Helping International Real Estate Clients Spread Their Wings

Are you relocating to New York and buying a home? Fiona Dogan is one of the leading international real estate agents in Westchester. Here’s her story…

An expat myself, I love helping international relocation clients find their dream homes and settle into their new communities here in the states. Looking back, one of the strongest motivating factors in my choice of a career in real estate was the opportunity it gave me to work with international clients and help them make the same transition I did when I first moved to the U.S. in 1993.

I was born in Dundee, Scotland and attended the University of St. Andrews. I’ve lived in London, Munich, Brooklyn Heights, Michigan, and have loved residing for the past 18 years here in Rye. My husband hails from Istanbul, Turkey. We we spend much of our free time visiting family in the UK and Europe as well as traveling nationally and internationally. I speak fluent German and some Turkish and French.

Having this global background has given me an unparalleled understanding of what my international clients go through when they make their first move to the U.S.

When I first moved to Rye, my children were just starting school. They attended Rye Presbyterian Nursery School, Rye Playschool, and subsequently Osborn Elementary, and Rye Middle and High Schools. My older son attended The Williston Northampton School from 10^th to 12^th grade, which gave me an additional, valuable understanding of the programs and environment private schools can offer.  All three children are now in college (Universities of Clemson, Michigan, and Richmond) so I am also very familiar with the college application process in the United States.

Just as I had experienced when I first moved to the U.S., international families tend to seek each other out to discuss and learn about how things work here. I myself joined the Rye Newcomers Club and the Rye Expat Connection, and connected with other new arrivals, many of whom are still my close friends 18 years later. Through school and these groups I got to know a lot of relocated families of all nationalities.

My career in real estate began in 2004 when I built my own home here in Rye. I joined Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty as a full-time Global Real Estate Advisor in 2007 and have worked with all types of clients at entry-level to luxury price points since then.

I’ve built an international real estate clientele based on a mixture of personal referrals, global clients who have sought my services after visiting fionadogan.com, and others who have responded after seeing my global-themed advertising in the Rye Record. I also have many friends who are transplants, and they regularly refer their expat friends to me. In addition, satisfied international clients refer their incoming colleagues and friends. They know that I completely understand what they are going through as they try to navigate the complexities of moving to a new country, new community, new school system, new customs, and even language barriers and different types of humor!

I have enjoyed working with German, Dutch, French, Mexican, Canadian, UK, Japanese, Swedish, Swiss, Finnish, French, Australian, South African, and Argentinian clients, and am currently working with lovely families from France, Britain, Albania, Turkey, and India.   International clients prefer working with someone who has lived outside the U.S. and has also experienced being a “fish out of water.” Because I can relate to that, I can help ease their transition until they are ready to spread their own wings.

Fiona Dogan is a Licensed Realtor® in the Rye office of Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. She is a Westchester Five Star Real Estate Agent, Platinum Award winner, and an Accredited Buyer Representative. For more information, please contact Fiona Dogan at: fiona.dogan@juliabfee.com or visit her website at www.fionadogan.com.