In Westhampton Beach, One Team’s Life Before Real Estate

Often brokers cut their teeth in other industries before wending their way over to real estate, and Douglas Elliman's Enzo Morabito and Aimee Fitzpatrick Martin in Westhampton Beach are no exception.

Born in Calabria, Italy, Mr. Morabito moved to the U.S., settling in Bellport with his family, when he was 10 years old. We were kind of spoiled as kids," he recalled, noting that that changed when they became immigrants. "It was just so different."

There were a lot of firsts for him in his new home country. "I never saw women smoking before ... and you never saw any [live] birds in Southern Italy, and what really flipped me out was driving out to Long Island and seeing all the birds," because back home they were simply food, he explained.

Mr. Morabito, who learned to speak English mostly by watching television, dabbled in a few professions before entering the world of real estate—he was a lifeguard and a fight promoter for boxing—but he got his start as a junior high art teacher.

"I really, really liked those kids; they were funny," he said of his students. "It was wonderful to see the effect you had on kids' lives." After about 10 years, however, he started burning out. "I have the most respect for really good teachers," he added, but the desire to make more money was pressing.

An opportunity arose to become a managing partner of Summers Beach Club, a popular nightclub in Hampton Bays, and he took it. "The energy was unbelievable," he said. "I think in one weekend I made what my salary was, and I quit teaching." As he saved up money, Mr. Morabito eventually had enough to start to buy land and develop it. Later, he got into flipping homes, setting the stage for his transition into real estate.

His colleague Aimee Martin Fitzpatrick started her career track in public relations for the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. "It was really fun working there," she recalled. "My office was on the rooftop of the Plaza, and I had a great view of the Boston Marathon every year."

The Copley Plaza was under the management of Hotels of Distinction, which oversaw luxury hotels around the world. When they acquired the Albuquerque Hilton in New Mexico, Ms. Martin was transferred out West for a year to oversee a major guest room renovation and the opening of two restaurants.

"It ended after a year, as it was supposed to, but I ended up staying in Albuquerque for seven years," said Ms. Martin, who worked as an advertising account executive and VP of public relations at Rick Johnson & Company, an ad/PR agency. "So my job was to network, from the governor's office to the tourism office. I served on a lot of boards and did special events," she said.

Eventually, with a baby on the way, Ms. Martin moved back home to Long Island to be closer to family. She became a freelance writer for The Southampton Press, working on feature stories and columns. "I interviewed hundreds of people on the East End," she said, and one in particular influenced her next career move. "Really, it was by interviewing [Douglas Elliman broker] Paul Brennan when it started clicking. I wanted to make more money, it tied to the beautiful homes I had been writing about, and Paul started talking to me about real estate."

Not long thereafter, Ms. Martin got her real estate license and was hired by Mr. Morabito, who had recently opened an office in Westhampton Beach. That was six years ago.

Together, they work with a team of people throughout the South Fork, including Suzanne Bond, a former technology and training consultant; Greg Geuer, who joined the team directly out of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver with a degree in real estate and finance; Antonio Bottero, who was once an artist manager and a tour manager in the music industry; and Tim Morabito, Mr. Morabito's son, who studied fine art and history prior to opening his own contracting business, and ultimately joining his father in real estate.

"Enzo was a teacher for a while, but he remains a teacher in that he builds teams and is very good at bringing people together with experience," said Ms. Martin. "He's sharing his expertise."

"