Defining Moment

Stacie Kress Booker | 9/1/2006

Manuel Iraola started Homekeys.net after realizing there was more to retirement than just golf.

Manuel Iraola had always planned to retire by the time he was 55 -- and he did, a year early. Then one day he took up a longstanding offer from a friend to go for a ride in his single-engine plane. About 3,500 feet up, the plane began to freefall. It crashed, but, miraculously, Iraola was able to walk away. "It was a defining moment in my life," he recalls. "Why had my life been spared? Certainly not to play golf four times a week."
The former president of Phelps Dodge Industries had spent his career managing a $2-billion company with 5,000 employees operating in 27 countries. He was on the road about 80% of the time. Now living in Coral Gables, he says he knew full retirement wasn't for him. He became "obsessed" with real estate, namely making the transaction process for buyer and seller more transparent -- he himself had to relocate at least a dozen times during his career. Several conversations with potential investors resulted in a business plan for an online real estate company.
Homekeys.net launched in 2005. The Florida-specific site is one of the first to offer free online home valuations and allows users to search for homes that may be the best deals. The site also offers a full range of real estate services from do-it-yourself transactions to full service. The user gets to decide how much of a commission he's willing to pay based on the level of services.
Iraola has a patent pending on some of the technology behind the online tools. Recognizing that there's an affordability issue for many homebuyers, he has introduced a 55% commission rebate for buyers. His investors refer to it as the company's "social purpose." The company is still young. It's not yet profitable, says Iraola, but he's happy with its progress and its focus on customer satisfaction first. As for his transition from corporate life to retirement to entrepreneur, he says, "I wanted to have time to smell the roses."

Tags: Florida Small Business, Entrepreneur

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