Pilot Turned Broker Takes Off

Many brokers have learned to turn their personal passions into professional pluses. Take Jeff Puffer of Delphi Properties, for instance. After graduating from UCLA (where he played outside linebacker from ’94 to ’98), Puffer had already received his FAA commercial pilot’s license and had been a private pilot on his way to working for a commercial airline when his father-in-law suggested a different career path. Ross Thomas, CEO of Delphi and a 35-year veteran of the real estate industry, thought that Puffer would make a great broker. Turns out he was right. After just five years, Puffer has turned some of those same qualities that make for a good football player or a good pilot dedication, focus and hard work to his advantage, becoming one of the firm’s top deal makers. To date in 2008, Puffer ranks third among the office’s 13 veteran brokers, “although that may have changed since a couple of deals have closed this month,” said Puffer. Nowadays, though most of his clients and deals are in the Valley, Puffer occasionally puts his Cessna Turbo 210 to work, flying a client to distant sites or going to visit out-of-state investors. “There’s not as much need for hand-eye coordination skills,” he said about the difference between being a pilot and real estate guy, “but it does take more people skills.” Linda Coburn