Kay Bates: Real Estate Broker with a Purpose

Photo by Dawn Nicoli/Nicoli Productions

I’VE BEEN WRITING WITH SAN Diego Woman Magazine for a while now, and if I pair that with my prior career in Real Estate, I can say I’ve met A LOT OF REALTORS. I’ve come across your typical glam goddess with pristine hair and business cards, the ego-driven man that’s sold a home (or should I say an “estate”) in every rich community the coast has to offer, and the member of a team of 8 individuals all offering something unique and NECESSARY to your sale… or so they say. What I haven’t come across is a realtor with a purpose. When I say purpose, I don’t mean an agenda to sell your home based off a PowerPoint presentation of pretty graphics and pie charts, I mean, an individual who can look beyond the tangible and see a spiritual calling in their work. This is Kay Bates.

Coming from a small village in Trinidad, Kay has had a colorful background on her journey to becoming the superstar Broker she is today. “I was doing resale clothes, a boutique, in Trinidad, so I came, and I did the same thing here in downtown at Kobey’s when they had an indoor swap meet of sorts… We would go down to LA, get clothing, and then come back and sell it. Then I decided to go to beauty school, and I did that and sold on the weekends… then when I left that I became a flight attendant.” This desire to continually learn new things is what propelled Mrs. Bates into her career in Real Estate.

With the basis of an Accounting degree, she began her work in San Diego with a prominent La Jolla Real Estate and Property Management firm. “It was very fulfilling to me because I really got into Real Estate. I started there in 1991, definitely a recession time, a lot of foreclosures… but I worked with the owner a lot, and I learned so much…” Being a natural born introvert, Kay never saw herself as a “salesperson” and initially laughed at the idea of pursuing real estate sales. After changing offices to GMS Realty in North County to be home more often with her children, she had a memorable conversation with her boss in which he insisted she go for sales training instead of working behind the scenes. Her boss, William Gerrity, saw potential in her work ethic, intelligence, and persistence and knew these would be great assets in a sales environment. These traits not only catapulted her into her current profession but gave her the ability to set herself apart from other agents. “The passion that has been burning inside me made me step out on my own. If I stayed in this corporate world, I would be helping Starbucks, not someone I could genuinely be in service of… I know my purpose is to be in a serving role … I knew I could have such a greater impact on people this way.” This was the incentive to pursue her career in sales. She soon began working with a prominent firm and servicing clients as an agent.

“In 2016, I got the Top Producer along with the honor of being named one of the top 5% Realtors in San Diego County. These occurrences gave me the push I needed to move forward and open my own office.

“At first I didn’t say anything to anyone, but I signed up for the Broker test, I took it the first time, and I failed. I took it again, and I passed. I then emailed my current boss and told him I would be moving on and opening my own office. As I made this choice in the back of my mind, I heard my mother saying “You could do anything. You’re good enough”.

Good enough is an understatement. Actively serving her church, Kay mentors youth and works alongside Interfaith Charities in homeless outreach programs. This spiritual calling is what leads her to use Real Estate as her vehicle for change. “I want to use my platform to give back. I plan on selling everything just to be able to give it all away…that is my goal.” And this, I can tell you, is exactly what she will do. “I want to use Real Estate to inspire and motivate others… my grandmother owned five homes; she would leave for 2-3 days and just work and then come back home and take care of everyone in our community”. With the future goals of setting up a faith-based foundation to provide compassion, grace, and guidance

KAY BATES:

Real Estate Broker with a Purpose

By Jaime V. Habert

to homeless teenagers, Kay is definitely mimicking the values of her family. She explains her endeavors, “Escondido has a lot of homeless teens, and I see it more and more. I want to find out why. Why would somebody have this struggle and how can I help.” Currently providing a scholarship opportunity for disenfranchised teens, it won’t be long before Mrs. Bates’ name is known beyond the Real Estate field.

Towards the end of our meeting, Kay uttered a sentence that I think most of us need to take to heart. “The best revenge is success… and success for me is attaining the goals I’ve set for myself. I don’t have to impact everybody; I just want people to know that any dream you have inside of you, you can do it. If I, from an island down in South America, can do this…so can you.” Success shouldn’t be a universal milestone. How often are we as women told what success is? I know from my own experiences that success has been explained to me as having the husband, the kids, the steady career, but, is this my personal vision for my own success? I don’t think I ever took the time to figure that out.

What I have figured out is that this community is far better with having Kay Bates in it.

To contact Kay Bates for Real Estate or other opportunities, please visit www.batesrealtyca.com or call her office directly at 760-294-4848.

REALTOR SNAPSHOT WITH KAY BATES:

• 25+ Years of Experience in Commercial & Residential Real Estate • 2016 Top 5% San Diego County Realtors • Top Producer Award Winner • 2017 Top 5% San Diego County Realtors • Real Estate Portfolios in excess of $13 million • Broker/Owner of Bates Realty & Property Management