Ricardo Navarro Inting: Falling and rising up again with the real estate cycle

CEBU, Philippines — He founded the Land Asia Realty & Development Corporation in 1992. Established offices in United States, Australia, made ties with partners all over the globe. But Ricardo “Ric” Navarro Inting’s success trail is not unique and special—but he walked in the same road most of us are taking.

Ric grew up in a large family of eight siblings, the reason why he finished college as working student—taking different jobs as an automotive boy, a salesman, and other money-making tasks.

Today, aside from establishing brokerage offices in other countries, through the Land Asia Global Properties Network, Ric also earned a doctorate degree in real estate.

Job Hopping

Soon after Ric got his college diploma as Accountancy graduate at the University of San Carlos (USC), he hopped from one job to another in search for the right employer and of course, good pay.

But, it seemed to him that being a mere worker for company—“no matter how good you are” it always limits his potential to earn.

Ric worked as a medical representative, a card dealer in Casino Filipino, a contractual worker in a government agency and other corporate jobs, until he found a spark of passion when fate brought him to real estate.

Having been able to master the art of salesmanship since his college days and in his job hopping adventure after graduation, selling a property came easy and was no different.

But the spark became more evident, when he realized that real estate is a business every millionaire is getting into. What made it more exciting was he earned more than what he used to earn in his past jobs and the potential to earn sets no limits.

“Real estate is a number commodity,” he said and its market never runs dry, and it’s also a number product, which is always in the top investment priorities of moneyed people.

“There must be something more in this industry,” he remembered telling himself.

The job hopping ended, when Ric signed up to be part of Asian Pacific Realty in the 80’s.

Faith and fate

For Ric, fate happens because of one’s unwavering faith of himself. He is a perfect example of how faith brings a person to his right fate.

While Ric enjoys his new found passion in real estate, his generosity expanded and joined the group of Jaycees in a sort of a sort of community service firm to offer the most affordable housing units to Cebuanos.

The group created a brokerage firm with sole mission make affordable housing be more accessible to minimum wage earners.

It even expanded its service to Negros Oriental.

“It was more of a community service,” Ric said explaining that the company only earned a little commission.

When the group’s members were already busy with their own respective businesses, Ric held on to his faith that his fate is in this industry that he learned to love.

Ric decided to buy-out his partners’ share, and decided to be on his own and joined the real ballgame of real estate brokerage.

In 1992, Ric started his journey in finding his fate in real estate brokerage and registered the Land Asia Realty & Development Corporation.

He then slowly built his wings through developing people and teaching them how to win in real estate.

Wisdom of crisis

Despite being a “one-man-show”, Ric’s neophyte company was able to make strides in Cebu’s flourishing real estate brokerage business in the early 1990s. In fact, he earned his first millions a year after its establishment.

It expanded its network to different areas in Visayas and Mindanao. In this golden times, Ric savored his first million earnings.

But the happy times only lasted for about five years. In 1997 the Asian economic crunch slapped the real estate too badly. Ric hit rock bottom.

Instead of nurturing his despair, Ric continued to open his eyes and hardly blinked just to catch a little hope in the middle of nowhere.

Other brokerage companies folded up, Ric refused to follow.

He held on to his faith.

It was in those dark times that Ric developed his company’s strength, learned to muster resiliency at its best.

He also sharpened his knowledge in the craft.

While the market has dried up, Ric enrolled himself to a three-month advanced course in Australia, under the tutelage of renowned Australian realtor Ray White. He later expanded his studies and also enrolled at the Real Estate Institute of South Whales in Sydney.

Ric believed that the market will recover again. And it did!

Land Asia stood amid the devastating financial downturn and came out stronger, keeping his thousands of agents intact.

“I learned a lot in Australia,” he acknowledged.

Greener pasture

As if his success in his home-ground being able to survive the historical real estate slump was not enough, fate again flirted with him, this time to face another challenge—hitting the higher ground.

A tested stubborn fighter, Ric decided to leave his lucrative brokerage business in Visayas and Mindanao to experience the much “greener pasture” in the United States.

Ric’s realtor friend recommended him to a brokerage firm in Las Vegas, and his strong background impressed the American brokerage company and offered him what he described as “irresistible” package.

In another historical date on September 11, 2001 when the terrorists attacked the US soil, Ric got his US VISA on the same time.

Ric took the irony of the events, as a sign on his favor.

He turned over the management of Land Asia to his wife Marissa, and left to further polish his profession in the “land of opportunity.”

Indeed, the pasture was much greener in the United States, he confessed. There, he tasted the luxury of life.

“I made a lot of money.” He acquired a half acre overlooking property with five-bedroom house. He was able to buy a luxury car—life was more than good. “It was fantastic!”

Singing realtor

While there was fortune, fame was also an easy reach. Ric was branded as the “Singing Realtor” especially to the Filipinos living in the US.

There, he was not only known as an extremely successful realtor, but he was also a Filipino “celebrity.”

He organized concerts and singer in back-to-back with famous Pinoy singers like Imelda Papin, among others.

He was able produce an album while in America.

His being a “celebrity” among Pinoys there, earned him more mileage to sell properties in the US and also in the Philippines.

But as they say, “life is a cycle”, so does other things like real estate.

Just like a “deja vu”, Ric was again overrun by the cycle.

This time it was the US sub-prime property slump in 2007—-five years after he left Cebu.

No place like home

Behind the property crisis in the United States, which left him lost his “fame and fortune” was the wisdom of pushing him back home.

Again, the devastation made Ric established his own global brokerage arm, as he decided to sell more of Philippine properties to Filipinos in the US.

The Land Asia Global Properties Network was established with offices in Las Vegas, New York, New Jersey, Seattle, Florida and Chicago.

Although he got his US citizenship in 2013, Ric decided to make focus on his home-ground business with drive to more “millionaires” in this generous industry of real estate.

He said he tasted the life of luxury, but true success is not found there. For him, success is having it all together—money, family, home and people.

He is determined to share his knowledge and the gospel of real estate to Filipinos, so that more will be able touch their dreams.

Ric dreams of establishing an academy where he can teach those interested how to succeed in the property brokerage profession. He is a PRC accredited lecturer, a licensed appraiser, consultant and environment planner.

Although he is spending most his time in his home-ground business, Ric maintains his American credentials as a US licensed broker and financial planner.

If success were only measured by material acquisitions, Ric could have declared it long time ago. But, because he discovered that success involves also the satisfaction of his heart—he had to go back home and share his story and knowledge, and get rich in the contentment of being truly home. (FREEMAN)