulting in one, big, successful venture – Champions School of Real Estate.
“It’s not an easy career,” Santamaria said. “But it’s a long lasting career.”
Indeed, that was almost 30 years ago, and she’s still going strong.
Teachers rule
Raised in south Florida, Santamaria headed to Florida State University where she earned a teaching degree.
After a two-year stint teaching in public schools, Santamaria was less than thrilled.
So she began selling real estate, and taught a real estate class at Houston Community College’s Dunlavy campus.
That was Santamaria’s epiphany, the “aha” moment when she realized she actually did love teaching, it just depended on who the students were.
“For the first time ever, I was teaching adults, and teaching them something I loved,” Santamaria said. “People who are at a proprietary school have paid their money and are truly ready to start their new career. It’s interesting and motivational for the teacher.”
Teaching her way to ownership
It wasn’t long until the business bug bit, so Santamaria joined with business partner Sharon Teusink, and together they approached the Texas Real Estate Commission in Austin, seeking permission to open a real estate school in Houston.
Permission granted, and in 1983, these two women opened Champions School of Real Estate in northwest Houston.
Santamaria and Teusink taught days, nights and weekends to make ends meet.
A few years later, Santamaria bought her partner out, opened a campus in Dallas and the Galleria, and hired her first teacher, Charles J. Jacobus.
Jacobus, a real estate attorney and author, still teaches once a month at the school’s Galleria location.
Growing gains, not pains
In 2004, Santamaria opened a school in Coppell, located northwest of Dallas, and also launched a virtual campus online.
“I brought people on board to open an online campus so we could be anywhere,” she said. “Online classrooms are not as popular as our brick and mortar classrooms, but continue to steadily grow in enrollment.”
Three years later, Santamaria opened a school in San Antonio, followed quickly by a West Houston campus at the Highway 6 and Interstate 10 intersection.
In 2009, Santamaria circled back to where she was granted permission in the first place, opening a school in Austin.
“Over the years, not only have we grown by campus, we’ve grown in subject matter,” Santamaria said.
Indeed, at Champions School of Real Estate, one can take courses not only in real estate, but in lending, appraisal, and home inspection.
Moving on up
The more successful Santamaria became, the more she realized she needed to hire a staff.
It was time to put her baby in the hands of others.
“I’ve only put people in management positions that have worked with me for a long time, so it wasn’t that much of a problem,” she said.
Now, with a staff of 40, Santamaria is no longer teaching.
Instead of in the classroom, she’s more behind the scenes, traveling Texas for speaking gigs, writing textbooks for her schools, and regularly changing course content based on state requirements and what’s currently popular in the industry.
“I want to keep everything current, up to date, full of life and energy,” Santamaria said. “When people see and hear the name Champions School of Real Estate, I want them to think ‘winners and quality.’ It’s a reputation we have earned and intend to keep.”
Good deeds
Santamaria is a winner in her own right.
In addition to regularly updating curriculum content, writing textbooks, maintaining her broker’s license, traveling for speaking gigs and visiting her campuses every six weeks, Santamaria is out and about showing goodwill.
Case in point: After Hurricane Katrina forced thousands of evacuees to Houston, Santamaria offered anyone who showed her a Louisiana driver’s license free classes at her school.
Amazingly, more than 400 people took her up on the offer.
“Out of that, maybe a dozen stayed in real estate, but that’s okay,” Santamaria laughed. “We just wanted them to have something to occupy their minds during those difficult times.”
Santamaria is involved in the Asian Real Estate Association of America, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, and Young Real Estate Professionals, just to name a few.
She often sponsors or speaks at seminars for real estate offices and Realtor associations.
All mentors have a mentor
There’s no doubt Santamaria is a legend in the real estate crowd.
While flattered by that, Santamaria quickly points out there are people she admires and looks up to, including 100-year-old Ebby Halliday of Dallas.
“She sometimes shows property, at 100!” said Santamaria in disbelief. “Two years ago when she was 98, Ms. Ebby was attending our North Dallas Campus, taking her continuing education courses. She told me ‘I’ll be back in two years when I have my 100th birthday.’ She is an icon in real estate.”
A few years ago, Ebby received the state-wide Women’s Council of Realtors Business of the Year award.
Santamaria received it the following year.
“It was quite an honor to be the one to receive it right after Ebby,” Santamaria said.
To this day, Santamaria makes sure to visit the Dallas school when Ebby is in the building.
Words of wisdom
While Santamaria looks up to Ebby, she also looks back to the man who started it all – her dad.
“I was telling him I wasn’t that excited about public school teaching, and my dad, who was a real estate broker as well as a farmer, said ‘try real estate. You might like it.’ So I did. And I fell in love with it,” she said. “He regularly jokes that had he not told me to stop teaching school and go into real estate, I would not be where I am now.”
Where she is now is researching potential hotspots that could use a Champions School of Real Estate, and keeping an eye on the growth of the Tex-a-Plex, an area that covers Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.
Santamaria said 80 percent of the population is within that region.
Back to where it all began
Santamaria can’t look forward without looking at her past.
“Had I not graduated from Florida State University with an education major, become a public school teacher and disliked it, gone into real estate full time and then had the opportunity to teach a real estate course at Houston Community College…I would not have realized what my passion was,” Santamaria said. “My passion is teaching adults. My passion is growing the school. My passion is real estate.”
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