Most real estate agents don’t want to do rentals.
The paperwork is complicated. The clients can be difficult. The commissions feel small. And at the end of the day, a lot of agents figure: show the apartment, send the application, done.
Annerys built an entire business on the work that other agents refused to do.
On this episode of KW Connect, Steven Padernacht sat down with Annerys — a Dominican Republic-born agent working out of the Keller Williams Bronx office, running her own team alongside her twin sister Irma, and doing more rental volume than most agents ever will.
“A Lot of People Think Doing Rentals Is Only Opening a Door”
Annerys was direct about why she believes most rental agents fail.
“A lot of people think doing rentals is only open a door and show the apartment,” she said. “Even lenders say, ‘Oh, you got that commission and you don’t do nothing.’ No. You need to collect the documents, the application, run the credit, give a formal application — that’s the important thing during the process.”
The difference, she explains, is the package. A full rental package doesn’t just include an ID and a W2. It tells a story about the applicant — income, credit, reasons for moving, how many people will be in the unit, documentation for any programs or vouchers. “You need to be prepared for every question they’re going to ask you,” she said.
Steven put it plainly: “When you’re doing a rental, you have to tell a story.”
The Landlord Relationship
What gives Annerys her edge isn’t just the paperwork — it’s the trust she’s built with landlords over years of doing the work right.
“All my landlords are people who came through referrals,” she said. “They recommend me one to the other.” That trust was earned by never placing a bad tenant.
Steven noted what separates her from most agents: “You’re not just running the systems — you know the people. You know what’s going on with everybody. A lot of agents can’t keep track of 20, 30, 40 deals at a time. You’re doing that.”
The Work Ethic She Learned Before She Could Work
Annerys grew up in the Dominican Republic watching her mother run a hair salon Monday through Sunday and her father manage a greenhouse that exported vegetables to Miami and Puerto Rico.
“My dad, he wakes up every day at 5am — he’s the owner, but still he wakes up at 5am,” she said. “I saw that sign since I was born.”
When her father built the greenhouse, he put the whole family to work — planting peppers, packing shipments. It wasn’t just a lesson in work; it was a lesson in ownership.
“He teach us how to work. I’m not a person who thinks ‘oh, I can’t do that.’ I can work even doing that if I need to do it.”
After earning a bachelor’s in marketing and a master’s in international business, she spent several years at a bank in the Dominican Republic in a mortgage marketing department — a front-row seat to the relationship between real estate agents, builders, and financing.
Then she came to the Bronx.
Why Rentals, Why the Bronx
She landed her first real estate job in Brooklyn, but moved quickly to the Bronx and found a rental-focused office that matched her approach.
When Steven asked why she never moved beyond rentals, her answer was immediate: “It’s quick money. I’m always moving. If I don’t have one rental in one week, I feel like, oh my god, how am I gonna pay my food this week? Even if I have savings — that’s my savings, I can’t touch that. I need to make my money.”
The Team That Feels Like a Family
Annerys’s office includes her twin sister Irma, who joined when Annerys got pregnant, and team members Linda and Belis. Her management style: “I treat them like family. I’m never in bad mood with them.”
Steven’s takeaway: “The more you treat them that way, the more loyal they’ll be — and the loyalty comes before the hard work.”
Advice to the Next Generation
When Steven asked what she’d tell a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic who wanted to build a business in the US: get your license, be consistent, go to the field.
“It’s not like, oh, I got my license, let me go sit at my desk and the business is going to come to me. You need to go out. Get contacts.”
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What She’s Building
Annerys has a daughter, Sophia. She wants to teach her the same things her parents taught her — not by giving her everything, but by showing her how to earn it.
“If I can build an empire and leave that to her — I’m preparing. I’m working for that.”
Her legacy answer: “I’m a dreamer. Now I’m successful. I don’t like to grow alone. I like the people around me to grow too.”
KW Connect is a weekly series spotlighting agents and professionals from the Keller Williams NYC Group. To connect with Annerys directly, call 914-575-1742. For real estate services with Steven Padernacht, call (607) 669-3361.