PTBOCanada Featured Post: Meet Terry Horrigan From Century 21 United Realty
/For Terry Horrigan, the experience of being a real estate agent covering five decades has been one heck of a ride. Approaching 40 years in any one business might be hard to believe, but he’s doing what he’s always loved and sees no reason to slow down now.
The Century 21 United Realty agent has seen more changes to the industry than you can shake a stick at and has ridden every wave that’s come his way. Born (in 1952) and raised in Peterborough, Terry attended St. Annes Elementary and Adam Scott before venturing out West for an opportunity to work in the Manitoba mines.
Terry Horrigan in the Century 21 United Realty office
While school was never really his favourite thing, the thought of a little hard work never scared him off and he knows that if it wasn’t for an invite to a Peterborough Petes training camp in the late '60s, life as he knows it now might have turned out drastically different.
Returning home, he worked at a myriad of classic big businesses in Peterborough like Outboard Marine, Pepsi Cola, and Coca Cola, but it wasn’t until purchasing his first home that he realized what his true passion was. After a great experience with a local real estate agent who happened to work for Century 21, he set his sights on the industry even though he knew the road to success could be a bumpy one.
Terry had an entrepreneurial spirit and wanted a career that was based on his own efforts, where he could work as much as he pleased and where there was nobody to blame but himself if things went awry.
Terry's amazing real estate career has spanned nearly four decades
When it came to acquiring a real estate license in the late '70s, things were much different than they are today. The process came in segments, and although he wasn’t a fan of studying he was hooked on the concept. When he completed his license, luck was standing right in front of him: the agent he purchased his original home from was the current manager for Century 21, who welcomed him on board right away.
Back then, real estate was literally a lot of legwork. Agents drove around looking for homes for sale to show their clients as the internet wasn’t yet in existence. If you needed a signature, you drove to get it. Networking came through actual face to face meetings rather than online, where most things take place nowadays.
In the early '80s, the housing market in Canada collapsed with interest rates hitting astronomical levels. Many agents had left the industry, there were new franchises coming to Canada, companies were splitting, and commission structures were all changing at a rapid pace.
Terry managed to stick it out through all of this and on one fateful night in the midst of turmoil throughout the industry, he made a call to Carl Oake. The rest is now history. Thirty five years later with Century 21 United Realty (previously Carl Oake Realty), Terry is the longest serving veteran on the team, still selling residential and commercial real estate successfully as he always has.
Terry is the longest selling veteran on the Century 21 team in Peterborough.
