The PHOCUS Real Estate Team is the only team in New Mexico where all the agents have their Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation. Every PHOCUS team member has taken the thorough negotiations training course provided by the Real Estate Negotiation Institute (RENI). Only 3% of agents have this designation across the real estate industry. Since negotiating isn’t a skill required/taught through the licensing process but is one of the top skills required to succeed, we feel it’s important to have thorough negotiation training so we can best help our buyers and sellers with their real estate needs.
The CEO of the RENI stated the following:
He started pursuing real estate investing courses and opportunities in 2014 and then decided to get his Associate Broker license in 2015. John has been working as a full-time REALTOR® since October of 2015, and he has had the pleasure of helping his clients close on over 240 properties since then. He founded the PHOCUS Real Estate team in February 2018 and joined EXP Realty in March 2020. Based on extensive training and experience, he has earned the following designations: e-PRO, MCNE (Master Certified Negotiation Expert), and CRS (Certified Residential Specialist). He has experience with bank-owned properties (REOs), short sales, condos, homes with land leases, vacant land, 3 to 12 unit multi-family properties, and property management. He has helped home buyers and sellers as far south as Los Lunas, north to Rio Rancho and Cochiti Lake, and in multiple communities in the east mountains where he grew up. John has also helped multiple investors flip properties and has connections with a variety of vendors and contractors with whom he regularly partners.
John absolutely loves the people, culture, and languages in and around Albuquerque. He has been an active leader within his church, Believers Center, for most of his adult life. John is a passionate Christ-follower who seeks to love, serve, and encourage the people he interacts with and put his faith to work in practical ways on a daily basis. He would love to assist you with any 505 real estate-related questions you might have!
Christy Burton, Associate Broker & Transaction Coordinator, CNEBorn and raised in Albuquerque, Christy has lived here for practically her whole life! She has been a member of the PHOCUS Team since its formation in the spring of 2018, first as a Real Estate Assistant, and now as an Associate Broker and Licensed Transaction Coordinator. Her nearly three years as an assistant on the team prepared and inspired her to take on a more robust role in supporting the other agents, and also to spread her wings to become a licensed broker.
Before her career in real estate, Christy earned degrees in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University and the University of New Mexico. After several years working as an engineer in government and private industry, she took time off from employment to be home with her two children. Now that they are older and take less of her time (right?!), she is loving the fulfillment that comes with helping others achieve their goal of home ownership.
Christy enjoys providing support to the brokers on the PHOCUS Team and putting to good use the skills learned through her life’s opportunities. By being involved in the many details of hundreds of transactions with the PHOCUS Team brokers, she’s learned the ins and outs of both selling and buying a home and all that is required in these undertakings. Christy regularly represents her own clients as well, and she would be happy to help YOU to facilitate a smooth real estate process from start to finish..
Katie Fellure, Associate Broker, MRP, CNE, ICON, Certified eXp Mentor
katiefellure@phocusrealestate.com 505-221-6108
Katie’s roots are from Albuquerque as her family moved here in the 1950s from Mexico and Colorado. Her heart is with military families, as Katie is a Gold Star Spouse and Army Veteran with 10 years of military service.
Katie spent her childhood in Seattle, Detroit, and Houston. Before her career in real estate, Katie earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a Master’s degree from Kansas State University. Katie and her family lived around the world as a military family for 22 years. She was in the Army Reserve in the 314th Civil Affairs BN and then went on active duty Army to serve as an Ordnance Officer (Maintenance and Logistics) for 6 more years in various locations around the world. Katie then left the Army to become a stay-at-home mom to her two children and worked as an Army family volunteer in the various military communities they lived while her late husband was on active duty.
Katie is a REALTOR® with eXp Realty PHOCUS Team. During her first year of Real Estate, Katie assisted over 20 families with their real estate needs in New Mexico. She is also a Certified Military Relocation Professional. While in the military, she and her family relocated to military installations 11 times (twice overseas)! Katie is also a Certified Negotiation Expert through RENI. She is proud to serve her military community by assisting military members and veterans- many of which purchase homes with her assistance sight unseen!
Katie is a volunteer for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) Albuquerque Chapter. She is also a member of the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
Katie has a flock of chickens at her home in downtown Albuquerque, frequents the Bosque trail with her dog Murphy and enjoys binge-watching TV with her cat and family. She is also an avid Peloton member and loves to travel when she’s not working.
Heidi Kamei, Associate Broker & Listing Coordinator, CNE
heidikamei@phocusrealestate.com 505-417-2251
Heidi Kamei grew up in North Texas and spent most of her adult life as a military wife. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she met her husband of 35 years, Mike. They have two adult children.
Prior to getting her New Mexico real estate license, Heidi volunteered in locations around the United States with both daughters’ Girl Scouts troops, PTA, and school activities. She volunteered with her church and the historical preservation community, and she was an active member with her family in a living history/reenacting group. Heidi enjoys cooking – especially food from different cultures (she likes both red and green but prefers green). She loves gardening and food preservation, historical preservation, and history in general. Albuquerque has provided the opportunity to satisfy all her interests. She and her husband are members of the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League (NMJACL).
Heidi joined the PHOCUS Real Estate Team and eXp Realty in October 2021. In addition to closing five transactions in 2022, Heidi is the Listing Coordinator for the PHOCUS Real Estate Team. This role has helped fine-tune her knowledge of the listing side of real estate. She earned the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation through the Real Estate Negotiation Institute.
As someone who moved frequently, Heidi realizes the importance of “blooming where you are planted.” She enjoys helping other families find a place to bloom in the Albuquerque area!
cindyvargas@phocusrealestate.com 505-440-2840
As the firstborn to a family that migrated into the United States, Cindy knows the importance of having a place to call home. She worked for the City of Albuquerque for over 25 years in various departments and is familiar with different aspects of home ownership. Cindy worked in Park Management, Housing, Section 8, Solid Waste, and the Treasury division, where she processed payments for all Planning and Zoning Department’s building permits as well as for the Water Department. This quarter-century of experience gave her incredible insight into how city government interacts with citizens and the resources that are available to help homeowners and other residents. She enjoys bringing that experience and relationships into her real estate business.
Cindy Vargas is a bilingual agent committed to listening to the needs of her clients so she can provide quality service, build and maintain relationships, and strive to ensure a successful transaction for every buyer and seller she works with.
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Siendo la hija mayor de una familia que emigró de Mexico, Cindy sabe lo importante que es un lugar al cual llamar hogar. Ella trabajó para el Gobierno de la Ciudad de Albuquerque por más de 25 años y esta experiencia la hace conocedora de los diferentes aspectos de ser un dueño de hogar. Cindy trabajó en los Departamentos de Parques y Recreación, Vivienda y Sección 8, Departamento de Basura y Reciclaje y la División de Tesorería en la cual procesaba pagos para todos los permisos de construcción para el Departamento de Planeamiento y Zonificación al igual que para el Departamento de el Agua. Estos años de experiencia le dieron una increíble percepción de cómo el gobierno de la ciudad interactúa con los ciudadanos y los recursos que están disponibles para ayudar a dueños de hogar y otros residentes. Cindy disfruta traer esta experiencia y relaciones a su negocio de bienes raíces. Cindy Vargas es una agente bilingüe comprometida en escuchar las necesidades de sus clientes para poder proveer servicio de calidad y mantener una relación profesional enfocada en una transacción exitosa para todo aquel comprador y vendedor con el cual ella trabaje.